Residents of Sita village at Mida Creek in Dabaso ward, Kilifi County have intensified mangrove forest restoration after securing funding from the World bank.
The five-year, Sh. 10 billion funding is being implemented by the National government in conjunction with the Kilifi County government and four other Coastal counties under the Kenya Marine Fisheries and Social Economic Development (KEMSFED) program which has seen at least Sh. 1.5 billion worth of grants released to 621 groups in the Coast region.
At Sita village, the Sita Umoja Creek Self Help group received Sh. 4.9 million and set up a mangrove tree nursery that has yielded at least 78,000 seedlings in six months.
The group chairperson Maxon Nzomo said that seedlings were now ready for planting in the creek to restore the ecosystem as well as absorb carbon emissions.
He added that the local community majorly comprises fishermen and fishing as their main economic activity but with the restoration program and with the support of the Kilifi County and National government, they were now diversifying while at the same time taking good care of the ecosystem.
“We have been doing this work for 14 years now through support from nature-based organizations who supported us with funding and training but the KEMSFED program is the largest funding we have received and now we have 78,000 seedlings,” he said.
He explained the process saying that the seeds are picked from the mature mangroves within the creek and are taken to a nursery where they use fresh water to grow it.
“The seedlings are now six months old and ready from planting and the most astonishing revelation is that many people wonder how the seedlings use fresh water before they are ready for transplanting and once it is transplanted, it automatically adapts to its new environment,” he said.
With 36 members in its fold, the Sita Umoja Self Help group now boasts of being self-reliant and they have even put up a floating restaurant within the mangrove cover that enables them to earn a living from tourists.
Sita is also collaborating with other villages and community groups in the expansive creek including the Kirepwe Self Help group, the Mida Creek Self help group and many others to ensure that the entire creek is restored.
Mr Justin Kitsao, the chairman of the Kilifi County Beach Operators and a member of the Kirepwe Self help group said that they were now ready for the carbon credit benefits but called on the government to intensify sensitization so that locals can understand what carbon credit is.
“We are working together with the government so that we all benefit as a network of stakeholders and where we have reached, we need to benefit more from the carbon credit financially,” he said.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is the government authority mandated to take care and implement environment laws in the area and according to the Arabuko Sokoke Forest Senior Warden Salim Makomba, the level of destruction through logging has gone down thanks to the environmental restoration programs.
“The mangrove tree should not be cut down just because it is an old tree but it should be left to rot away since that is the only way for the creek to self-restore itself,” he said.
His sentiments were echoed by his Watamu Marine Park deputy warden Ramadhan Mwatsefu who said that communities were now diversifying and new environment friendly economic ventures within the creek had reduced destruction.
“The communities have been sensitized and now understand the importance of the mangrove and at the moment we have several restaurants within the creek that help members of the community economically,” he said.
Dabaso ward Member of County Assembly (MCA) Emmanuel Changawa said that many groups in his area which dominantly covers the creek have benefitted from the program.
“Many groups have come up after seeing the benefits other groups are getting from mangrove restoration and I will help them get the support they need so that we completely eradicate mangrove logging,” he said.
The Kilifi County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Agriculture, Livestock and Blue Economy Chula Mwagona said that up to date, 135 groups in Kilifi County have benefitted from Sh. 300 million in Kilifi County alone since the program started.
He added that the groups came up with various proposals including livestock, bee keeping, fisheries, environment and conservation projects and that in the first phase, Sh. 98 million was disbursed.
“In the first phase we got Sh. 98 million and Sh. 261 million in the second phase for groups and it is a wide project because the funds are given to groups depending on their project proposals. We have bought cattle, fishing boats and other projects,” he said.
Mr Patrick Kiara, the national project coordinator for KEMSFED said that the program is funded by the World Bank and it will run for five years in five coastal counties of Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi, Tana River and Lamu. Taita Taveta county is missing since it does not border the ocean.
“At the national level the project has released Sh. 1.5 billion and the money has gone to 621 groups in the five counties and these are proposals that have come from those groups,” he said.
He added that the proposals are in three categories including economic activity, social and environmental and the fund also supports policy formation such as the fisheries policy and monitoring control and surveillance in the waters to ensure prudent and lawful use of the ocean.
“We are supporting good governance of our marine fisheries and we have supported policies and monitoring, control and surveillance through the KWS to ensure that whoever is doing fishing out there, is doing the right thing,” he said.
IAN BYRON 
KTMN Reporter