City of Nairobi Environment
Outlook Charts Challenges and Opportunities
for Sustainable and Environment-Friendly
Living
Nairobi, 17 April - A 'City Development
Strategy using a bottom-up approach' to
guide the planning of Nairobi is urgently
needed to ensure that the Kenyan capital
develops on an environmentally-friendly
and sustainable path.
The central recommendation is made in a
landmark draft report issued today. It has
been compiled by the Nairobi City Council
in collaboration with the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United
Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UN-HABITAT).
The City of Nairobi Environment Outlook
provides the first comprehensive snapshot
of the state of Nairobi at the turn of the
century.
It is also accompanied by a series of wide-ranging
recommendations on how to boost the quality
of urban life for the Kenyan capital?s close
to three million residents.
The draft Outlook, unveiled at the 21st
session of the UN-Habitat Governing Council,
says the City Council is pressing forward
with urban improvements.
These include measures to reduce environmentally-related
diseases, control pollution and beautify
the city through landscaping and tree planting
projects.
But the study acknowledges that the absence
of a strategic plan in the 21st century
is a key handicap with the current plan
approved for Nairobi dating back to 1948.
As a result unplanned and piecemeal development,
informal settlements, lack of sufficient
sanitation, increasing pollution of water
supplies, rising amounts of solid waste
and traffic related fumes are currently
all taking their toll on the health and
wealth of the city.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General
and UNEP Executive Director, said: ?This
report is a sobering assessment of a city
in East Africa in the early 21st century
facing, as so many urban areas do in developing
countries, a significant array of challenges.
Many of these are inextricably linked with
poverty and the provision of basic services
but also sound and sustainable planning?.
?The report is by no means a counsel of
despair and presents concrete choices and
opportunities to put Nairobi on a more sustainable
track. It therefore should be a source of
inspiration for positive and coordinated
action by central and local government,
donor countries and the UN system, the business
community, NGOs and citizens,? he added.
Musikari Kombo, Minister of Local Government,
said: ?The City of Nairobi Environmental
Outlook Report has identified factors which
impact negatively on our environment. The
report has also proposed actions for which
I expect the City Council to give due and
timely attention?.
Dick Wathika, Mayor of Nairobi, added:
?Nairobi lacks a comprehensive physical
development plan and neither does it have
an environmental policy addressing circumstances
peculiar to the city. The formulation of
these policy instruments would go a long
way in addressing the issues identified
in the Outlook Report, especially the poor
quality human settlements, pollution and
waste management?.
Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director UN-HABITAT
and Director General UNON added? ?Cities
can achieve more sustainable land use if
municipalities combine urban planning and
development with environmental management.
This can better be realised, however, if
we also address the challenge of regional
and metropolitan development and overcome
the syndrome of competing jurisdictions.
Our common quest, be it for economic growth,
social justice, biodiversity or climate
protection will depend to a large and increasing
extent on our ability to manage our cities
and the urbanisation process. The Global
Environment Outlook for the city of Nairobi
is an important step towards the preparation
of the Nairobi Metropolitan Growth Strategy?.
Highlights from the Report
Nairobi?s population has grown from an estimated
1.1 million in 1985 to around 3 million
today with the numbers set to rise to about
3.8 million by 2015.
An estimated 44 per cent of the city?s
population lives below the poverty line.
By 2005, over 50 per cent of Nairobi?s labour
force worked in the informal sector with
women key players in this sector.
?A number of things contribute towards
poverty. Unemployment and underemployment,
landlessness, climate variability, low education,
inadequate sanitation, health facilities
and clean water,? says the report.
Land Cover
Growing population is increasingly putting
pressure on land resources. The natural
vegetation in the city area has been greatly
modified and even the Nairobi National Park
is being threatened. ?Land use conflicts
in the Kitengela area are now common,? says
the report.
Nairobi?s ecological footprint?a measure
of the city?s demand for water, food and
other natural resources?is estimated to
be just over 30 times its physical area.
?While this may be low compared to cities
elsewhere in the world, it still means that
at current levels of economic production
and consumption, the human load exceeds
the long-term carrying capacity of the city,?
says the report.
Land Use and Land Use Planning and the
Rise of Urban Agriculture
Informal settlements, haphazard patterns
of development including over-concentration
of employment in the Central Business District
and industrial area, are leading to rising
levels of traffic congestion and pollution.
The report also highlights a new phenomenon,
namely that of urban agriculture which is
estimated to be worth over three million
dollars a year and which is often carried
out by women as a ?survival strategy?.
The report argues that urgent action is
needed to ensure that urban agriculture
benefits rather than harms people and the
economy.
Currently, many low-income farmers are
blocking sewers to obtain water for irrigation
increasing the risk of dirty water triggering
a rise in the spread of diseases, chemical
poisoning and other environmental problems.
Housing
The report says that addressing the housing
issue will assume growing importance in
city politics given the demand and the limited
land availability in Nairobi.
It notes that a draft Housing Bill has
been prepared that may address some of the
issues. The report also details the location
of informal settlements which pepper most
divisions of Nairobi including Dagoretti;
Kibera; Pumwani; Makadara and Kasarani.
Water and Sanitation
The report estimates that just under half
of Nairobi?s population is served by a formal
sewerage system with studies showing that
just over 66 per cent of all preventable
diseases are linked with water, sanitation
and poor hygiene.
Only about 42 per cent of households have
proper water connections. In the slums of
Kibera where the majority of residents live
on less than a dollar a day, a 20-litre
jerry-can may sell for 20 Kenyan shillings
during time of water shortages.
Most water is supplied from surface waters
which are in the main heavily polluted with
contaminants such as agro-chemicals, heavy
metals, bacteria and persistent organic
pollutants.
The report notes that there is an increasing
use of ground water which is of good quality
but, if overexploited, could lead to subsidence
problems.
The report points to Mexico City where
over abstraction of ground water has led
to that city sinking by more than 10 metres
over the last seven decades.
Energy and Air Pollution
Over 80 per cent of urban household needs
for energy are met by charcoal with Nairobi
consuming around 91,000 tonnes annually?equal
to 900,000 tonnes of wood.
Other air pollution comes from vehicles,
industrial emissions and the open burning
of waste. As a result, high levels of particles
or particulates-- which are linked with
breathing difficulties and heart problems--
are found across larges parts of the city
especially in the north, south, central
and eastern parts of Nairobi.
Solid Waste
?Nairobi is increasingly being faced with
vast amounts of solid waste that are generated
and dumped in the city untreated. This is
partly due to the rapid population increase
but also due to the unplanned development
of informal business,? says the report.
It notes that over 50 per cent of this
waste is organic and thus offers an opportunity
for livelihoods from composting. The organic
waste could also be used for energy generation?for
example rotting vegetation produces methane
which can fuel electricity-generating turbines.
Way Forward
A ?strategic master plan? for the ?development
of an integrated urban infrastructure system?
should be drawn up by the city council in
collaboration with the Ministry of Local
Government, relevant government agencies
and other stakeholders.
The report underlines over 20 central elements
that the master plan should cover. These
range from re-use of waste water for urban
farmers, a review of land use planning and
laws and incentives for jobs and education
in rural areas to stem migration to urban
areas.
New initiatives on city housing that partner
with the cooperative movement, community
organizations and the private sector should
also be part of the plan.
Other elements include a strategy to extend
the sewerage network to all parts of Nairobi,
methods for protecting streams and river
banks, the establishment of waste separation
centres, economic incentives to promote
recycling and composting ad improved road
access in slum areas to facilitate waste
collection.
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson
Angele Luh, UNEP Information Officer for
Africa
