Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts

Environmentalist Playlist: 5 Green Spaces in Nairobi

City Park, The future.
It is certain that there are fewer and drastically hard to find areas where one can sit quietly and simply listen to the birds sing, walk barefoot in the grass or simply lie under the shade of a tree and take a nap. Communing with nature is becoming a luxury fewer and fewer people can experience, especially for the vast populations of people now crammed in cities. As our cities expand and we build taller buildings, wider roads, pillage the land for fuel and cut into nature to accomodate our unsustainable growth, we are losing touch with nature. Although there are some green spaces still left, they exist because the champions amongst us dared to fight for the land and hence our survival.

Nairobi is very lucky in this regard. We have spaces that are open to the public that allow nature to survive despite our efforts to desicate it in the name of progress. The following are 5 Green spaces that you can enjoy when in Nairobi.

City Park
City Park is located in Parklands across from Aga Khan Hospital. This Park was established in 1921 as a zoological garden on a 91 hectare area, and formally declared a public park in 1925. Despite all efforts by conservationists to protect it, over a third of its area was lost to grabbers and now it is about 60 hectares large. It contains a magnificent sculpture garden whose pieces include the Bird of Peace by Elkana Ongesa, at the Murumbi Memorial Park; a public cemetery that is also the burial place of Pio Gama Pinto, a Journalist and Politician who actively participated in Kenya’s struggle for independence, only to be assassinated in 1965.

Click here to learn more about this zoological garden.


Jevanjee Gardens
Jevanjee Gardens

Jevanjee Gardens was donated to the residents of Nairobi in 1906 by Alibhai Mullah Jeevanjee, this 5 acre recreational park is one of few green spaces gracing Nairobi's CBD. Jeevanjee Gardens is bounded by Moi Avenue, Monrovia Street, Muindi Mbingu Street and Moktar Daddah Street towards the northern end of the city centre. It is centrally located, and easily accessible to residents from all corners of the city. It is free and open to the public and is a serene space featuring beautiful gardens and trees providing a welcome shade from the tropical sun. It is also conveniently dotted with artistic benches, and sculptures making it an ideal picnic spot.

Click here to learn more about this serene garden.


Nairobi Arboretum
Nairobi Arboretum 

Nairobi Arboretum was established in 1907 by Mr. Batiscombe, then Deputy Conservator of Forests, to try out introduced forestry trees for Kenya. It was gazetted as a national reserve in 1932 and in 1996 a title deed issued by Commissioner of land designating it as a public owned reserve.

The Arboretum occupies 30 hectares and holds over 350 tree species; it is home to over 100 species of resident and migrant birds, a multitude of insects, reptiles and small mammals; notably the playful Vervet and Sykes monkeys. The Arboretum is situated 3km from the city centre along State House Road and is open for free to the public. 


Uhuru Park
Uhuru Park

Uhuru Park is the heart of Nairobi's Central Business District. It is a 12.9 hectare green reserve bounded by Ngong road (North) Haillesellasie Avenue (South) Uhuru Highway (East) and Nyerere road (West). It was opened to the general public by the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta on 23 May 1969. It contains an artificial lake, several national monuments and an assembly ground that caters to all, from skateboarders and bird watchers, to political and religious gatherings. It has remained untouched due to the remarkable efforts of Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement. It is free and open to the public but do prepare to pay for boat rides.

Click here to learn more about the Soul of Nairobi.

Karura Forest
Karura Forest

Karura Forest Reserve is an urban upland forest on the outskirts of Nairobi that is bounded by Kiambu and Limuru Road. It is a geographical wonderland that boasts one of the largest gazetted forests in the world within city limits. It covers an area of about 1,000 ha and features a 50-foot waterfall, archaeological sites, marshlands that attract bird life including winter migrants from Europe and Asia, caves, serene groves of secondary and primary indigenous trees to name but a few. It also boasts wonderful biking and running trails and has become a favorite venue for many outdoor events.

The forest is a legacy of Professor Wangari Maathai (late founder of the Green Belt Movement and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate) because she saved the forest from developers who tried to grab large portions of the north of the central section of the forest.

Karura charges fees at the entrance that go towards forest security, improvement and maintenance.

Click here to learn more about this forest wonderland.

