By Robinson Esialimba - Founder & Chair - Public Space Network - 28 October 2024
On December 2nd, 2022 the government launched an ambitious effort to reclaim the rivers of Nairobi as a spine to the city’s blue and green infrastructure for a better urban environment and quality of life. The effort is led by the Nairobi Rivers Commission (NRC) which is mandated to coordinate various state and non-state actors in the new push. However, for those that have been keen followers of developments around the river, they will be quick to note that this is NOT the first ambitious effort to reclaim and regenerate the Nairobi River. There have been previous and even ongoing efforts to reclaim the river. These include: Nairobi River Basin Project (UNEP, 2000); Adopt-A-River Initiative (UNEP and Rotary Clubs, 2019 - ongoing), Nairobi River Regeneration Initiative (UN-Habitat and GoK, 2020 -ongoing); and Urban Rivers Regeneration Programme (NEMA, 2019 – 2024).
None of the above efforts have yielded the outcomes that were anticipated at the commencement of the projects. A review of the project documents reveal one thread and malaise that runs across the multiple initiatives; single agency approach with inadequate riverine community engagement. A single agency was typically given the mandate to drive the regeneration effort and it was assumed that with the right technical support and labour mobilization, the initiatives would pay off. The communities that live along the river were seen as beneficiaries rather than key stakeholders or even the stewards of the change process.
If nothing else, the failure or limited impact of the past initiatives clearly dictates that a different approach is not only desirable but is imperative if this new initiative is going to be successful. It is therefore very encouraging to see that the NRC has taken a more proactive approach and has established a multi-stakeholder platform bringing together multiple state and non-state actors at the national and county government level with a view to coordinating the efforts of the different actors. The NRC has also made commendable efforts to map the different communities that live along the river. However, a quick assessment of what is happening on the ground suggests that there is insufficient collaboration, especially among the state actors sitting in the various multi-stakeholder task forces that are being coordinated by the NRC. There is also without doubt insufficient engagement of the riverine communities in addressing those factors contributing to the pollution of the river. We make this argument based on our own primary observations of what is happening on the ground during our regular river tours.
As the Public Space Network (PSN), we have undertaken multiple assessments of the sections of the river with a focus on Zone 4 and Zone 5 where we have established the strongest community relationships. Zone 4 starts from near Gikomba Market and ends in Dandora Phase 4 where we have the not so well known Dandora Water Falls. Our last assessment was conducted on 17 and 18 of October 2024. The assessment was firstly aimed at updating our knowledge of the condition of the river and the riparian areas in the targeted sections of the river. Secondly, we wanted to assess any ongoing regeneration interventions both within the river and in the riparian sections. Finally, we wanted to continue strengthening existing relationships with youth groups that are emerging from the riverine communities in those sections whom we view as indispensable to the regeneration efforts.
Our ground assessment revealed a number of challenges which suggest that despite the stated formal government position mobilizing multi-stakeholder intervention and community engagement, much more could be done. If the current approaches are not revised, there is a very real danger of existing interventions suffering the same fate as previous interventions and essentially setting ourselves up for failure. Our assessment revealed a number of gaps which if addressed would drive the regeneration efforts much more rapidly and would deliver impact at a faster pace than what we are currently observing. What is even more remarkable is that while our recommendations are very simple and even at no cost, their impact could be far reaching. So what are these recommendations?
Relocate Nairobi County Waste Collection Points away from the riparian zones: The Nairobi County government does not have a proper waste management system for the city. Consequently, within informal settlements, it has licensed youth groups to collect waste from households and deposit the waste in what is known as Collection Points or Holding Centres for future collection at an undefined date by the county. We observed several designated Collection Points along the river. Frustratingly, often the waste is allowed to pile for weeks on end and inevitably slips into the river, exacerbating the solid waste problem. Relocating these Collection Points away from the river would significantly reduce the amount of solid waste that ends up in the river. The Nairobi County Government county needs to urgently un-designate ALL Collection Points that are within 30 metres of the river and find alternative locations - there are plenty of options. This is a highly impactful administrative decision that comes at literally zero cost. PSN has meticulously mapped out all the Collection Points located within Zone 4 and 5 of the river.
Fully integrate Youth Groups and NOT just individual youths in monitoring waste management in riparian zones: During our tours, we saw youth under the Climate Worx (CW) Mtaani program launched by the president in action under the supervision of NYS officers. The youth did not have any clear targets and some of them self-reported that they had been working in the same area for weeks and there was no notable progress. This was also evident from a quick observation. This is partly because of lack of clear targets and poor supervision.
