By Eric Sindabi
In a big up to save the local degenerating natural environmental resources, researchers from Finland in conjunction with the Nakuru Municipal Council are carrying out an environmental investigation whose findings are expected to boost local environmental conservation planning and management progammes.
Two final year students from Laura University applied sciences and environmental planning were in the country recently to investigate the causes and sound effects of natural environmental resources degradations.
The researchers Maija Kauppila and Virppi Rasanen caried out a survey on Menengai forest Which is part of the famous Menengai crater in the northern part of Nakuru town.
The environmental research was sponsored by a Finish based Environmental NGO called North – South project that partners with Municipal councils across the world in a bid to restoring environmental planning and management programmes.
A source from the Nakuru municipal council environmental programmes office says that the research was part of an exchange programme between the Finish NGO and the Municipality aimed at enhancing the local environmental conservation programmes “Already environmental experts from the Nakuru municipality have visited Finland on an environmental planning and conservation programme training workshop” said the source.
In an interview with journalists the researchers said that Menengai forest forms one of the local water catchments areas hence needs to be conserved and protected from extinction.
The forest covers about 6000 hectares of land located on the slopes of Menengai crater and is one of the leading local natural resources as a home for wildlife, rocks, and plants like trees, herbs and grass. It also plays the role of a natural environmental and recreation centre for the local people and tourists, and also acts as a wind breaker for the town of Nakuru..
The researchers said, the research findings would recommend ways in which the local communities could effectively benefit from the forest resource without necessarily actively contributing to its degradation through activities like over- grazing, deforestation hunting, crop cultivation and settlements.
They said that buffer zones or rather greenbelts apart from a forestation and educating the locals were some of the steps that could be undertaken by the government to restore the natural resource.
The researchers have also visited lake Nakuru, Hyrax Hill and Njoro river in the event of the coveted environmental study in the region.
Finland is one of the leading countries in the world that is active in Forest and Water resources conservation and management planning programmes.Atleast over three quarters of the country land is covered with forests, lakes and rivers while forest products like timber are the country’s leading export market products..
Local environmental activists who accompanied the researchers said that environmental resources protection policies and Laws need to be en acted by parliament and implemented in order to stem out the increasing degradation of local natural resources .
Mr.Antony Gaicheru a Nakuru based freelance tour guide operator told journalists that poor environmental protection planning was to blame for the rapid degradation of Menengai area. He cited the continued destruction of the forest as to deforestation and land grabbing for settlement as a blunder by the government<
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