Go forth and commune with nature and let us know your where your favorite green spaces are.

"If you want to lie under a shade in your old age, plant a tree now." - African proverb.
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Waste Management: Nairobi's Indifference Hurts!

STUDY RESULTS: NAIROBI RESIDENTS RELATIONSHIP AND PERCEPTION OF WASTE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT
By Christine M. Mahihu


How Green Are African Cities?
January 27, 2013.

It is no secret we have a waste management issues in our beloved capital city. Management issues at the City Council, now the County Council, the institution constitutionally responsible for waste collection and disposal, has contributed greatly to the sorry state of waste management in the City. However, what role do we as Nairobi citizens play? The purpose of this study was to help understand people’s perception of waste and it’s management.

The study was conducted to gauge how well informed Nairobi residents are on matters of waste management and also their attitudes towards waste. It has become very common to see piles of trash all over the city and when we receive heavy rains, streets flood making them impassable and traffic a nightmare. During the rainy season last year, the brand new Thika highway flooded after a spate of heavy rains. Social media was awash with complaints towards the Chinese construction company that won the tender to build the highway. A few however, wondered if it was drivers and pedestrians habit of throwing trash on the road that was the cause

“In this case, we must acknowledge our own responsibility for our flooded roads and leave the Chinese out of it. We cannot live first-class lives without developing first-class habits!” (Atwoli, 2013)

It is events like these that led us to carry out a mini study on Nairobi citizen’s perceptions of waste.

How many of us take responsibility for the waste suffocating our city? If not ourselves, who then do we point fingers at? According to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), only 40% of total generated waste in urban centers reaches designated dumping areas. More than half (61%) of waste is generated by residents while 20% is from industries; meaning we the residents are responsible for the bulk of waste generated in Nairobi. It is estimated that by 2020, the waste generated in Nairobi daily will be approximately 5400 tones from the current 2,500 to 3,000 tons per day. If not dealt with adequately now, the issue is bound to get worse in the future.


How long does it take to biodegrade?
Summary of Results

From the findings it was clear the sampled city residents are fairly knowledgeable on issues related to waste management, however, less than 50% had knowledge on recycling of waste materials. There was little concern and or knowledge of where our waste goes among responders; only 36% indicated they knew where their waste ends up. Majority of the responders, regardless of their knowledge of where waste goes, said Dandora was the final destination. This is despite the fact it was declared full 13 years ago and is a health and environmental hazard, especially to those who live around it.

While most of our respondents agreed that everyone is responsible for waste generation, 88% placed waste management responsibility on the County Council, formerly City Council of Nairobi, and only a few took personal responsibility . Apart from blaming the whole system set up (public structures that deal with waste management), people also viewed culture and ignorance as a cause of Nairobi’s poor waste management. When it came to consequences of waste mismanagement, health was cited as the greatest concern among survey respondents as well as pollution and aesthetics. Perceptions of waste management differed slightly among age groups and economic class levels; older responders seemed more awareness while residents from low income areas took more responsibility.

Although this study was not fully representative, it gave a glimpse of how residents of Nairobi relate to waste. From the results, we recommend creating awareness on the waste disposal cycle and its benefits, especially among the youth. More encouragement of private sector and community based organizations to participate in waste management is also highly recommended. Exploring and expanding job creation opportunities in this field will go a long way in dealing with proper disposal and recycling of waste.


Waste Cycle

Education, especially in Primary schools, would also encourage participation in waste management so as to encourage early responsible behavior and active engagement with key players. We all need to be involved in the collection, disposal and recycling of our waste as this will also go a long way in keeping the institutions involved on their toes.

Regardless of all steps taken to deal with waste in the city, the biggest impact will be felt when residents take more responsibility in managing their own waste and demanding waste be disposed of in an effective, responsible way that protects the health of both the environment and the people that depend on it.

**Stay tuned for the full report to be published at a later date.
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Environmentalist Playlist: 5 Films About The Environment

Image from Avatar


It should not come as a surprise that lots of films discuss the environment, the struggles we have as a result of its degradation and our ongoing attempts our to protect it. What would we be without Earth? How would we survive if we succeeded in destroying the only home we have? 5 films attempt to depict variations of our struggle. 

