Prof. Wangari Maathai was a fighter. She fought for the conservation of forests, planted thousands of trees and told developers not to put up building on water catchment areas. She was recognized globally and became the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize. Although her exploits constantly ring in the minds of Kenyans, some seemingly choose to ignore the dangers she warned us about, saying ‘nature is unforgiving and will strike back’.
It is in line with this that Climate Action is Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number 13 as listed by the United Nations is important. Kenya launched the SDGs on 14th September 2016 and committed herself to work towards their attainment. However, one of the most pressing challenges in Kenya, for successive governments, has been in the conservation of the Mau Forest Water Tower Complex.
Inside the Mau is Kiptunga Forest, Kiptagich Tea Estate, Kiptunga Forest, Marioshoni Forest, the thick canopy of the Transmara Block, Olenguruone area. The main tributary of the Mara is at Enapuyapui, then we have Amalo where the other main tributary starts. The Mau is a key source of food and water in the country, and cannot be left out when discussing climate change in the country.
A lot of politics surrounds the conservation of this important forest, with political heavyweights having turned more than 60,000 hectares of the land into farmlands with no trees in sight. Exotic trees felled to give way to the planting of maize and peas among other foods. Would Wangari have stood by and watched as exotic trees were cut at the expense of the water reservoirs hid deep in the ground?
We have the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Illegal/Irregular Allocation of Public Land (the Ndung’u Commission) and the United Nations Environment Programme report into the Mau land. Some of the prominent civil servants and politicians mentioned include Gideon Moi, Zakayo Cheruiyot, Franklin Bett, Sammy Mwaita, Joshua Kulei, and Hosea Kiplagat. Former President Moi also agreed to have a stake in the Kiptagich Tea Factory in Mau Forest.
Wangari stood firmly against rich property developers, and even politicians, and said a firm NO! Who will take after her especially with the proliferation of malls, rental apartments and office blocks along river beds choking the natural waterways? Who will reverse the continued pollution of rivers by slaughterhouse wastes and factory effluents?
The death of former Langata MP (1974-1979) Mwangi Maathai, former husband to the Nobel Laureate awakens memories of this great woman. The couple had three children but later divorced. Prof. Wangari died at the age of 71 years from Ovarian cancer, and Mwangi died at the age of 84 years.
