The shrinking of mangrove forests is hurting the marine ecosystem of Kenya, a tragedy slowly unfolding in Lamu county.
Mangroves are a group of trees and shrubs that grow in the coastal inter-tidal zone and a key component in the protection of fragile coastlines from erosion and storms.
According to a report by FAO Africa’s regional office, Africa has lost at least 500,000 hectares of mangrove forests in 25 years, and the loss might be huge since there is no existing latest data.
FAO said the state of depleting hectares of mangrove has received insufficient attention as required whenever deforestation topics are being discussed by environmental stakeholders.
As a result, the effects of the depletion can be felt by both humans and the environment, especially water species that depend on them for survival.
Lamu county, being an island, most of its residents depend on the marine ecosystem as fishers and in day-to-day activities.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC), an environmental organisation based at the Coast, notes that Lamu accounts for about 60 per cent of Kenya’s mangroves and is spread on 61,271ha.
Most of the islands in Lamu use mangrove in building their homes, while some have turned mangrove harvesting into a business by selling the trees to non-residents.
At Pate Island, most of the houses are constructed using these precious trees, meaning the rate of its degradation would have been higher were it not for governmental restrictions imposed on its harvesting.
George Maina of TNC blamed the decline in mangrove cover on over-exploitation, conversion pressure, pollution and climate change.
He said illegal logging is the main reason for deforestation since the loggers do not follow guidelines put in place before cutting down the mangroves.
Maina said degradation is not only depleting the resources available within its boundary but also affecting the productivity of the adjacent coastal waters.
Lamu’s dependency on mangrove is very high, and that is why there are degraded areas. This represents areas that are clearly felled as well as sites where quality poles have been decimated, he said.
It is for these reasons that TNC established a women-led project on the rehabilitation of mangroves. The initiative is done in conjunction with like-minded conservancy organisations, such as the Northern Rangeland Trust (NRT), Pate marine community conservancy, KWS and Lamu county.
The project is currently being implemented by women in Kiunga and some of the villages in Pate Island. Maina said they have been able to establish a nursery for the mangrove seedlings.
The Star 2020