5. Happy Feet (2006) is an animation film that deals with the environment of Antarctica and the problem of overfishing. It is told through the perspective of penguins that face the brunt of mankinds’ involvement in the polar region. This is one movie that shows mankind in a redemptive light; where they learn their lesson as soon as they realize their faults. 

4. Maleficent (2014) is a more balanced retelling of Sleeping Beauty. The focus of this film is greed and power which lead mankind to destroy the environment. The conflict between  Stephan, the King and Maleficent the "protector of the moors" feels true as far as current events are concerned. It is a realistic depiction of deforastation and the issues that follow.

3. Wall-E (2008)  is an animation movie that concerned itself with waste management and romance.  Earth, by 2805, had become a waste dump for humanity, which itself by then lived in fully automated star liners high up in space. When a tiny sapling is finally discovered in one of the huge trash piles covering the planet, the protagonist WALL-E meets another robot who comes to collect it – and he falls in love.
Image from Noah


2. Noah (2014) is a biblically inspired tale. Noah is depicted as a hero and God-inspired steward of the earth. Written by Darren Aronofsky, this film captures the beauty of [the world] creation, and dramatize's God’s decision to cleanse and recreate it because of the environmental degradation and pollution caused by mankind. 

1. Avatar (2009) deals with a post-apocalyptic world where the natural resources of Earth have been severely depleted, causing mankind to depend on another habitable moon, Pandora. Themes of this movie range from survival of the fittest to the idea of man as the centre of the universe who need their needs fulfilled, even at the cost of destroying the civilization of an another people, much as it had done its own. The end of this movie saw all the humans - except a few good men – expelled from Pandora and sent back to Earth.


***Pumzi is a Kenyan science-fiction short film written and directed by Wanuri Kahiu. It was screened at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival as part of its New African Cinema program. Pumzi is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which water scarcity has extinguished life above ground. The short follows one scientist's quest to investigate the possibility of germinating seeds beyond the confines of her repressive subterranean Nairobi culture.


Image from Pumzi
“She (Neytiri) said all energy is only borrowed, and one day you have to give it back.” ― Jake Sully Avatar
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Environmentalist Playlist: 5 Music Videos about Climate Change


Image pulled from Earth Song - Michael Jackson


Climate change is real. There are numerous facts to back it up and a myriad of different approaches to slow down climate change all together. That is for those of you that are about the fact and figures.


This graph shows how much more global warming is heating the oceans vs the combined heating of land, ice, and atmosphere.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Global_warming_-_change_in_total_heat_content_of_earth.jpg


Music, is made to discuss issues that we grapple with on a daily basis and climate change is no exception. There are many songs that talk about mountains, rivers and springs and there are those that talk about actively protecting our environment. We thought it would be cool to share 5 of those powerful, action-provoking videos to motivate and entertain you.

Here we go:

5. Jimmy Cliff - Save Our Planet Earth Rock In Rio II [Clear Vision]
4. Marvin Gaye - Mercy, Mercy Me
3. Ziggy Marley - Dragonfly
2. Angelique Kidjo - Agolo (means pay attention. Talks about climate change)
1. Michael Jackson - Earth Song

Do you have a playlist you want to share?


“We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own – indeed, to embrace the whole creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder. This will happen if we see the need to revive our sense of belonging to a larger family of life, with which we have shared our evolutionary process.”  Prof. Wangari Maathai
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Climate Change: Global Warming or Global Cooling?

This diagram shows how the greenhouse effect works. Incoming solar radiation to the Earth equals 341 watts per square meter (Trenberth et al., 2009). Some of the solar radiation is reflected back from the Earth by clouds, the atmosphere, and the Earth's surface (102 watts per square meter). Some of the solar radiation passes through the atmosphere. About half of the solar radiation is absorbed by the Earth's surface (161 watts per square meter). Solar radiation is converted to heat energy, causing the emission of longwave (infrared) radiation back to the atmosphere (396 watts per square meter). Some of the infrared radiation is absorbed an re-emitted by heat-trapping "greenhouse" gases in the atmosphere. Outgoing infrared radiation from the Earth equals 239 watts per square meter. 

Global warming. It is a phrase that mostly makes sense to those who are alert on matters related to climate change. Or is it?

According to the Oxford Dictionary; "Global Warming is a  gradual increase of the earth’s temperature due to greenhouse effect caused by the increase in carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons and other pollutants."

