Conservationists have expressed fears over the construction of a road through the Aberdare Forest saying it could ruin the water tower.<\/p>\n
The concern echoes one raised by a government agency 10 years ago, which cautioned the upgrade would greatly compromise the critical ecosystem.The proposed upgrading of the Ihithe \u2013 Aberdare Forest \u2013 Kahuruko \u2013 Ndunyu Njeru\u00a0Road, also known as Mau Mau\u00a0road, by the Kenya National Highways Authority is expected to pass through the Aberdare Forest Reserve and Aberdare National Park which together form the Aberdare Water Tower. It\u2019s one of Kenya\u2019s five main water towers.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0road\u00a0will connect four counties in Central and provide a new artery into the city.\u201cWe are currently in the award stage and constructions should be kick off next month,\u201d Kenha Director of Communications Charles Njogu said.<\/p>\n
Conservationists have raised fears that the upgrading of the\u00a0road\u00a0will impact on the critical water tower. Once upgraded, the\u00a0road, it is estimated, will inject Sh1 trillion into the Gross Domestic Product yearly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe acknowledge the proposed upgrading of the\u00a0road\u00a0will enhance the economic activities of the communities and business owners residing alongside the\u00a0road. However, as a key stakeholder in the conservation of the Aberdare ecosystem, we are concerned about the environmental impacts this will have on the ecosystem,\u201d a petition by Rhino Ark Executive Director Christian Lambrects to Kenya National Highways Authority reads.Opposed project<\/p>\n
Notably, 10 years ago, the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) refused to approve the upgrade saying this would have massive impacts on the forest. Aberdare Forest is one of the five major water towers in the country and it provides water to Nairobi City and also feeds Lake Naivasha which is the backbone of Kenya\u2019s horticulture.<\/p>\n
In the October 2009 letter seen by Sunday Standard, Nema noted that Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service, African Wildlife Foundation, Rhino Ark, Kenya Tourism Federation and East Africa Wildlife Society had strongly opposed the project because the\u00a0road\u00a0will traverse 25 kilometres through closed canopy forest which is a fragile ecosystem. \u201cThe authority is unable to issue Environmental Impact Assessment Licence for the project. You are advised to re-design your plans to explore alternative site,\u201d read the letter by Nema to the ministry of\u00a0roads.<\/p>\n
Kenha has since maintained the\u00a0road\u00a0exists and that the upgrade will not interfere with the ecosystem. \u201cThis is just one of the\u00a0roads\u00a0we intend to tarmac. We have done several others like Mwatate-Taveta and have put in place environmental safeguards like wildlife crossing points so that migratory routes will not be disturbed,\u201d\u00a0 Njogu added.<\/p>\n
Rhino Ark, however, said the upgrade comes at a critical time when the water towers are undergoing restoration\u00a0ruining\u00a0the plan.<\/p>\n
A 2017 census report by the Wildlife Conservation Society, Rhino Ark, Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service\u00a0estimated that the elephant population in the Aberdare Ecosystem stood at 3,568. The concentration of the elephants resided in the moorlands where the proposed upgraded\u00a0road\u00a0will pass through.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0road\u00a0will pass through 69 market centres in upper tea growing regions of Nyeri, Muranga and Kiambu, with a branch through the Aberdare Forest from Murang\u2019a.<\/p>\n
It will connect to Nyandarua at Njabini in Kinangop.More than 80 feeder\u00a0roads\u00a0will be upgraded as they lead to the main highway that will snake its way through picturesque ridges in the four counties.\u00a0 The new\u00a0road\u00a0follows the network opened by colonialists in the 1950s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Conservationists have expressed fears over the construction of a road through the Aberdare Forest saying it could ruin the water tower. The concern echoes one raised by a government agency 10 years ago, which cautioned the upgrade would greatly compromise the critical ecosystem.The proposed upgrading of the Ihithe \u2013 Aberdare Forest \u2013 Kahuruko \u2013 Ndunyu […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":1393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,5,8],"tags":[840,841,538],"class_list":["post-1392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-economy","category-homepage-english","tag-aberdare-forest","tag-conservationists","tag-kenha"],"yoast_head":"\n