HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, POST, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"count": 1608389,
"next": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=api&page=147777",
"previous": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=api&page=147775",
"results": [
{
"id": 1495952,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1495952/?format=api",
"text_counter": 337,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Laikipia County, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Jane Kagiri",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I stand to second the Environment Management and Coordination (Amendment) Bill. First, I take this opportunity to congratulate Hon. Irene Mayaka for a very well-thought-out amendment. As I second, I want to first take you through some statistics. It is medically recommended that each person takes two litres of water per day. So, a family of five would require 10 litres of water per day. The eucalyptus tree requires 90 litres of water per day. That is the water intake of 45 Kenyans. Majority of Kenyans do not even meet the two litres requirement, not because they do not want to, but because they cannot access that water. As a country, it would be very unfortunate for us to continue allowing that tree to be planted next to our riverbeds and water sources, knowing that it is taking up water, which would be of greater use to our people. Secondly, that tree causes a lot of soil degradation. An acre of land in Kenya would fit around 3,000 trees. A quick math of what I have just mentioned would mean 270,000 litres of water being taken up per day on that particular area of soil. That will cause a lot of soil degradation even to the neighbouring pieces of land because the roots of the eucalyptus tree stretch onto other pieces of land. Eucalyptus trees are causing a lot of soil degradation in our country. Thirdly, I want to speak to the biodiversity loss in regard to the tough decomposition of eucalyptus leaves. Unlike many other trees whose leaves decompose and become manure for the soil, the eucalyptus leaves do not decompose. So, they are not of any benefit to the soil in that area. They affect the flora and fauna of the particular area. I want to speak about its effect on the water quality. As I have said, the eucalyptus tree sucks in a lot of water thus affecting the surface water. It takes up all the surface water. The surface water normally has a lot of nitrogen and phosphorus, which is important for soil nutrients. We again lose it because of that particular tree. In regards to the local climate, the eucalyptus tree is not beneficial to us. In fact, it causes desertification. With those many remarks, I hope we have convinced this House that we need to amend this Bill to ensure that never again should our water sources dry up because of the eucalyptus tree. Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I submit and second."
},
{
"id": 1495953,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1495953/?format=api",
"text_counter": 338,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai): Thank you very much, Hon. Mayaka and Hon. Jane Kagiri."
},
{
"id": 1495954,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1495954/?format=api",
"text_counter": 339,
"type": "scene",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Question proposed)"
},
{
"id": 1495955,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1495955/?format=api",
"text_counter": 340,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Hon. Members, I can see interest in this debate. I guess this is the Bill that you want to speak to. Let us start with Hon. Gichimu Githinji, Member for Gichugu."
},
{
"id": 1495956,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1495956/?format=api",
"text_counter": 341,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1495957,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1495957/?format=api",
"text_counter": 342,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Gichugu, UDA",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Gichimu Githinji",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this Bill by Hon. Irene Mayaka. This is a Bill of life as it is seeking to protect the wetlands where we normally get our water from. Although eucalyptus trees have some benefits, I think the disadvantages outweigh their advantages to the Kenyan populace. I am happy that Hon. Mayaka has conducted a lot of research across the world and also came up with the areas where eucalyptus trees have been banned. Out of my research on that eucalyptus tree, one of the interesting areas is Portugal. In 1989, there was a war in the Valley of Lila, a place called Veiga do Lila in Portugal, where hundreds of people gathered to destroy 200 hectares of eucalyptus trees, fearing that the trees would rob them of their water and bring fire. I believe that is one of the revolutions that led to Portugal banning the growth of eucalyptus trees in wetlands, riparian areas along the rivers, and so forth. Those trees have been referred to as thirsty species. A research from India has shown that eucalyptus trees take more water than what is replaced by rainfall. That means any kind of life is threatened by those eucalyptus trees. Without belabouring the point, it is also worth noting that this law now gives the Cabinet Secretary an avenue to make regulations that would firmly make it possible for the enforcement or management of the wet areas and the catchment areas, in respect of the eucalyptus trees. That is in line with Article 95(6) of the Constitution, which provides