By Hopkin Reporter
“It’s important for Kitui to come up with a legal framework to protect the environment and natural resources and to create awareness on environmental conservation. Sand is a renewable resource and should be harnessed for the benefit of our residents. We only need clear regulations for sustainable development. ,” Hopkin Digital Reports.
Kitui county assembly passed a motion banning sand harvesting earlier January 2018. This followed complaints from locals that the rivers are being ruined and their lives are at stake.
“Excessive sand harvesting activities have eroded the river banks and stretched the width of the river from the initial 20 meters to over 200 meters. This expansion has ploughed into adjacent farms, said Our mole, one of the thousands of people affected by sand harvesting activities in Eastern Kenya.
A Kenyatta University research done by Wambua Mumbi Patricia, on the environmental and social impact of sand harvesting on the community in river Kivou catchment, Mwingi sub-county, Kitui County shows that the rivers are on the verge of drying up with destroyed banks and drained water points.
Nonetheless, the negative effects of sand harvesting go beyond what we can see i.e. loss of vegetation and topsoil. It can cause drying of underground riverbeds and aquifers, additionally, excessive removal of the sand bed more than the river can replenish weakens bridge support potentially causing collapse.
Excessive sand harvesting changes the ecosystem of rivers thus affecting aquatic life-this happens when certain soil minerals (which have a chemical effect on water) underneath the gravel are exposed to water after the sand is harvested.
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