Simiti si Maendeleo: The Danger of Overlooking the Importance of Green Spaces in Urban Areas and its Effects
In 1989, President Moi, together with the KANU Government, planned to build a complex in Nairobi's Central Business District, with room for KANU headquarters, a conference facility, shopping malls, the defunct Kenya Times newspaper and TV Station among other facilities. The building would be 60 storeys high and the tallest in East Africa, grandiose, facilitative and within the CBD's lung, better known as Uhuru Park.[1]
On the 18th of April 2024, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja included in his handover speech his plan to establish a nightclub within Uhuru Park. He stated that within the park, restaurants and conference centres and a nightclub among other facilities, will be built, as per his proposal.[2] This is after the construction of the expressway just a few years ago, which already cuts through the open-access space in the heart of Nairobi.[3] The governor further proceeded to elaborate on how the opening of a nightclub within the park grounds would work to reduce the amount of noise pollution that results from the establishment of clubs within residential estates in Nairobi.[4]
On the 24th of April 2024, two relatively huge trees along Moi Avenue in the CBD fell as a result of the volume of water that accumulated on the impermeable tarmac roads due to the heavy rains being experienced. This is an effect of several irresponsible decisions including, but not limited to, hiring and employing unqualified ‘professionals’ in administrative offices and private construction companies, and the current obsession with covering many parts of the city’s ground with concrete impermeable materials and compromising vegetation. As scary as it sounds, this occurrence is merely a foreboding of the nearby future in the event that more green spaces are snatched away from an area. Since the rainwater fails to percolate through concrete as effectively as it can through the ground, it sits on the surface and the little that seeps through logs the soils underneath. This brings about a compromise in the soil's integrity and ability to ‘hold things together’. With time, this occurrence causes a decrease in the structural integrity of buildings, which poses great danger to the safety of lives and possessions in the afflicted area.
Additionally, in July 2023, the Kenya Meteorological Department put out an analysis based on expert assessment predicting the onset of El-Niño in several parts of the country at the end of the year and towards the beginning of 2024.[5] Despite this early warning and claims to have set aside funds for the mitigation of this phenomenon, the government was found unprepared when the rains began in around October. Instead, government officials chose to evade accountability as per usual and divert attention to the Met Department, which they blamed for “issuing confusing reports that bring about mixed signals.” The lack of vigilant damage-control measures lead to the destruction of people's property without compensation, a happening that we are still witnessing six months later, since the administrative officials would rather continue looking for another punching bag instead of responsibly mitigating this disaster.
In Unbowed, Professor Wangari Maathai's autobiography, she describes Uhuru Park as “a large green swath …with lawns, paths, boating lake, and stands of trees” that provided “millions of people in Nairobi with a natural environment for recreation, gatherings, quiet walks, or simply a breath of fresh air.”[6] As she recalls, the Nobel Peace Prize winner forestalled the destruction of Uhuru Park, and did so with little support, majorly owing to the fear that the Moi Government had instilled in the Kenyans then. She filed an application in court against the company, which was unfortunately dismissed as the court concluded that the plaintiff (Miss Maathai) had no locus standi to file the suit.[7] Since the litigation attempt failed, Wangari Maathai and a few other passionate environmentalists went to the streets and consistently protested. The determination of these resilient activists got them international attention and support, notwithstanding the fact that they were being attacked by governmental agencies and receiving slurs from politicians amidst their activist practices. In January 1990, Wangari Maathai and her team successfully precluded the KANU government from constructing the Complex.[8]
Green Spaces such as forests and nature parks are very beneficial to the wellbeing of a city. They improve the air quality of an area by filtering pollutants emanating from vehicles and industrial fumes which are prevalent in urban areas. Additionally, they work to reduce heat trapped within the atmosphere, a phenomenon known as the ‘urban heat island effect’, and ‘capture’ precipitation especially when in excess, therefore regulating the climate of an urban area more. The vegetative cover in green spaces also contributes to the conservation of biodiversity by providing a habitat for a wide range of animal and plant species. Karura Forest is a notable example of this. Moreover, green spaces are significant in improving the mental health of individuals and alleviating emotional and psychological stress; all these benefits exhibit the importance of such establishments. Singapore, a city in Asia, has incorporated greenery and favourable environmental practices such as green roofs, botanical gardens and green walkways, and following this practice that has been embedded in the 100% urbanised city, the citizens affirm that the implementation of greenery within the city has positively impacted their lives.[9].
