Report on the working visit to Nakuru on February to March 2010 Heli Jutila Environmental Expert

Transcription

1 The North-South Local Government Co-operation Programme / The Municipalities of Hämeenlinna and Nakuru Report on the working visit to Nakuru on February to March 2010 Heli Jutila Environmental Expert Hämeenlinnan ympäristöjulkaisuja 9 Environmental Publications of Hämeenlinna 9

2 Photos. Front page: Kitchen garden in Racetrack primary. Up. Biowaste to be composted at Racetrack. Greeting the scouts (Heidi Piilola). Photographs are the Heli Jutila s except the once with named author. Jutila Heli 2010: Report on the working visit to Nakuru on February to March The North- South Local Government Co-operation Programme / The Municipalities of Hämeenlinna and Nakuru. - Hämeenlinnan ympäristöjulkaisuja 9 [Environmental Publications of Hämeenlinna 9]. 31 p. ISBN ISSN-L ISSN (painettu) ISSN (verkkojulkaisu) 1

3 Contents Abstract DAY: Sunday 28th of February DAY: Monday 1th of March DAY: Tuesday 2th of March DAY: Wednesday 3 rd of March DAY: Thursday 4th of March DAY: Friday 5th of March Thanks Figs. Up, left: Norht-South co-ordinators at Merica Hotel. Right: Heidi and Sammy at Gyoto landfill. Down, left: Visitors, town clerk and head teacher at Racetrack primary school. Right: Organic fertilizer. 2

4 Abstract The journey of two Finnish delegates from Hämeenlinna to Nakuru in the North-South cooperation programme was made on Two other delegates had left already on and thus spend almost two weeks. The trip focused mainly on the activities of the Environmental and Educational components, but involved administrative component issues and planning for the next funding period, in which all the components were handled. Nakuru belongs to the Rift Valley Province and Nakuru district. Nakuru is the third biggest town in Kenya and is located 1200 m above sea level. The area of the municipality is 290 km 2 and it inhabits people. The Environmental component lead on Nakuru by Environmental Director Sammy Ngige Kimani has made environmental strategy to the municipality and implementation has started. Improvements have been made in waste management, particularly at the dumping site, where fence trees have been planted. In the successful kitchen garden project of the North South programme composted organic waste is used to grow vegetables for the school kitchen. In the workshop for councillors and officers Dr. Heli Jutila had a presentation about sustainable development work in the City of Hämeenlinna. The main task of that workshop was to plan for the future project proposal. The group was divided to three groups, project administration and management, environmental component and education component. The main targets of the Environmental Component were 1. Clean Nakuru: Reduce waste and improve waste management 2. Green Nakuru and more biodiversity 3. Environmentally friendly model street 4. Environmental issues are considered in all decision making processes. The visit include a visit to the Gyoto dumping site, SCEP premises and NAWACO, a cooperative, which is produces fertilizer out of organic waste. There was also a safari in the Nakuru Lake National Park and possibility to visit the Giraffe Centre in Nairobi. 3