Climate Worx Mtaani Youth kicking off the regeneration of Nairobi River. It was also in part because some of the waste that they cleared was immediately replaced by more waste from the surrounding community who do not have proper waste disposal alternatives. Whereas we commend the government for recruiting youth from the local area to undertake their Climate Worx assignments within their own localities, we call for the government to go beyond engaging individuals and actually engage with Youth Groups. Individual youths are paid a daily stipend as long as they show up for work. They have no vested interest in demonstrating progress, indeed they have an inverted interest in NOT having progress because they can work for more days. Youth Groups on the other hand thrive by demonstrating impact. They are keen on showing progress. They know who dumps waste at a given place and what time they do it. Moving beyond individual youth and engaging Youth Groups within the riparian sections and empowering them to be local waste monitors could literally get rid of SISYPHUS conundrum that the Climate Worx team finds themselves in. Again, this is a simple administrative decision with high impact and low cost. This is an approach that PSN has used severally over the last ten years with great success.
Enforce connection of sewerage systems to the area sewer lines. It was a pleasant surprise to notice that within the river corridor in areas that we monitor, there were already government efforts to establish sewer lines. Although more could be done, the already existing sewer systems, if fully utilized, would greatly reduce the amount of raw sewage that is discharged directly into the river from households. The challenge is that quite a number of households which are bordering the river have deliberately chosen to bypass the sewer lines and discharge directly into the river. This is in order for them to avoid the costs associated with connecting to the sewer line. The local national government officers know about this mischief, the county officers are fully aware yet no action is being taken against those culpable. We have received plausible information that this evasion is done in connivance with relevant officers with inducements on offer. NRC should activate its coordination mandate to hold national and county government actors accountable for raw sewage discharge into the river happening within their areas. PSN has meticulously mapped out all the raw sewage discharge points located within Zone 4 and 5 of the river. This is yet again another low cost administrative intervention that could deliver high impact.
Enforce the riparian zones demarcation lines: The national government coordinated the demolition of thousands of households in informal settlements deemed to have encroached on riparian sections. This mostly happened in the months of May to July 2024. As we did our assessments in October, approximately three months later, we observed a surge of private developers encroaching once more into the riparian zones. There is a need for urgent action by the government. Firstly, those who are encroaching are doing this with the full knowledge of National Government Officers (NGAO). Those officers should be held accountable for any encroachment happening within their jurisdiction. The lives and property that were lost during the demolitions should not be in vain and neither should they allow us to go back to a time when demolitions should be necessary once again. This is yet another administrative decision with low cost and high impact.
Share and allow public participation for government plans along the riparian zones: Finally, the government should very quickly declare their plans for the riparian zones and engage the communities to implement those plans. One of the factors contributing to re-encroachment is the lack of publicly available plans of what the government proposes to do within the recovered riparian zones.
PSN engaged in dialogue with NYS officers At the moment, stakeholders with a keen interest in the river regeneration process are informed that there are government plans for the riparian sections but the documents detailing the plans cannot be shared to allow full public participation and implementation by the affected communities. This needs to change. This approach assumes the government as the single driver of the regeneration process with the riverine communities as beneficiaries. We have a rich history from previous initiatives that demonstrate that this approach is dead on arrival. All key stakeholders should be given full access to the relevant documents and allow a robust engagement. The sooner there is clarity on proposed interventions on the riparian zones, the sooner the interventions can begin and stem the re-encroachment that is now becoming pervasive along the river. And you guessed it right - another low cost administrative intervention.
The Public Space Network (PSN) together with other civil society organizations and private sector players are fully committed to the river regeneration process. PSN has undertaken a detailed assessment of the river in Zones 4 and 5 and will soon make public our Riverlife Atlas project that will give detailed visual visibility to the condition of the Nairobi River and all ongoing initiatives to support the regeneration of the river. As one of the actors, PSN with the support of Dreamtown NGO from Denmark and in collaboration with UN-Habitat will be implementing the Cool Waters project within zones 4 and 5 of the Nairobi River which aims to improve the climate resilience and adaptation of the riverine communities along the river.
Whereas regeneration of the Nairobi River basin appears to be a mammoth task, it is our argument that some simple low or free of cost administrative interventions by relevant government agencies could deliver high impact. Is there the political will to push these through? Only time and action will tell!
Comments