Plans afoot to protect endangered Ondiri wetland in Kiambu

Gazetting and fencing it off are among plans the government has put in place to save threatened Ondiri wetland near Kikuyu town, a major source of water for Kiambu and Nairobi counties.

In a speech read on his behalf on Wednesday by his Chief Administrative Secretary Mohammed Elmi during celebrations to mark World Wetlands Day at Alliance High School in Kikuyu, Kiambu, Environment and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko said they are determined to protect the swamp.

These efforts will also include planting more than 10,000 tree seedlings in a joint project by Kenya Forest Service (KFS), National Environment Management Authority (Nema), and Water Resources Management Authority, according to Mr Tobiko.

"Protecting wetlands is at the heart of the government because by so doing, we will also be protecting our water resources," said the CS.

He added: "Other than supplying water used to residents of Kiambu and Nairobi residents, Ondiri swamp is also a major source of water for Nairobi River. This, therefore, makes it an important wetland as it is supporting a huge number of livelihoods in the two counties."

The minister said the national government is also planning to provide eco-infrastructure - the natural or semi-natural structural elements of ecosystems and landscapes that are important in delivering ecosystem services - to make the Ondiri a tourist attraction.

On his part, Elmi challenged voters to demand, from political aspirants, their policies on the protection of the environment ahead of the August elections.

Friends of Ondiri Wetland, a group that is involved in the promotion and protection Ondiri, called for speedy gazettement of the wetland and asked the government to also provide funds to facilitate its protection.

"We would like to create a zip lining, bird watching towers, and some amphitheaters that will create the flow of eco-truism and deal with pollution. However, we do not have funds to do that work," said Friends of Ondiri Wetland coordinator David Wakogy.

He said over 50 boreholes have been sunk around the wetland and this is posing another threat to the swamp.

Wakogy said the gazettement of the swamp will protect it by making it a public facility. "More people will visit the swamp without the fear of being accused of trespassing," he said.

Kiambu governor James Nyoro said his administration has laid out plans to protect Ondiri and other wetlands across the county, including Manguo Swamp in Lumuru, along the Nairobi- Nakuru highway.

"Ondiri wetland and five of the boreholes around it have ensured Kikuyu town has sufficient water supply and must therefore be protected at all costs," Nyoro said. 

He added: "We shall launch two of the five boreholes soon. We expect them to provide about 60,000 households in Kinoo and Uthiru with water. This explains why this wetland is extremely important."

Among other things, the county government plans to construct a bridge above the wetland and a path around it to allow tourists to enjoy the scenery, Nyoro said.

The governor said the county government is working with geologists from the University of Nairobi to establish the wetland's water levels to determine whether it can support irrigation. 

Nema's director-general Mamo Mamo said: "Despite the fact that they are key to life, our wellbeing and the health of our planet, wetlands are highly vulnerable to anthropogenic and development pressures that have led to their conversion into other uses which has led to the loss of wetland functions and services." 

"Societies living around wetlands are also becoming more and more vulnerable to vagaries of climate as wetland ecological services they depend on are progressively lost due to degradation and loss of wetland ecosystems," Mamo said.