5 1. DAY: Sunday 28th of February 2010 I flew with Educational Director of the City of Hämeenlinna Mika Mäkelä and Karita Immonen Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities from Helsinki-Vantaa through Amsterdam to Nairobi, where the day flight landed at on We were welcomed by the Heidi Piilola and Terhi Lahdenpohja, who had arrived about one week before and the local co-ordinator Gladys Pkemei and controller Jane. We drove to Nairobi Sports Hotel, where rooms had been booked for us. After refreshing we had a short chat before going to sleep. Next morning I had a walk in the garden of the old and dignified Hotel and spotted several plant species: Among the trees were Acacia xanthophloea, Araucaria excelsa, Eucalyptus globulus, Grewillea robusta and flowering Jacaranda mimosifolia. Palm Phoenix reclinata reached high up. Of the other bushes I marked Abutilion x hybridum, Albizia julibrissin, Callistemon chinensis, Cassia spectabilis, another Cassia, Combretum molle, Nerium oleander, Pisidium guava, Plumeria alba and Thevetia thevetioides. Vines included Bougainvillea and Tecomaria capensis. Flowering plants were Agapanthus africanus, Asphodelus ssp., Coleus ssp., Hibiscus rosa-chinensis, Lantana camara and Pelargonium. Exotic Agave americana, Cereus peruvianus, Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum belonged also to the flora as well as Cyperus papyrus, Stipa, Ficus, Euphorbia pulcherrima, E. tirucalli, Monstera and Tradescantia ssp.. Familiar Thlaspi alpestre was flowering. I also recorded some birds: hadada iibis (Bostrychia hagedash), Corvus monedula, house sparrow (Passer domesticus), common fiscal (Lanius collaris), olive trush (Turdus olivaceus). About 10 o clock we left the hotel first to visit giraffe centre and to make some shopping in Nairobi before leaving to Nakuru. The African Fund for Endangered Wildlife in Kenya (A.F.E.W Kenya Ltd) also known as the Giraffe Centre is a non-profit making organisation, which was founded by the late Betty and Jock Lesilie Melville in The late Betty, Jock's American born wife, had earlier discovered the sad plight of the Rothschild giraffe and there were only 120 left on an 18,000 acre ranch in Western Kenya that was scheduled for sub-division and settlement. The first effort to save this sub-species was to bring two young giraffes to their property in Langata Nairobi and later Betty founded AFEW USA. Funds were raised to move five giraffe groups to different safe areas in Kenya namely; Lake Nakuru National Park, Mwea National Game Reserve, Ruma National Park and Nasalot Game Reserve. Funds raised by AFEW USA also built the Giraffe Centre and have bought 60 acres, and is in the process of buying 40 more acres for the Sanctuary. The centre s vision is to be the leading wildlife conservation education organisation for the youth of Kenya. It provides support for environmental education programmes, to help wildlife conservation efforts with special emphasis on endangered species and to promote sustainable environmental conservation. In the centre you can feed and photograph giraffes and also buy things in the shop. In the centre we heard a presentation about giraffes. They are found in the semi-arid regions of Africa, where trees and bushes are plentiful. Today there are eight distinct sub-species of Giraffes in Africa. In Kenya there are the Rothschild Giraffe, which is the rarest, the Maasai Giraffe of Southern Kenya, which is the most commonly seen, and the Reticulated Giraffe of Northern Kenya. They live to be twenty to thirty years old. Their main enemy is man. The main defence is their keen eyesight, running speed (up to 55 km/per hour) and their powerful kicks. 4

6 In the centre I spotted a pigeon or a dove and detected some tree species: Calodendrum capense, Nerium oleander, Ochna holstii, Olea africana, O. capensis, Podocarpus falcatus and Vitex keniensis. Heli feeding a giraffe in giraffe centre. Nature conservation areas in Kenya. After a visit to a pearl shop we headed to Nakuru and stopped on the way to have a look at the Rift Valley View point. Mango tree (Magnifera indica), kahki plant (Tagetes minuta), abutilion (Abutilion theoprasti), cape chestnut (Calotropis procera) were recorded. On Sunday the traffic in Nairobi was much better than on weekdays and we managed to drive through the City in a due course of time. The surroundings of Nairobi are densely populated and the capital has about 3.5 million inhabitants. On the way it was raining, and actually the weather had been quite rainy also during previous week. Since Christmas it has been raining more than usually at this time of year, but before Christmas it had been untypically dry for two years in Kenya and many lakes, among them Lake Nakuru had lost a lot of their water, which is luckily partly now replenished. The traffic was partly quite wild and we saw many dangerous passing situations. We booked in Merika hotel in the City centre approximately at 17 pm and were received rooms at 4. Floor. I had a short swim in the pool and saw Strelizia reginae, Ravenala madagaskariensis and Hovea forsteriana. I took a hot shower and washed my hair. I practiced my presentation for Tuesday. The Town Clerk Sheik Abdullah and several civil servants provided us with a welcome dinner. We discussed about several issues during the dinner. Kenya was regarded as a more developed, but also more violent country than Tanzania. After the dinner I sketched the environmental programme for the future project and wrote the speech to be kept at school on Monday. Nakuru belongs to the Rift Valley Province and Nakuru district. The area of the municipality is 290 km 2 and inhabits people. Nakuru is third biggest town in Kenya and is located about 1200 m above sea level. In Finland when preparing for the visit I sent a questionnaire about the main environmental issues to be answered. The worst problems in Nakuru Municipality are according to the Environmental Director 1) solid waste generation, storage, collection and transportation, 3) pollution (noise, air, water) and 3) poor sanitation. To improve the situation there should be 1) 5

