DANGERS OF DESTROYING RIPARIAN ZONES IN KENYA.

DANGERS OF DESTROYING RIPARIAN ZONES IN KENYA. The word riparian originates from a Latin word ripa which refers to a river bank. Riparian zone can therefore be defined as a transitional area existing between the land and the freshwater bodies. These areas are often being identified by the nature of soil, type of plants or forest cover, water tables and are always greatly influenced by the river. Other names of similar meanings are; riparian strip, riparian buffer zone, riparian forest and riparian woodland. Riparian zone plays a critical role in the field of engineering, Environmental resource management, engineering, ecology and soil conservation. This is due to its wide range of support in flood control, aquatic life, wildlife support, chemical filtration and bank stabilization. According to the Kenyan Constitution of 2010, riparian land is defined as being a minimum of 6 meters and up to a maximum of 30 meters on either side of the river bank from the highest water mark. The distance is influenced by the width of the river and the volume of the river at any given time. Despite the law on riparian land not being just a piece of legislation but has been specified in different legislation such as Environmental Management and Coordination Act {EMCA}, Water Resource Management Rules {WRMW} {2007}, Forest Act, 2005, Water Quality Regulation {WQR}, the Agricultural Act [Cap 3018], the Land Act, 2012 and the Wildlife Act 2013, there is still a serious problem that is brought about by lack of coordination and management among these various agencies. This has demined the law and made it to still remain just a piece of paper because people have corrupted their ways into the riparian zones especially in the urban areas. A case in point is the Nairobi river which no longer looks like a river due to massive pollution from all sorts of premises along the river. It is quite shameful that even with the law stating clearly that building on a riparian land is illegal and structures on the said land is in danger of being demolished by the authorities, people have defied the law and instead, more and more structures continue to be constructed. The true meaning of Nairobi River which attracted the colonial masters to set up their station has disappeared completely and Nairobi river is no longer cool nor safe for consumption. All these are due to complete destruction of the riparian zone. Most towns in Kenya were set along the rivers and due to continued urbanization, which has led to more constructions of buildings, most of our riparian zones are under threat, and this translate to our ground water being very unsafe for consumption and the ecosystems along the river banks are also disappearing. Unless we follow the law and conserve our riparian zones, we are working for our own destruction. Our government must wake up and act with authority immediately.