It was the first time it was happening to an African woman: the honor of receiving the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize for ‘contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace’.
The first East African woman to receive a PhD, after completing a doctorate in Veterinary Anatomy from the University of Nairobi in 1971, the same University in which an Institute dedicated to peace and environmental studies bearing her name would be established 38 years on. A lot has been said about her in life and legacy. More are being said and much more will be said.
Third anniversary
On Thursday 25 September, environmentalists, political activities and community leaders joined at Karura forest, a forest bearing the contribution of Wangari Maathai, to mark her second anniversary and mostly her contribution to environmental conservation.
Maathai actively campaigned against excision of part of the Karura forest to accommodate private developers in the oppressive KANU regime, besides other forests and water towers in the country. It was on one of those tree planting demonstration campaigns on 8 January 1999 alongside other women that a large group of armed security guards attacked and injured many of them, including Maathai, who suffered head injuries in the ambush.
The questions
Three years are gone since she succumbed to ovarian cancer, but are Kenyans following in her footsteps? Are Kenyans dedicate to the cleaver of truth politically and most importantly, are Kenyans aware of their role in managing and conserving the environment?
Deplorable state
I think it is time Kenyans match talks with actions. A quick peek at most middle-income estates in Nairobi paints a sorry state of our environmental awareness: plastic wastes are thrown away carelessly, open sewage channels, with stagnant effluents building up into a messy reservoir.
One would see a shopkeeper who throws plastic wastes on the road! One would find a poultry farmer who carelessly throws farm wastes on the road. The sum total of these is an eyesore that pollutes the air and the soil alike.
Missing links
Deliberate informative environmental awareness campaigns need be carried out in these places. In addition, media houses should carry out environmental awareness campaigns as corporate social responsibility exercise. All avenues should be exhausted to ensure that in every household member it is engraved the sense for environmental conservation and protection. If knowledge is power, then let us empower the people. It is worth the investment.
The county government of Nairobi City should enforce existing bylaws on environmental conservation. The Nairobi City County Governor Evans Kidero in July announced monthly City clean-up exercise.
We should all seek to use this opportunity to make a positive impact on lives now and in the future. Moreover, strict environmental policies should be enacted to put huge fines on people who are irresponsible with waste disposal. In the policies, Sub-county environmental office should be established with full powers to prosecute non-compliance. The property developers who own these apartments should bear some cost of clearing sewage that remains stagnant close to their premises.
These should be included in policies to ensure that not only the present but also the coming generations are not disadvantaged in their desire to use the same resources, because of our usage (referred to as ‘intergenerational and intergenerational equity’ respectively, in Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act, 1999).
Personal responsibility
The duty of conserving the environment, just like nature calls, is one that cannot be delegated to anyone. We are all to exercise responsibility. We are already at a disadvantage due to the non-biodegradable plastic packages we use. We can only make it better by integrating the practice of disposing it off responsibly, recycling or reusing.
Releasing plastic bags into sewage systems is irresponsible. No research need be conducted to reveal that it is plastic wastes that mostly clog sewage systems, an act responsible for the many bursts on sewage pipes due to pressure build up. Some of this sewage material even flood residential apartments.
Recently, some residents of Umoja in Eastlands Nairobi barricaded part of Moi Drive in protest against alleged indolence by Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company in inspecting manholes and sewer pipes. Who remembered their part in the mess? We sometimes cause our own problems and count it irresponsibility on part of others. We must change.
It is time we stand as one to protect, conserve and manage the environment. We draw all our life from it. We derive all our food from it. It supplies all the oxygen we need. We should not make it hard for the environment to sustain us.
We should always remember that whatever we put in in the environment come back to us, either in food, air we breathe, or water we drink. The global record high rent rates in Nairobi may just be covering the maintenance costs of such pipes after wearing out or replacement after burst.
Easy choice
Even as we look forward to the authorities’ intervention, we should remember every one of us enjoys the benefits, or suffers the miasma related to environmental conservation and degradation respectively. Our environment is our life, hence our responsibility.