7 awareness creation, capacity building of waste collection firms, 2) enforcement of by laws and 3) researching of cheap and appropriate sanitation technology. In Nakuru area the worst problems are 1) drought, 2) deforestation and uncontrolled development. The solutions to these problems would be: 1) innovation in water storage and tree planting, 2) tree planting and burning tree harvesting and 3) land use planning and enforcement of development control. As the worst problems in Kenya were mentioned 1) drought, 2) soil erosion and 3) irregular rainfall patterns. The program for the visit was delivered quite late and it was somewhat preliminary initially. The program was quite un-efficient for some of the persons, but after feed-back it was improved. As the Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai has said trees and more precisely forests are water towers, which are much responsible for the rainfall. The small forests cover of Kenya (under 2%) was very much in the hotspot of news. There are plenty of curio shops just outside the Merica hotel along the main road. In the Merika Hotel garden I recorded Araucaria excelsa, Monstera, Howea forsteriana, Cyperus papyrus, Phoenix reclinata, Parietaria, Ravenala madagaskariensis, Coleus and Cordyline. Of the birds I noticed hadada ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) and masked weaver (Ploceus velatus). 2. DAY: Monday 1th of March 2010 On Monday we walked to the new town hall. On the way I saw a blue-naped moosebird (Urocolius macrourus), black kite (Milvus migrans) and speckled pigeon (Columba guinea). In the port there was a billboard announcing that this is a corruption free zone, as in all other municipalities in Kenya. We had a courtesy call with the Deputy Mayor Joseph Munyiri Ngure, Town Clerk Sheik Abdullah and Deputy Town Clerk Linette Abdallah. We had tee and discussed also with the Municipal Education Officer Yugi Millicent, Josephine Ondieki, Council Chairman and Administrative officer, Jane. The Mayor had been in Nairobi and had a small accident, but was recovering. I asked about the other international co-operation partners and projects of Nakuru. The World Bank has a sanitation, drainage and capacity building project and the Dutch are dealing with Ecosan toilettes. When I asked about the long-distance public transportation e.g. from Nakuru to Nairobi I was told that The Ministry of Local Government is responsible and Nakuru is cooperating with ten other municipalities. Pamela Rispa told that she is working with social services and counselling. I learned that lati is funding system for municipalities, which allows to collect tax from businesses as fees. The salary based taxes, however, go to the national government. Gladys Pkemei guided us next to the old Town Hall, where we had presentations during the morning. First the Town Clerk talked what has occurred in the project up till now. Beautification was the theme in the first project In the ongoing project the school kitchen garden is probably the most known topic. The seminar was attended by about twenty officers and politicians, among them the Deputy Mayor, the Environmental Committee Chair Fanel Onim and the Assistant co-ordinator Joseph Mujengure. Karita Immonen spoke about the principles for funding in AFLRA. Mika Mäkelä showed first a video about feelings and sceneries year around in Hämeenlinna and then presented the enlargement and organization change to buyer producer and life cycle model in the City administration. According to the program I was supposed to go to the Kyoto dumping site and Menangai Crater Buffer Zone, but unfortunately heavy rains during the afternoon made us to drop those plans. 6

