Under the theme, Life and Livelihoods, this World Oceans Day (8 June 2021) launches a decade of challenges to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 14 to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources, by 2030. Here, UNEP looks at a project to restore a critical water route in Kenya.
Frances Karisa is standing in the middle of the Malindi-Sabaki estuary, a stretch of Kenyan coast where the Sabaki River empties into the Indian Ocean.
“In the 1970s, this area was all bush,” says Karisa, an official in the nearby town of Malindi, gesturing uphill towards the paved roads, businesses, and shops that dot Malindi’s streets. In recent decades, the town has experienced a surge in population, which has taken a toll on the estuary, a collection of mangroves, sandbanks, dunes, and freshwater pools.
Residents have chopped down the mangroves that used to cover the estuary’s banks. Miners scoop away the estuary’s sand, potentially impacting water quality, biodiversity and vegetation. Fishers use of mosquito nets, whose small holes trap even small, immature fish, further disrupt the estuary’s ecosystem.
“People used to live far from the estuary and only occasionally came to the water for fishing. There were elephants, monkeys, buffaloes,” Karisa says. “(But) slowly, the landscape began to change and was emptied of animals.”
Now, a new project, supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is aiming to restore the health of the estuary while creating new economic opportunities for local residents. Over the past year, it has seen conservationists replant more than 10,000 mangroves and persuade dozens of fishers to use legal fishing gear. Teams, with the involvement of the local community, are also working to map and delineate the estuary and improve solid waste management in Malindi.
High eco-tourism potential
“There’s high eco-tourism potential here if we just take action to safeguard the estuary’s biodiversity,” said Francis Kagema of Nature Kenya, a conservation group.
Natura Kenya, Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority, the Kilifi County Government, Kenya Forest Service, the State Department of Fisheries, and Wildlife Services, and the Water Resources Authority are leading the project.
The initiative is grounded in what’s known as integrated coastal zone management, a process that aims to involve many stakeholders in the planning, management, conservation and protection of coastal and marine ecosystems. It is designed to optimize benefits from these resources, specifically for local communities, while preventing environmental degradation and minimizing conflicts.
A successful project in Sabaki could have impacts across the wider Western Indian Ocean region, where 60 million people live within 10 km of the ocean. Many are dependent on marine and coastal ecosystems and resources, which are increasingly under threat of over-exploitation. The project will also help Kenya achieve its targets under Sustainable Development Goal 14.2, under which it committed to sustainably manage and protect its marine and coastal ecosystems.
The initiative is being funded by the Global Environment Facility through the Implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the Protection of the Western Indian Ocean from Land-Based Sources and Activities project (WIOSAP), executed by the Nairobi Convention.
Milestone for restoration
A rehabilitated Sabaki estuary, with a revitalized mangrove forest, restored fish stock, and improved water quality will also be a key accomplishment during the upcoming UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global push to revive natural spaces that officially launches on 5 June, World Environment Day.
“Restoring ecosystems like estuaries is vital in order to continue benefiting from the critical ecosystem services they provide,” said Jared Bosire, Nairobi Convention Project Manager. “Not only do they protect biodiversity, but they also filter pollutants, thereby protecting human health, and act as a storm buffer, protecting our businesses, homes, and economies.”
The project is also reducing land-based stresses on the environment by protecting critical habitats, improving water quality, and managing river flows. The convention, part of UNEP’s Regional Seas Programme, serves as a platform for governments, civil society and the private sector to work together for the sustainable management and use of the Western Indian Ocean.
By the end of the project in June 2022, partners hope to have newly-trained fishers employing legal fishing gear, a restored mangrove forest, improved solid waste management in Malindi, and a local community empowered to work in eco-tourism.
For more information on WIOSAP and UNEP’s work in International Waters, contact Angela Patnode (angela.patnode@un.org).
The United Nations General Assembly has declared the years 2021 through 2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Led by UNEP and the Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN Decade is designed to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. It will draw together political support, scientific research and finance to scale up restoration with the goal of reviving millions of hectares of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Explore UNEP’s work on preserving ecosystems, including forests, blue carbon ecosystems, peatlands, coral reefs and more.