Currently, several parts of Kenya and specifically Nairobi are experiencing flooding due to the construction of improper drainage systems, construction of residential areas on riparian land, overlaying of ground surfaces using impermeable materials and inadequate preparation to mitigate the effects of excessive rainfall. This can be attributed to the lack of urgency by administrative bodies, yes, but a close look reveals that there is a more ubiquitous systemic issue birthing such effects; corruption and political arrogance.
Nonetheless, fellow civilians have come together to assist individuals heavily affected by the floods; through donations and by welcoming the victims into their homes and currently closed institutions, these efforts to provide comfort to affected individuals have been witnessed. Amidst the chaos, communities have stepped up and played their part. However, these resolutions are, truth be told, short-term.
This phenomenon is a societal structural problem that requires effective long lasting solutions. Encouraging and practising more farming and tree planting to increase vegetation cover in urban areas is a sure way to ensure less flooding and other negative impacts of environmental changes.
Additionally, use of permeable materials on driveways and walkways such as porous concrete and gravel in place of impermeable materials such as cement and cabro blocks should be embraced. This would ensure that water can easily be absorbed in the ground, therefore preventing flooding.
Construction on riparian land ought to be countered by reasonable measures. Prospective constructors are to carry out necessary land inspections in accordance with the Survey Act. Any constructions on such land or preparations to do so are to face severe litigative action, such as in the case of Presbyterian Church Of East Africa v Minister Of Lands & 2 Others where the court ruled that the applicants were to halt construction on the piece of land in question as it was considered a riparian reserve, after the Ministry of Lands revoked the institution’s plans to build on the piece of land at Kibarage, Westlands.
Lastly and most importantly, if we are to alleviate the grave effects of excessive rains and flooding among other environmental consequences such as excessive heat, it is imperative that we collectively realise the significance of green spaces in our environment, and subsequently contribute to protecting and caring for them, as the Green Belt Movement and the LSK are doing by demanding that the refurbished Uhuru Park remains as it is, a green outdoor free-access park without further developments.
Nature is self-preserving and it
operates in such a manner that consequences of actions taken upon and against
it are experienced by the human collective. The efforts to conserve green
spaces have been made in previous times, and it is up to ourselves currently,
as responsible citizens and inhabitants of the earth, to care for it by
preventing the destruction of these spaces.
[1] Kamau
Maichuhie, ‘Prof Maathai relentlessly fought State to save Uhuru Park, Karura
Forest’ Nation Media Group (Nairobi,
29 June 2020) <https://nation.africa/kenya/news/gender/prof-maathai-relentlessly-fought-state-to-save-uhuru-park-karura-forest-248616> accessed 7 May 2024.
[2] Moses
Kinyanjui, ‘Sakaja Announces Plan to Build a Nightclub Inside Uhuru Park’ Citizen Digital (Nairobi, 18 April 2024) <https://www.citizen.digital/news/sakaja-announces-plan-to-build-a-nightclub-inside-uhuru-park-n340610> accessed 7 May 2024.
[3] Wanjira Maathai, ‘Hands off our
Uhuru Park, green spaces a matter of life and death’ (The Greenbelt Movement Blog, 31 October 2019) < <https://www.greenbeltmovement.org/node/910> accessed 7 May 2024.
[4] Kinyanjui
(n 2)
[5] Kenya
Meteorological Department, ‘Analysis of El Niño’s Influence on Weather and
Climate in Kenya: A Comprehensive Update’ (July 2023) <https://meteo.go.ke/index.php/search/node?keys=el+ni%C3%B1o> accessed 7 May 2024.
[6] Wangari
Maathai, Unbowed: A Memoir (Knopf
Publishing Group 2006) 204.
[7] Wangari Maathai v Kenya Times Media
Trust Ltd (1989)
[8] Maichuhie
(n 1)
[9] Bas Fransen, ‘The Importance of
Incorporating Green Spaces in Urban Planning’ (EcoMatcher, 13 March 2023)<https://www.ecomatcher.com/the-importance-of-incorporating-green-spaces-in-city-planning/#:~:text=These%20green%20spaces%20have%20significantly,a%20better%20place%20to%20live> accessed 7 May 2024.
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