Policy Briefs

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Browsing Policy Briefs by Subject "Environment"

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    Mangrove Degradation: Reversing the Trend through Community Engagement
    (University of Nairobi, 2020-01) Wang'ondu, Virginia
    More than 3,000 fish species, crabs, shrimps, prawns, molluscs, and oysters, among others, live, shelter and breed in the mangrove forests. Marine fishing is an important economic activity and a major income earner, producing 8,000 tons of marine fish, generating KES 100 million annually, and contributing approximately 0.5 per cent of all the goods and services produced in the country. Marine fish is also an important protein source for inland and coastal communities. Destruction and clearance of mangrove forests through logging and over-harvesting directly affects inshore and offshore commercial fisheries through lack of food and loss of shelter and breeding grounds for most fish, threatening their survival. Also, the decline in fish numbers causes a loss of vital income and a much-needed protein source, resulting in malnutrition and food insecurity. In Kenya, the losses are estimated at KES 582 million every year for inshore fisheries within the mangroves.
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    Revisiting Kenya’s Ban on Plastic Carrier Bags
    (University of Nairobi, 2020-05) Geoffrey, Elmah; Mutune, Jane
    Plastic waste is one of Nairobi’s and, to a greater extent, Kenya’s most visible environmental problems, with most of the flooding witnessed in cities attributed to plastic waste that clogs drainage systems; key among them are plastic carrier bags. These are lightweight, non-biodegradable materials that take ages to decompose. They reduce the aesthetic value of both the natural and physical environment and have since proven to have negative impacts on marine life, livestock and human beings. It is estimated that in their lifetime, livestock ingests an average of 2.5 kgs of plastics, and this has been attributed to losses in the meat industry. Kenya introduced the ban through Gazette notice No. 2356 in 2017. At the time of introduction, about 1 million plastic bags were consumed annually in supermarkets alone. Nairobi City County generates over 2,400 tonnes of waste daily and has alluded to its inability to manage the waste, which mostly consists of food and plastics. Half the waste goes to the Dandora dumpsite, while the remaining waste is either illegally dumped or left uncollected.