Our Planet with Anthony Mugo

  Much as the forced displacement of people who have settled along riparian land in Nairobi is painful to those being forced out, it is a necessary measure to make right mistakes that have been made over the years due to poor leadership. No settlement should be allowed on riparian land. Period. One of the main reasons for this is now plain for all to see. Water follows its natural drainage course no matter what may have been erected along natural waterways. Obviously, the heavier the rainfall the more forceful the water and the more damage it causes, the most serious of which is unnecessary loss of human life. Time has, therefore, come for Kenya’s leadership to determine how much distance from a water body should be considered riparian land based on expert advice. Once this is done, this land must be left unsettled and allowed to regenerate naturally and human settlement or cultivation permanently prevented. Current measures being taken to remove people from riparian land in Nairobi

  The current flooding being witnessed in Kenya and the larger East African region caused by unprecedented levels of intense rain has led many to re-focus attention on the negative impact of climate change. The extent and distribution of heavy rains that have affected every corner of the country and caused nearly 200 deaths (by 2 nd May 2024), the displacement of thousands of people and loss of more than 5,000 assorted livestock, has raised questions about the role of the international community in easing the burden borne by developing countries such as Kenya and her East African neighbours. Questions have arisen about global preparedness and capacity to cope, particularly by African, Latin American and Caribbean states and Small Island States and least developed countries, with what are anticipated to be increasing and worsening climate-induced catastrophes. It may be recalled that the topmost agenda of the most recent United Nations Climate Conference (Cop 28) was the operationali