8 In front of the old Town Hall there was a tree nursery, where at least Phoenix reclinata, Ficus elastica and Acacias were growing. We had a lunch at Cathay Hotel, where Jacaranda mimosifolia, Plumeria alba, Canna spectabilis, and Aeschynanthus were flowering. Nakuru emblem. Later we drove to the Racetrack Primary School, which is the pilot school in the project. We were welcomed by MEO Millicent Yugi and Josephine Ondieki. We saw that the school area was quite green and trees had been planted here and there. The primary school includes classes from one to eight and in addition preschool and Kindergarten in the same compound. There are about 900 children. There were toilettes for different aged children, the newest ones for the very small preschool children from tree years to five years. Mika Mäkelä participated with the Town Clerk in the opening ceremony of these toilettes. Then we learned about the school kitchen garden project, which was initially started by the Environmental Club of the School in the North South programme after some years of encouragement from the Finnish side. The idea is to use composted organic waste in growing vegetables for the school kitchen. The pupils get each day a meal paid by their parents (20 KSh/meal). However, there are even 70 orphans or poor, who do not afford and are provided with free lunch. The pupils have been learning to grow their own food. The first compost of the market place organic waste transported to the school was made in June The compost was almost ready on The planting beds were laid on according to the advice of the Agricultural Extension Officer. The first seedlings started to germinate on and the first spinach crop was harvested in November The media became very interested, and the national TV made a document about the kitchen garden (Marie Stevsi). The field is divided to small plots nursed together by two pupils. Their task is to water, kept the field clean of weeds and to harvest. Rice and beans are grown in addition to spinach. Water is recycled in the school compound, thus hand washing water is used for watering plants. Environmental Club patrons are Brizes Kimori and Joll Dogo. They wished for tanks to allow easy watering of the plants. The kitchen garden includes also the agro-forestry ideology meaning 7

9 that trees are planted sparsely to the field. The trees most used have been silky oak (Grewillea robusta), bottle brush (Callistemon citrinus var. splendens) and C. megalocarpa, which however are exotics. One task of the environmental club has been grass planting, which makes the school area greener and also less erosive and dusty. We visited the preschool. The Kindergarten children were singing and dancing for us. Then we checked the scout group in a dignified manner. We had a chance to see the North-South cooperation labels in several places in the school area showing what had bee built, donated and made by Finnish students. The whole school staff and pupils were then collected in an orderly manner to the school yard opening with the flag. Speeches were given one of which was mine and in it I praised the school of its grate success in environmental issues and wished for even better future. Gathering to Racetrack school yard. Ring dance in Racetrack preschool. In the evening we first went to shop in the super market, then I finalized my presentation and then we had a lunch together with the Finnish delegation. 3. DAY: Tuesday 2th of March 2010 In the Tuesday s program we had a workshop, which was opened by the Town Clerk. Gladys Pkemei spoke about the objectives of the workshop and Dr. Heli Jutila of the sustainable development work in the City of Hämeenlinna. After this the participants, which included councillors and officers, formed groups according to the components. The task was to plan for the future project proposal. We were divided to three groups, project administration and management, environmental component and education component. In environmental component group we first listed the activities conducted during year 2009: 1. Refreshing environmental strategy. Strategic environmental sanitation plan was adopted by the council person from the environment department and waste collection firms were trained on solid waste management persons were trained on landscaping, vegetation management and beautification. 4. Lake Nakuru Buffer Zone plan was done. 5. Six eco-demonstration technology pilots have been documented on video. 6. At the Gyoto dump site, hedges have been planted to filter plastic papers flowing to the road and also landscaping has been done. 8

