CS Amina hails AK for committment to conservation

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has lauded Athletics Kenya for their commitment to environmental conservation.

The CS said a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had revealed that the world is not on the right track to meet the 1.5 degrees warming target agreed upon under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

“It’s upon all of us to help the world understand the magnitude of such environmental challenges as air pollution and climate change and the impact on human health and help identify innovations and solutions to overcome these challenges,” said Amina during the signing of the Sport and Environment Memorandum of Understanding by Athletics Kenya (AK) and Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi.

The CS also hailed AK and the United Nations Environment Programme for the installation of the air pollution sensors at Nyayo Stadium and Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi.

Athletics Kenya was one of the member federations that was involved in the World Athletics’ pilot programme to measure and analyse air quality at sporting venues around the world.

An air quality monitor was installed at Kasarani Stadium during the World Athletics Under 20 Championships in 2021. It was used primarily to assess the feasibility of maintaining high-end air quality devices in remote locations.

"As a follow up, the partnership between AK, UNEP, and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) has led to further deployment of several sensors at Nyayo Stadium and Kasarani, and these will not only enable researchers to collect and analyse more data on the impact of air pollution on sports, but also inform mitigation actions, such as planting of trees around these stadiums," AK President Jack Tuwei said.

Athletics Kenya is in a unique position to promote National awareness of the health impact of air pollution and later extend this in Africa and globally.

AK will also seek partnerships to study the correlation between air quality and athlete performance. Some athletics events will have to be scheduled after consideration of pollution levels in cities, time of the day, traffic, solar irradiation and external temperature.

Sports in some of these atmospheric conditions, besides being extremely harmful, does not allow the athletes to perform at their best and ultimately lowers the standard of the competition.

Tuwei also said that the air quality monitors will assist in further research on this subject and they will do whatever they can to protect athletes from the negative effects of air pollution.

According to Dr Philip Osano, the Centre Director, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) Africa, they will also conduct the monitoring of air quality through the installation of air quality sensors in selected stadiums and venues used by athletes for competition and training.