Partnership for Fostering Community Involvement in the Conservation of Lake Nakuru

By David Kimani

Nakuru, Kenya Monday, March 12th, 2018 – An environmental clean-up exercise that is geared towards sensitization of the community living within the vicinity of Lake Nakuru on the significance proper waste disposal in safeguarding the lake against pollution has been launched today by the CECM for Education, ICT and e-Government Raymond Komen.

Speaking when he flagged of the exercise at Kimathi Ground in Lake View Ward, Komen said that caring and protecting of the environment is one of the key priorities of County Government of Nakuru under the leadership of Governor Lee Kinyanjui, as it is an issue closely connected to the quality of people’s livelihoods.

He further noted that just as today’s event brought together members of the community, business organizations as well as environmental conservation institutions, the County Government of Nakuru will continue to foster such partnerships to protect the lake as well as address other environmental matters in the county.

‘Safeguarding our environment ranks on the top of the list of H.E Governor Kinyanjui-led County Government. We understand that when our environment is safe our people prosper, but when it is polluted and damaged their livelihoods standards are injured and thus the poverty cycle is perpetuated’, said Komen.

Adding, ‘affording the people a dignified means of support is a requires rigorous partnership like the one witnessed today, and this is the reason why we will maintain this teamwork and cultivate for more’.

Today’s clean-up which involves garbage collection on the boundary of Lake Nakuru National Park along Flamingo, Lake View, Kivumbini and Nakuru East Wards brought together actors from the County Government of Nakuru, Kenya Wildlife Services, Kenya Army, Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Red Cross as well as the communities in these wards.

Its main purpose is to inculcate a sense of waste of responsible waste collection and management through the established County Government waste disposal mechanisms so as to ensure that the waste is not carried into the Lake.

In his speech, Brigadier Joseph Kivunzi, the SDS National Defence College said due to the fact Kenya Army has complexes in Nakuru County it should be considered a key stakeholder in environmental conservation.

‘Together with the County Government of Nakuru, the community and other sectors, we have been involved in numerous initiatives for protecting the environment in Nakuru County and we will keep on doing this for the goods of us all’, said Brigadier Kivunzi.

He noted that besides planting trees and clean-up exercises, KDF has worked with the community and cleaned River Mbaruk whose source is in Dundori.

The Director for Environment Nakuru County Muriithi Kiogora said that the plan of the County Government of Nakuru to plant a million trees in the long rain season about to start in April will protect Lake Nakuru from more degradation.

Studies have established that deforestation to create more farming land in the catchment areas of the main rivers draining into the Lake Nakuru has had an adverse impact on siltation and reduction of water in Lake Nakuru.