10 The participants in the environmental component group were Julius Mungi, Town Engineer Fanuel Aim, councillor, Chairman of Environment Sammy Ngige Kimani, Director of Environment Willy Ketes, Municipal Planner The planned activities for years in the Environmental component of Nakuru Hml co-operation included: 1. Clean Nakuru, Reduce waste, Better waste management a. Enforcing the environmental laws and by-laws more effectively both in South and in North South enforcement officers are trained. Gender balance is ensured (10 female + 15 male) Topics: Physical planning act (building code), council by-law on planning, Nakuru environmental management by-law, public health act, EMCA, fire safety by-laws. Trainers: officers (self-finanzing), trainers (5000 KSh/day) from outside (2-3). Time schedule: training for 3 day, but not in a continuous manner, possibility to apply the learned in the field and also to take messages from the trainers to the course (venue , lunches , material 15000) North Seminar in Finland about environmental law and by-law enforcement for the environmental officers and police Topics: Environmental protection law and acts etc., municipal environmental by-laws, land use and construction law and act, building code Trainers: officers (self-finanzing 4), trainers (200 euros/h*5) from outside (2-3). b. Training personnel to manage new landfill in Nakuru. 46 officers and all councillors are trained (15 male, 10 female, 21 civic leaders). Outside expert (5000), venue (15 000), lunches (45 000), mat. (5000) c. Raise awareness among people about sorting/ separating of waste. Litter bins are procured to allow sorting of the waste (6000 KSh/each). One residential estate is equipped each year (5 bins along the avenues). Posters (680 KSh x 80 each year), billboards (3 x 9000 each year KSh) etc. explaining how to sort 2. Green Nakuru and more biodiversity A. Increase the vegetation cover. Plant indigenous trees, shrubs and flowers nearby schools, offices and along roads. a. Establishing a new nursery and maintaining an old nursery in the MCN. Fencing the new nursery with a chain link and installing an underground water tank. Fencing old nursery with a chain link and installing an underground water tank. Growing, watering and maintenance 8 months Seeds and seedlings are distributed to public institutions, schools (Fuel cost of trucks to carry distribute 2000 KSh/trip) Model plastic greenhouse b. Brochure on proper tree planting (also published in net) 9

11 B. Protect the left green areas and watersheds (conservation areas, parks), Save the left green areas (conservation areas). a. Seminar on trees, parks and green environment in the city. (7 female, 14 male, 4 communities, 11 CBOs; at least 30 % of participants female) Trainers: landscape planner, ecologist, health officers, one day or afternoon, lunches, mat. 3. Environmentally friendly model street, Environmental issues are holistically addressed on Club Road. a. Procuring a db meter b. Better waste management. 10 litter bins to sort waste. (6000 KSh/each) Informatory / prohibitory signs (2000 KSh + setting up) 4 along the road: waste collection, sweeping, no littering, trees in a city etc.) c. Landscape and environmental plan for the road including among others colour scheme, model, waste bin location 4. Environmental issues are considered in all decision making processes by individuals & organizations. Environmental awareness creation. a. State of environment reports of both Nakuru and Hameenlinna. ( each) b. Educational materials on environmental issues: 500 pamphlets on How much littering costs? Or How to reduce the amount of waste? (30 KSh) A2 posters (55 KSh) Eco-toilettes and sanitation A calendar about the environmental issues (information about eco-toilettes, wastes, parks, trees, plants, animals ) (400 KSh) Video about Building Green Model Road in Nakuru (distribution CD, internet) c. Environmental management process development (workshops, peer-review, overview tables of environmental administrations tasks, work visits and training for officers and politicians)(2 persons from Nakuru to Hml and two from Hml to Nakuru each year) d. Review of environmental strategies in Hml and Nakuru Workshops, stakeholder meetings, data to be collected Printing copies of Environmental Strategy and distributing them to stakeholders e. Employee/Colleague Environmental awareness creation Workshops and training volunteers on energy, water, sanitation & hygiene and developing a routine practice manual In education component the planned activities had to do with - Tolerance, gender, global issues - Special education - Education centre - Develop monitoring system - Compositing in primary schools, enhancing environmental health - Sensitize teachers and environmental clubs, 2-3 schools each year - Health education localized health curricula, interviews, surveys, demonstration teams on health - Councillors and business co-operation 10

