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The Nairobian

As climate shocks bite, farmers point accusing finger at eucalyptus

News

By Mark Oloo | Oct 03, 2019

**Ngangores River which is drying up due to desertification**. [Mark Oloo, Standard]

The infamous Enapuiapui swamp could be bubbling with water now but just a few weeks back, it was dry due to delayed rains.

The swamp located in Kuresoi, Nakuru County is the main source of River Amala which joins with Nyangores River, in Sigor, to form the Mara River – the mainstay of the Maasai Mara and Serengeti Ecosystems.

The wetland is also a source of four other rivers – Ndarugu which drains in Lake Nakuru, Rongai which drains into Lake Baringo and Sondu which empties into Lake Victoria.

Locals are pushing for a solution to ensure that the wetland does not run without water again after it dried completely for the first time in ten years. They believe the main problem lies in the eucalyptus trees around the swamp.

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Ten years ago, the country seemed to be at the same spot after then Environment minister John Michuki ordered farmers to uproot all eucalyptus trees on riparian zones. The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) came out to dispute the view on the tree.

The debate has been ignited again. Moses Ngili has never seen the swamp this dry even at its worst in 2009 which led to attempts to restore the Mau Forest, a process that quickly morphed into a political contest.

“We say it is because people have cut down trees but as you can see there are trees here,” says Ngili, arguing that eucalyptus is the culprit.

Joseph Lesingo, the chair of Kiptunga Community Forest Association (CFA) opines that exotic trees sucked the water from the swamp. He now calls on the government to help uproot the trees so that indigenous trees can be planted.

He says, “The solution is to uproot all these eucalyptus and cypress trees here and plant indigenous trees that is the only way this swamp can be saved from future catastrophe.”

Lesingo states that talk about restoring the Mau is just a boardroom affair with no singular government body being the forefront to drive the process.

“This whole issue about saving the Mau has remained all talk without action; no person is coming out to push its implementation on the ground,” says Lesingo. Those who have already done so, testify that they have seen a change.

Paul Sang, a farmer in Kapsasurwa in Bomet has a farm that stretches to the valley where one of the streams that feed Nyangores River starts.

He uprooted all eucalyptus from his side of the valley since the spring was drying but on the opposite side the owners have refused to do the same, thus putting the spring in jeopardy.

“When I uprooted the eucalyptus trees on this side and planted these indigenous trees, water started flowing after a few months,” says Sang who has worked in partnership with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Kenya to ensure his farm does not contribute to siltation through soil erosion.

Some, however, have a different view. Mr Robert Tiolela blames the phenomenon on lack of rain and blames the government for cutting trees in the forest. He argues that the government has allowed uncontrolled logging by timber companies which is leading to dwindling forest cover.

Between March and May, river levels around the country remained relatively low at a time when they should have been burbling and breaking banks.

Tiolela says, “In May we should have been harvesting but because of the delay in rains we planted late; there are even no potatoes as there should be during this season.”

He adds that right now the community has resorted to prayers to reverse the worrying situation.

However, as the debate rages on, local water resource users have embarked on an exercise to assess the quality of the area rivers. Currently, the Nyangores Water Resource Users Association (WRUA) are studying the quality and quantity of water in the two rivers.

The research involving the local community being undertaken for the second time after the first last year. It seeks to find out the status of bio-health, water clarity and community perception with the results expected soon after analysis.

Paul Rono, the chair of Nyangores WRUA says this is the first time communities are being involved in assessing the river. He states this is important as the communities see for themselves the state of their rivers instead of being informed after it has been done.

“In doing this we, as community members, get to understand the health of our rivers and decide how we want to tackle any challenges,” says Rono.

Experts also see the community-led river health assessment crucial in the management of water resources. Dr William Ojwang’ of WWF Kenya says that when the community collects the data, then it makes more sense to them after analysis.

He says, “Once they have done the assessment and see the dangers the river faces, they can easily influence their fellow community members to work on mitigation and adaptation to save the water sources.”

Ojwang’ adds that focus must not just be on quantity but quality as well because healthy water sources equal healthy environment.