Kenya’s ‘Adopt a river’ initiative lauded at Unep climate meet
Unea President Espen Barth Eide gives his opening address at the start of the Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (Unea 5.2) in Nairobi on February 28, 2022.
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has lauded efforts by youth groups to rehabilitate rivers in Nairobi.
Ms Mohammed spoke yesterday after a visit to a tributary of the Nairobi River in Kawangware.
The visit was part of events lined up for the ongoing United Nations Environmental Assembly.
Ms Mohammed and other delegates praised Adopt a River, an initiative championed by the Rotary Club of Lavington working with eco-warriors.
The project has so far seen more than 200 tonnes of waste, including plastic, removed from about 15 kilometres of the Nairobi river.
The United Nations Environmental Programme (Unep) has since adopted the idea as part of ‘Adopt a River for Sustainable Development’, a wider initiative that seeks to restore and protect freshwater ecosystems through removal of solid and plastic waste from rivers.
Speaking at Kawangware Primary School, Ms Mohammed said the commitment shown by the volunteers involved in the project would go a long way in saving rivers in Kenya, adding that she would take lessons from the project to Nigeria, her home country.
“Should this initiative be adopted by other countries, then we shall have better rivers globally. I’d be happy if Nigerians could do this as well. I am happy that the volunteers are doing this to save not only the rivers but also our health,” she said.
Mr Joe Otin, a rotary representative to the Unep, likened rehabilitation of a river to adoption of a child.
“When you make a commitment to adopt a child, you have to take care of that child. Our child in this case is the river and we have to take care of it,” he said.
“With the Adopt a River programme, we want to go upstream to clean the river. While we are going upstream physically, our ideas too have to be streamlined in that direction. We want to partner with corporations, communities and work with the next generation to save the rivers. We are grateful for Unep as it helps us with the science bit,” he explained.
Rotary Foundation trustee Geeta Manek said Rotarians are known as people of action who try as much as possible to use local solutions to tackle local problems.
“Rotarians are known for putting their boots on the ground and rolling up their sleeves. Adopt a River is just one of those solutions and it has great potential and would have greater success should it be adopted countrywide and even globally,” she said.
The National Environment Management Authority (Nema) blames people living and building on riparian lands, factories, poor waste management and poor planning for the heavy pollution of Nairobi river.
The agency also has an initiative whose goal is to clean the river.
