Taita bears brunt of forest destruction

Up until about two decades ago, most parts of Taita Taveta had a lush vegetation cover, several rivers and springs meandering in between sloping sides and sharp, rounded ridges of green hills.

During heavy rains, volumes of water cascading down waterfalls would increase with the sounds of roaring rivers becoming livelier, echoing through the neighborhoods as though in competition.

One such feature is Lwada falls, located in the remote end of Dembwa areas just on the uphill to Wundanyi from Mwatate.

Lwada was once a breathtaking falls that dropped from tall, moss-lined rocks and boulders in a narrow canyon, flanked by an abundance of indigenous tree cover mostly of wild date palms.

For decades, the hilly Ngelenyi area near Kinyesha Vua forest in Wundanyi sub-county, served as a crucial source of water for lower areas of Mbale and Choke sub locations.

Before the 1990s, small springs emanated from the area flowing downwards where they served as a source of livelihood for thousands of residents in the lowlands. 

Shallow pan

In the early 1990s, some NGOs, including Planning International, funded water projects in the area by installing water pipes and building giant water tanks to supply piped water to households.

The organisation set up a small water dam at Mangalasinyi area, which became the major intake for tapped water.

Besides, the county has had important water sources such as the Kishenyi dam, Kighombo dam, Mwatate earth dam, Wundanyi River and Voi River.

Today, however, the situation in Taita Taveta is different. Water levels in most of these water sources have drastically fallen.

Most of the rivers have been reduced to rocky contours and dams that once resembled the glassy surface of lakes are now filled with heavy deposits of silt.

The once flourishing Mangalasinyi has now become a shallow pan with little water crawling through deposits of dry sand. Its effect has been recurrent water shortage in the lowlands.

“In the early 1990s, water was in plenty such that we used to irrigate our crops but now you cannot do that because water has reduced tremendously to the extent that we are now subjected to rationing,” explains, Iverson Mwaela, a farmer in Mbale.

John Maghanga, a biodiversity researcher attached to Nature Kenya, reckons that effects of climate change coupled with human activities close to the water sources is to blame for the dwindling water volumes in rivers.

“As you can see, water levels in Kishenyi dam have really declined. Even though they say the recent drought was one of the worst, we also believe that heavy encroachment of water sources is to blame. Just see how close farmers have cultivated to river banks,” Maghanga pointed out in an interview with People Daily.

Kishenyi dam has been a key water source to thousands of farmers especially in Werugha in Wundanyi and other parts of the lowlands.

Originally covering 30-acre piece of land, the dam is now a shadow of its former self with tens of farmers cultivating on the dried-up bed of the dam.

To counter the worrying situation, Maghanga who is also an official of Dawida Biodiversity conservation group (DaBiCo), says they are engaging local communities, especially schools, in conservation activities.

“We have introduced butterfly farming in local schools where we encourage teachers, pupils and parents to plant indigenous trees to attract butterflies. That way we believe it will help in conservation,” he explains.

According to Prof Petri Pellikka, a director of multidisciplinary Taita Research Station of the University of Helsinki in Kenya, most of the local springs and waterfalls which used to flow from the hilltops in the 80s are no more due to destruction of forests.

Water cycle

“I have seen these dry rivers in Taita now for 20 years, and I think it is normal rainy season/dry season fluctuation. The last 30 months have been, however, extremely dry. If Taita hills were more forested, this fluctuation would not be as severe as forest would catch the fog in the air, generating ground water. That would keep the spring alive and water in the rivers,” explained Pellikka who is also a Professor of geoinformatics, in the Department of Geosciences and Geography in the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science.

To investigate the water cycle in Africa, he says, the Taita Hills in Kenya offers an excellent location.

“The forest soil absorbs water more effectively compared to fields or pastureland. Ground litter slows down the flow rate of water, and the roots of trees make the soil porous. When the mist comes into contact with trees, leaves, branches and the mosses that grow on them, they capture the moisture and the water falls to the ground in drops,” Pellikka says.