12 Seminar venue in Nakuru. Seminar venue garden in Nakuru. Seminar venue outdoors Nakuru. 4. DAY: Wednesday 3 rd of March2010 The workshop, which started on Tuesday continued to Wednesday, and the groups presented the results. In afternoon the budget for the future project was planned. The results of the workshop are presented by the components in the appendices 1-3. In the evening the female councillor Rispa invited us to her home to enjoy dinner. We met there four students from Finland, of which two we had briefly seen also earlier on this week. The two students of Hämeenlinna University of Applied Sciences were doing their work training on social service issues. 4. DAY: Thursday 4th of March 2010 On Thursday I had a meeting with Environmental Director Sammy Ngige Kimani and four of his sector leaders. We went through the plan of activities for year 2010 and for the future project together and the participants had a possibility to contribute. In the afternoon Sammy, Heidi, Karita, Mika and I visited some environmental sites. First we went to Gyoto dump site. The new landfill is being built to about 20 kms from the City by Japanese and will soon be ready to be taken into use. Gyoto dump site was very poorly managed landfill. The fence which had been erected in the project after discussions with the local people had been broken and stolen. During 2009 new seedling had been planted and protected with spiny scrubs to stop the plastic bags to be blown from the dump site to the town. The road to the landfill was poor and there was even fire on the road. Landfill smelled awful. Marabou storks and pigs were digging waste. On the east corner of the landfill there was a community. Some of the people get their living in sorting waste and colleting things in the landfill. The crop plants planted on the dump site were looking lush and green, but they may not necessarily be too healthy. 11

13 In the left: Burning waste in the Gyoto landfill and scenery to the town. On the right: Gyoto landfill and huts on the side. Next we went to the premises of Nakuru County Council, where also the office of SCEP was located. We met the Director of SCEP Jonathan Kimuge and three other persons working in SCEP, who told us about their project work. In the ECMAC project Environmental conservation and environmental management awareness is created. From October 2008 to July 2010 in St. Mary primary school environmental activities have been organized (e.g. environmental competition, in which the prize was a water tank, participation to the world environmental week and cleaning sites of waste). Training on composting has been organized with Ministry of Agriculture and Nawacom. World wetland's day was organized with Kenya Wildlife Service. SCEP provides training and business management skills for businesses. SCEP aims to community senzitation. It tries to make apparent, why thing should be done and what choices there are. One new area of senzitation is wind energy. It had started raining heavily. Later it appeared that the flood which we saw on the roads was pretty serious and some people even lost their homes and one child was about to drown. On the left: Listening to SCEP presentations. On the right: Heavy rain in Nakuru on Thursday Next we visited NAWACOM, which is recycling organic waste. It produces fertilizer of composted organic waste. The business idea is to close nutrient loop. The co-operative, a CBO, which is currently a limited company, started on The company is still in the development 12

14 phase. Research is needed to certify the production. The company is lacking training and has problems with marketing. The future plan is to certify a standard, buy own premises and a vehicle. Currently, NAWACOM employs 1-2 persons, a production manager and a secretary. Some people use the product and appreciate it. There are 102 owners in the limited company. NAWACOM is co-operating with the institute for organic farming, Rosa. In Merika hotel I recorded pied crow (Corvus albus), superb starling (Lamprotornis superbus) and black kite (Milvus migrans). 5. DAY: Friday 5th of March 2010 On Friday morning 6:30 we headed to Lake Nakuru National Park. We had a good morning safari and managed to spot impalas (Aepyceros melampus), Thompson gazelles (Eudorcas thomsonii), African buffalos (Syncerus caffer), white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum), reticulated giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata), Maasai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi), zebras (Equus quagga), defassa waterbucks (Kobus ellipsiprymnus defassa), black-faced vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops), rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis), Rueppels long-tailed starlings (Aplonis magna), African mourning doves (Streptopelia decipiens), crowned plovers (Vanellus coronatus), stilts (Himantopus ssp.), plovers, drongos (Dicrusrus), yellow-billed storks (Mycteria ibis) and pink ink-flowers (Cycnium tubulosum). During the lunch time we had the farewell dinner. The event was lead by Councillor Damaris and other speakers were Mayor, Town Clerk, Gladys, Mika, Karita and Millicent. Presents were changed and prayed. After that we drove to Nairobi. We flew from Nairobi on this same evening and were back in Finland on 6 th of March. Thanks I want to take this opportunity and thank on my part and also on the part of the whole Finnish team all the people we met during the visit and particularly Gladys Pkemei for her work to make the visit successful and fruitful. We wish you a lot of energy and courage to do your work in challenging conditions. 13

15 Lake Nakuru NP waterfalls. Flamingos in Lake Nakuru NP scenery. Hyeena in Lake Nakuru NP. Wet grassland in Nakuru Lake NP after rain. 14