that Parliament has the power to make laws, but also has all the power to delegate legislation of those laws. This provision gives that avenue to Parliament to delegate that power to Cabinet Secretaries to come up with regulations towards the management of the growth of eucalyptus trees in this country, especially in the wet areas where we get water. Back in my county of Kirinyaga, the eucalyptus trees are a big threat to the rivers. Some of the rivers have dried up because of the eucalyptus trees. That is why I stand here to support this Bill, which also looks at the issues of climate change. Climate change is not only about air and planting trees. It is also about climate change action in areas that threaten the lives, both of humans, plants and other species. When rivers dry up, we also lose lives that are found in the rivers, including fish. That is a threat to food security in the country. Hon. Temporary Speaker, my research also shows that in February 2020, the then Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Hon. Keriako Tobiko, called for the uprooting of the eucalyptus trees in all wetlands and catchment areas. That was just a directive which had no legal backing. This legislation comes in handy to make sure that there is a legal framework that a Cabinet Secretary can use to enforce such kind of directives. If someone never followed or obeyed that directive, there was nothing that would have happened to them. Regulations that are coming through the Cabinet Secretaries would help in this space a lot. I support this Bill and thank you for giving me this opportunity. I also thank Hon. Irene Mayaka for bringing this, which I would call, “Bill of life.”"
},
{
"id": 1495958,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1495958/?format=api",
"text_counter": 343,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "(Hon. (Dr) Rachael Nyamai): Thank you, Member for Gichugu. Hon. Martin Owino, Member for Ndhiwa."
},
{
"id": 1495959,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1495959/?format=api",
"text_counter": 344,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ndhiwa, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Martin Owino",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I rise to support this amendment Bill. I want to congratulate Hon. Irene Mayaka for taking the first shot at the Bill. It is very tiring and very needy. There is a lot of research that has been thrown into it. It is true that global issues, when it comes to the environment, are progressive. Therefore, a Bill giving the Cabinet Secretary a mandate to make policies is in order. We will need those policies from time to time. I grew up in a rural setting and there were some rivers which never dried up. You heard Homa Bay being mentioned as one of the areas that are affected by the drying up of rivers. It is true that, that is causing problems and that, if not abated, we will end up in a crisis. The human body needs between 45 to 75 per cent of water, depending on gender and all that, but"
},
{
"id": 1495960,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1495960/?format=api",
"text_counter": 345,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ndhiwa, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Martin Owino",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
},
{
"id": 1495961,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1495961/?format=api",
"text_counter": 346,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Ndhiwa, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Martin Owino",
"speaker": null,
"content": "that is the range. If the rivers continue to dry up, the common mwananchi will have no access to water. That reduction of water in the body may cause a lot of ill health. This is for sure. If we find eucalyptus trees to be one of the factors that are causing that, and we know global issues are progressive, then we have to have that as a strategy. I recommend what this Bill is going to do. We need to have that as a strategy. Eucalyptus trees dehydrate the soil. That is the most important part of it - the soil dehydration around it. It then causes other species such as shrubs to die off. That interferes with the ecosystem of our environment. Our environment constitutes many stakeholders, including rickets, insects and every shrub around it. So, when the water is depleted, it interferes with the ecosystem. As one of us has said, there is some good in that, but the bad outweighs what eucalyptus trees do to our environment. To Hon. Mayaka, this is in order. We are talking here about soil health when it comes to the cultivation of our crops and all that. The home river I said dried up and left the community in disarray. It used to serve us well. When we were growing up, it was abundant with water. People used to fish there and do other things such as drawing water to irrigate and plant other things. Right now, it is a wash bay. It flows when it rains and dries up when the rain goes, and that is the end of it because of the eucalyptus trees which were planted around it. It out-competes with other species. That is another issue. It out-competes them completely so that, where you find them grown, there will be no other things growing because of that out-competition. Uprooting them is the way to go, but also avoiding them so that we do not add more insult to injury. That is very important. As I conclude, I want to congratulate Hon. Irene and Hon. Kagiri who has seconded this Bill with a lot of facts. I urge other Members to support it and vote for it so that we can start implementing it. Thank you, Madam Speaker."
}
]
}