Just six years ago, the BBC predicted that more than a million arctic seas filled with ice will have melted away by the summer of 2013. And now? There is an extraordinary “reverse” of global warming that has led to a 60% rise in ice covered ocean. Global warming has “paused”. 

Leaked documents show that governments which support and finance IPCC are demanding more than 1500 changes to the reports by scientists. They say its current draft does not properly explain the “pause”. Recent reports show that there is a 60% increase in the amount of ocean covered with ice compared to September last year, the equivalent of almost a million square miles. A leaked report to the UN intergovernmental panel on climate change has led some scientists to, claim that the world is heading for a period of cooling that will not end until the middle of this century that is for at least 15 years, Professor Anastasios Tsonis, of the University of Wisconsin said. The changing predictions led to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change holding a crisis meeting, and released a report on the situation in October 2013. 


Effects of Global Warming
On the back of these dire warnings, billions of pounds were invested in green measures to combat agents of climate change such as greenhouse gas emissions. But the secret UN memo reveals that the ice has spread quickly following the smallest ever frozen surface area, this time last year.

On a speculative note  do you wonder about why August 2013 was cold and September 2013 was not as hot. Well, this explains it all. *raised eyebrows and side eye*

 According to Francesco Femia, co-founder of the Centre for Climate and Security, the Syrian conflict that has caught the attention of the world was preceded by the “worst long-term drought and most severe set of crop failures since agricultural civilisations began in the Fertile Crescent.”
The severe drought, combined with massive crop failures and poor agricultural policy on the part of the Assad regime, forced mass migrations from the countryside to cities that were already hard-pressed by refugees from Iraq, Femia argues. Military analysts overlooked these factors and argued that Syria would be immune to the civil unrest that had previously swept through authoritarian Middle Eastern regimes. …
“Climate change primarily manifests itself through water,” Femia added. “But it varies; different kinds of water, different ways. It can lead to more extreme weather events: either a drought or a major storm or an amount of rainfall that’s unusual and leads to flooding. It’s not just scarcity, it’s too much, too little and unpredictably.”
“Climate change is going to have security implications across the globe and conflict is just one area of concern,” Femia said.
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Climate Change: What Does That Really Mean?



According to the World Bank June 19, 2013


As the coastal cities of Africa and Asia expand, many of their poorest residents are being pushed to the edges of livable land and into the most dangerous zones for climate change. Their informal settlements cling to riverbanks and cluster in low-lying areas with poor drainage, few public services, and no protection from storm surges, sea-level rise, and flooding.
These communities – the poor in coastal cities and on low-lying islands – are among the world’s most vulnerable to climate change and the least able to marshal the resources to adapt, a new report finds. They face a world where climate change will increasingly threaten the food supplies of Sub-Saharan Africa and the farm fields and water resources of South Asia and South East Asia within the next three decades, while extreme weather puts their homes and lives at risk.
A new scientific report commissioned by the World Bank and released on June 19, explores the risks to lives and livelihoods in these three highly vulnerable regions.Turn Down the Heat: Climate Extremes, Regional Impacts, and the Case for Resilience (Read it in Issuu, Scribd, and Open Knowledge Repository) takes the climate discussion to the next level, building on a 2012 World Bank report that concluded from a global perspective that without a clear mitigation strategy and effort, the world is headed for average temperatures 4 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times, by the end of this century.

