Wetlands provide important ecosystem services, such as providing habitat for wildlife, regulating water flow, and supporting local livelihoods through fishing and agriculture. Communities have relied on wetlands for centuries. The importance of wetlands is particularly acute when water availability limits agricultural production. For this reason, a balance is needed between using wetlands and conserving them.
Challenges facing Wetlands in Kenya
Globally, wetlands, which support biodiversity and environmentally sustainable livelihoods, are under threat. Most wetlands in Kenya are usually affected by uncontrolled land use practices around the wetlands that adversely contribute to their degradation. According to the Directorate of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing (DRSRS), the focal point Government agency advising on matters remote sensing, some of the pressing issues facing Wetlands in Kenya are;
Lack of harmonized policies on wetland management.
Community conflict on the share ability of wetland resources.
Lack of well-defined wetland boundaries to avert encroachment.
Lack of Regional policies on transboundary wetland management .
Changes in Yala swamp complex in 20 years
Relevance of the GMES and Africa Wetlands data and products to the community
Under Wetland Monitoring and Assessment service area, RCMRD through the GMES and Africa programme has generated a number of products and data such as; Wetland Change Maps, Regional and National Degradation Index Maps, Wetlands National and Hotspots Maps and National Vegetated Wetlands Reports. Wetlands data include location, surrounding land use practice, status, human activities and other attribute information, Open geographic vector data sets including geographical boundaries, drainage, forest shape file, soil vector data among others. Click here: https://geoportal.rcmrd.org/ .
DRSRS a partner under GMES and Africa programme, plays a crucial role in disseminating data/products to the executive arms of Government for rapid decision-making.
According to DRSRS, these products are utilized in the following ways;
Utilized in mapping the status of wetlands in Kenya with aim of developing strategic intervention mechanisms for rehabilitation and sustainable management
The wetlands products are also used to understand the time series land use practice around the wetlands that are a major contributor to wetland degradation.
Development of wetland management policies and proper land use zonation to minimize wetland degradation in Kenya
How else can the wetland data and products under GMES and Africa program be used?
To contribute to the development of strategic land use practices around the wetlands and resolve wetland community conflict by demarcation of wetland boundaries, and also to address regional transboundary wetland management .
