Residents of Kisumu have been called upon to take action for the Dunga wetlands; an appeal to invest financial, human and political capital to save the wetlands from extinction and to restore those that have been degraded.
This year’s event themed Wetlands Action for People and Nature, highlights the importance of actions to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands for humans and nature.
As part of preparations to mark the World Wetlands Day that is observed annually every February 2nd, the Ward Administrator for Nyalenda B, Mr. Ibrahim Mboya, flagged off a clean-up exercise around Dunga Beach supported by various partners including County Government of Kisumu, BMus, World Life Clubs of Kenya, Homeless Family, Twins world, Friends of Dunga Wetlands, One Vibe, DECTA, Naivas Supermarket who donated reflector jackets for the exercise among other stakeholders.
Yesterday, a sensitization session was held at Nanga Primary school who are neighboring the Dunga Wetlands. The pupils were taken through the meaning of wetlands, the types, the importance and the challenges of the wetlands.
Some of the wetland in Kisumu County include: Ombeyi, Nyando, Dunga and Namthoi.
Speaking during the flagging off of the cleanup exercise, the Ward Administrator, Mr. Ibrahim Mboya commended the organization of the exercise calling on the Beach management Units and the Community of Dunga to ensure their environment is kept clean even for the generations to come.
“If we don’t keep our environment clean, we attract diseases which in the long run become expensive to treat.” Says Mr. Mboya
He noted that the cleanup exercise was being done by volunteers hence challenged the BMUs and the community to learn the best practices in keeping the environment clean and carry on with the exercise regularly.
The ward Administrator also used the platform to inform the cleaners to use such an event to remind the community members to register as voters and take the advantage to elect leaders who have environment at heart, leaders who recognize natural resources as shared resources and those who make laws that protect the environment.
On her part, the County Environment Officer, Madam Susan Omwa focusing on the slogan Our Wetlands, Our Responsibility, Our Future, challenged the Dunga BMUs and the community not to make the clean up exercise a one-off event but make it sustainable. She called on the cleaners to be keen on picking the solid waste around the lake to ensure they don’t get into the lake and contaminate the water.
The BMU representative in charge of sanitation at Dunga beach, Mr. George Weke thanked the stakeholders for choosing Dunga as the venue for the celebrations reiterating that it is a plus to them.
He said that 1,000 people depend on the beach as a source of their livelihood, and with the big number, a lot of waste is generated on a daily basis, adding that the clean-up exercise is important in giving Dunga beach a new face lift.
By: Emily Mikwa