Small number, big problem
Communities around the world are already feeling the impacts of climate change today, with the planet only 0.8 ºC warmer than in pre-industrial times. Many of us could experience the harsher impacts of a 2ºC warmer world within our lifetimes – 20 to 30 years from now – and  4ºC is likely by the end of the century without global action.
The report lays out what these temperature increases will look like, degree-by-degree, in each targeted region and the damage anticipated for agricultural production, coastal cities, and water resources.
“The scientists tell us that if the world warms by 2°C – warming which may be reached in 20 to 30 years – that will cause widespread food shortages, unprecedented heat-waves, and more intense cyclones," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. "In the near-term, climate change, which is already unfolding, could batter the slums even more and greatly harm the lives and the hopes of individuals and families who have had little hand in raising the Earth's temperature.”
The report, based on scientific analysis by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics, uses advanced computer simulations to paint the clearest picture of each region’s vulnerabilities. It describes the risks to agriculture and livelihood security in Sub-Saharan Africa; the rise in sea-level, loss of coral reefs and devastation to coastal areas likely in South East Asia; and the fluctuating water resources in South Asia that can lead to flooding in some areas and water scarcity in others, as well as affecting power supply.
“The second phase of this report truly reiterates our need to bring global attention to the tasks necessary to hold warming to 2ºC,” said Rachel Kyte, the Bank’s vice president for sustainable development. “Our ideas at the World Bank have already been put into practice as we move forward to assist those whose lives are particularly affected by extreme weather events.”
Open Quotes
The scientists tell us that if the world warms by 2°C – warming which may be reached in 20 to 30 years – that will cause widespread food shortages, unprecedented heat-waves, and more intense cyclones. Close Quotes
Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group
Jim Yong KimPresident, World Bank Group
Sub-Saharan Africa
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the researchers found food security will be the overarching challenge, with dangers from droughts, flooding, and shifts in rainfall.
Between 1.5°C-2°C warming, drought and aridity, will contribute to farmers losing  40-80 percent of cropland conducive to growing maize, millet, and sorghum by the 2030s-2040s, the researchers found.
In a 4°C warmer world, around the 2080s, annual precipitation may decrease by up to 30 percent in southern Africa, while East Africa will see more rainfall, according to multiple studies. Ecosystem changes to pastoral lands, such as a shift from grass to woodland savannas as levels of carbon dioxide increase, could reduce food for grazing cattle.
In South East Asia, coastal cities will be under intense stress due to climate change.
A sea-level rise of 30 cm, possible by 2040 if business as usual continues, would cause massive flooding in cities and inundate low-lying cropland with saltwater corrosive to crops. Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, a global rice producer, is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise.  A 30 cm sea-level rise there could result in the loss of about 11 percent of crop production. At the same time, storm intensity is likely to increase.
The study also describes rising ocean acidity leading to the loss of coral reefs and the benefits they provide as fish habitats, protection against storms, and revenue-generators in the form of tourism.  Warmer water temperatures and habitat destruction could also lead to a 50 percent decrease in the ocean fish catch in the southern Philippines, the report says.
Water scarcity in some areas and overabundance of water in others are the hallmarks of climate change in South Asia, the researchers found.
Inconsistences in the monsoon season and unusual heat extremes will affect crops. Loss of snow melt from the Himalayas will reduce the flow of water into the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra basins. Together, they threaten to leave hundreds of millions of people without enough water, food, or access to reliable energy. Bangladesh and the Indian cities of Kolkata and Mumbai will be confronted with increased flooding, intense cyclones, sea-level rise, and warming temperatures. 
World Bank’s response
In his first year as president of the World Bank, Jim Kim has raised the profile of climate change in speeches and in conversations with leaders around the world, as well as within the institution. The Bank is currently working with 130 countries on climate change; it doubled its lending for adaptation to $4.6 billion in 2012 and put $7.1 billion into mitigation, in addition to its work with carbon finance and the Climate Investment Funds; and it now includes climate change in all country assessments.
The Bank is also developing a Climate Management Action Plan, informed by theTurn Down the Heat reports, to direct its future work and finance through a climate lens. Among other things, the Bank will:
•             Help countries develop strategic plans and investment pipelines that integrate the risks and opportunities of climate change.
•             Provide the tools that countries and cities need to better assess and adapt to climate change, including greenhouse gas emissions tracking, energy use and efficiency assessments, and assessments of resilience.
•             Create best practices and norms through its projects for making infrastructure resilient, not just today but decades into the future.
•             Use its convening power, financial leverage and targeted climate funds to increase support for clean energy, low-carbon development, and climate resilience.
In order to help countries build resilience, the Bank will prioritize the most vulnerable areas, manage water availability and extremes, and increase its efforts to meet growing food demand. It will work with the world’s largest emitters to lower their impact through carbon emissions and short-lived climate pollutants. Its specialists are working on ways to help governments end fossil fuel subsidies while protecting the poor, connect global carbon markets, and make agriculture and cities climate-smart and resilient.
 “I do not believe the poor are condemned to the future scientists envision in this report,” Kim said. “We are determined to work with countries to find solutions.”
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