Agency faults building of berths at Lamu Port

By AWADH BABO

As the Government steps up plans for the construction of the first three berths of the proposed Lamu Port, an environment protection agency has cited several loopholes in the project.

The agency says the entire project must be monitored to ensure socio-economic and ecological aspects are addressed.

Consequently, the organisation has pledged to mobilise community-based organisations (CBOs) in Lamu County to agitate for the rights of landowners, fishermen, tourism stakeholders and environmentalists before the construction of the berths.

Last month a Chinese firm won a tender to construct the first three berths at what is billed to be one of Africa’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.

FISHING GROUNDS

 Report titled LAPSSET Environmental, Social, Impact Assessment (ESIA), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) noted that the port construction has the potential to deprive fishermen of their fishing grounds and lead to the reduction of fish stocks due to sedimentation.

 “There is need to define the project area since it is not clear and to indicate the alternative routes used by fishermen to access the fishing grounds,” the report recommends.The report authored by WWF experts was recently presented to different stakeholders in a Lamu hotel to sensitise locals on the impacts and mitigation measures as a result of the Lamu Port project.

The agency’s Project Officer in charge of the Boni/Dodori Sustainable Forest Management Project Samuel Mutahi announced at the weekend that the agency would continue to mobilise local community and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) based in Lamu to sign a petition, calling on the Government to address the concerns.

 Mr Mutahi announced that the agency has so far collected 36 signatures from CBOs, NGOs and environmentalists to fight for the rights of Lamu people before construction of the berths start. WWF further notes that the operationalisation of the new port will lead to population influx occasioned by job seekers and this will likely end up diluting the Lamu Swahili culture.

“Surge in population in Lamu will lead to vices like increased crime rates and general moral decadence, which have not been addressed in the interim Environmental and Social Impact Assessment report made public so far,” said Mutahi.