Kwale County, Msambweni Sub County, Magutu Ward Kona Musa

ECOPRO EN EWER THEME –

Environmental concerns and natural disasters management (floods, landslides, deforestation etc)

Specific Need or Problem to be tackled –

Massive construction of public and private infrastructure has led to the rate of quarrying activities in Kwale county to rapidly increase. The growth and development of physical infrastructure in towns like Ukunda, Kombani and Kwale has led to the high demand of building materials like sand and building stones.
These mining activities critically affect the environmental, social and economic state in the county. These impacts include environmental degradation, wastage of land for agriculture, and destruction of natural habitats. These impacts can only be avoided when quarries are properly rehabilitated after the mining process. We propose restoration of the land after mining activities at the Mvindeni scheme, Maweni and Mwandurya quarries in order to transform the land to a useful land for grazing, forestations, farming, settlements or recreation.

Early Warning Signs and Indicators –

Moving around the three sites of our study that is Mvindeni scheme quarry at Mvindeni, Maweni quarry at Maweni village Ukunda near Ukunda airstrip and Mwandurya quarry between Muhaka village and Mwabungo village, the indicators are clearly seen as follows:

• Unrestored mining sites: Where mining pits are left open after the mining process.
• Land losing its aesthetic value: The land is left in a worst shape after the mining activities.
• Dust emanating from mining activities like crushing and transportation of the building materials.

Rapid Response Proposals –

• Backfill the mined land so that it can retain its earlier topography.
• Enclose and spray water on mining sites to reduce the effects of the dust produced during mining activities.
• Rehabilitating open pits by planting trees and setting up recreational facilities

Worst Case Scenario –

Unrestored mining sites can lead to worst effects on human being’s environment and his social, economic and health life. Some of these effects are:

• Wastage of agriculture land through land dereliction and soil degradation.
• Loss of biodiversity due to the destruction of natural habitats. During mining process there is clearing of vegetation to pave way for accessing the minerals. Once plants are cleared animal habitats are automatically destroyed. The land, air and water pollution caused by mining activities also leads to destruction of the ecosystem.
• It may lead to health and safety hazards. Open pits after mining may be filled with water which are likely to cause accidents. The settled water also acts as breeding grounds for mosquitoes, risking people in the neighborhood to be contaminated with malaria and other water borne diseases. Furthermore, the land over underground mines may also subside causing death cases and collapsing of houses and other structures.
• Destruction of natural drains and streams.
• Loss of local water resources due to reduction in catchment areas

Efficient and Effective Interventions –

• Restoration of mining sites after the process of mining. Mining sites to be refilled and rehabilitated by strengthening the soil composition by dressing the top soil with fertilizers and adequate pH scale for farming and other useful purposes like designing recreational natural sites or human settlements.
• Replanting tree species that are beneficial to both the environment and land stability. Training the miners on effective and systematic mining activities as well as helping them forming legal associations to ensure legal and controlled mining.

Partnerships and Collaborations –

• The county government
• The national government
• The ministry of health
• World Health Organization
• Base Titanium

Resources required:

• Land surveyor
• Filling materials e.g sand, well composed waste.
• Miners
• Tree species

Fertilizers or organic manure e.g composed manure or farmyard manure
The miners are the only available resource for the project.
We came up estimated budget of 2.4 million to rehabilitate all the three mining sites in two stages; preparation stage and the implementation stage.

Implementation Level of Proposed Solution

The proposed solution is new. It is expected to be carried out in two stages: the preparation stage will involve documentation, legal procedures and creating awareness to the community. This stage can start as soon as the proposed solution is approved and financed by the respective stakeholders.
The second stage of implementation will take place after all the documentation, legal requirements and mutual consent with the community are attained.

Suleiman Juma Mwahari – 0703615616 – Journalism Club patron

Journalism Cub Members

Mariam Juma

Jane Wanjiru

Salama Ali Mwamboni

Halima Amir