Ship shore interface and landside environmental Regulations

Ship shore interface and landside environmental Regulations Presentation at the First Eastern and Southern Africa Ports Environmental Managers Working Conference, 20 - 22 September 2010, Mombasa Continental Resort, Mombasa - Kenya Dr. AyubMacharia Ag. Director General National Environment Management Authority (NEMA)

Background • Kenya’s coastal and marine ecosystems constitute a rich and diverse national asset that supports the livelihoods of 2.7 million coastal communities and contributes to the national economic development; • The principal economic activities along the 600 km coastline that are dependant on natural resources are tourism, fishing, ports, shipping, agricultural industry and mining; • Important ecosystem services that support these economic sectors include provisioning of goods and services; regulation of climate and natural hazards; cultural services and ecological services • However , there existing gaps in the understanding and management of the complex processes and trends at work in the coastal and marine environment.

Background cont.. • Kenya has witnessed significant environmental decline due to degradation of marine and coastal ecosystems attributed to: • Overexploitation • Overfishing, • Pollution, • Climate change, • Invasive species, and , • Rapidly growing human population

. Impact of Tourism on the environment Touristic pressure on Kenya's coastline is rapidly growing • All the facilities that support the new expansion in the tourism industry are located adjacent to beach environments. the rapid development of tourism has put pressure on the sustainable use of coastal resources such as the coral reef. • The pressure on the coastal ecosystem extends further and further from the resorts, spreading the impact.

. Impacts on mangroves Fish traps along the edge of the mangroves • Clearing of mangrove areas to reclaim land for other uses such as aquaculture, salt manufacture, agriculture and housing • Mangrove areas have been cleared for salt manufacture • Mangrove forest has been destroyed by dredged-up sediment during construction of sea jetties

Policy Interventions • To address the challenges and to effectively manage the marine and coastal environment Kenya has put in place various interventions as follows: Policy interventions: • Enactment of the national Framework environmental law –the environmental Management and Coordination Action (EMCA 1999); • Establishment of the National Environment Management Authority which coordinate and supervises all issues of environment; • Review of environmental policy; • Development of climate change response strategy;

Policy interventions cont… • Development of an Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) which has been institutionalized in EMCA as a tool to promote sustainable coastal zone management ; • Development of the state of the coast report for improved governance of the coastal environment through conservation of our vital coastal and marine resources. • Shoreline management strategy to address the unplanned development along the coast shoreline which has led to loss of key habitats and shoreline erosion;

Efforts by the Government • Kenya is putting a lot of efforts to ensure sustainable coastal development and use of marine resources; • Kenya has not only signed and ratified critical conventions relating to pollution of the Marine environment but also developed a number of legislations, policies and regulations with clear provisions on coastal and marine environment conservation; • The government is investing heavily in the enforcement of the various legal instruments by providing personal and financial resources

Efforts by the Government Cont.. • domestication of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal coordinated at national level by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) • all these actions are being implemented in view of the importance which the country as a coastal state attaches to the marine and coastal environment. • Stakeholder participation in all projects and programmes is also taken seriously to ensure by-in, ownership and ease of programmes implementation.

Regulatory framework in place • Environmental impact Assessment / Environmental Audit (EIA/EA)Regulations of 2003 (new project including the expansion of Lamu Port, oil exploration,) • Conservation of biological diversity and access benefit sharing regulation-2006 • Water quality Regulations-2006 • Waste management Regulations-2006; • Control of ozone depleting Substances -2007 • Wetland and sea shore protection Regualtions-2009 • Noise and excessive vibration Regulation of 2009 • Control of air emissions –draft form • Chemical management Regulations-draft form

Environment Impact Assessment Oil exploration • Development of oil and gas project could have potential negative impacts , marine mammals and fishes, as well as important habitat, wetlands and rocky shores, and on tourism and the coastal economy. • Such project undergo EIA –Study in which negative impacts are identified and appropriate mitigation measures put in place, • EIA process is very consultative involving stakeholders, lead agencies and interested and affected parties ;

Environment Impact Assessment cont… • Once environmental concerns have been addresses, NEMA gives a conditional EIA license and monitors that the proposed environmental management plan is adhered to; • Expansion of ports, dredging projects are also subjected to EIA. • Tourism development facilities also undertake EIA and negative impacts are mitigated appropriately Beach Front Hotel

Waste Management Regulation • The Regulations provide standards and guidelines on the proper management of waste from either land based sources as well from the sea; • NEMA issues licensed for dealers of waste oil from ship, transporters of waste and sites that recycle waste oil once they fulfill the environmental standard requirements; • The regulations also cover management of bilge water ,ballast water and trans-boundary hazard waste in accordance to Basel convention Poor solid Management on land

Water Quality Regulations-2006 • The Regulations provide standards that required to be observed before discharging effluent into aquatic environment; • Land based activities such as tourist facilities, sewarage treatment plants are regulated under the Regulations to prevent pollution in the sea

Biodiversity Regulations-2006 Marine biodiversity • The rich and diverse marine biology if protected through various sectoral laws • Biodiversity regulation of 2006, aims at conserving our biodiversity and promoting access to genetic resources and benefit sharing

Lessons learned in implementing emca • Lack of awareness on the existing legislations • Court cases that take so long to be determined • Public outcry and accusation of anti-development • Limited resources to undertake regular monitoring • Hostility /insecurity/ poverty etc

Thank you “In the end, we will protect only what we love; we love only what we understand, and we understand only what we are taught.” Teach How?

Ship shore interface and landside environmental Regulations