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{
    "id": 189258,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/189258/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 221,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Baiya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 8,
        "legal_name": "Peter Njoroge Baiya",
        "slug": "peter-baiya"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker for granting me the opportunity to contribute to this Motion. I would want to begin by applauding the Mover of this Motion. The issue of protection of the Cherangany Forest catchment area is a very critical issue. It brings to the front one of the most challenging problems that humanity is facing today with regard to managing the planet, weather and our own ways of life. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, the problem is not just a local problem. It is an international problem. Today, the ice on Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro is melting. Soon there will be no ice on the mountains. The people down the mountain receive water from the catchment areas and it is the ice that holds water so that it trickles down gradually. The reason why the ice melts is global warming. Temperatures are rising steadily in the world. This in turn affects the weather all over. Even in our country we did not receive the long and short rains as we normally do. The predictability of the weather pattern is completely in disarray. Food security has also been seriously endangered. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we are going to be in more serious trouble if we continue to ignore our environment and water catchment areas. Global warming is caused by emission of carbon dioxide into the air. The carbon dioxide creates a blanket impact around the planet. This is caused by the burning of fossil fuels which is mainly oil and various emissions from industries. It is particularly worrisome that the large nations of the world that have the capacity and resources to lead the rest of mankind have actually ignored this. We witnessed the failure of negotiations in Kyoto, Japan where major world powers refused to commit themselves to control emission of carbon dioxide. There is a lot of scientific evidence that if action is not taken soon, as far as the weather is concerned, we are approaching a tipping point where a possible damage to the world could be very colossal. We have seen that even large ice mass especially in the north pole and south pole is melting at an alarming level. This causes rise in sea levels and disturbs the weather pattern. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, in our country, we should urge our Government to do more and demonstrate more responsibility than other governments of the world. This country has only about five major water catchment areas. These are mainly Mt. Kenya, the Mau Ranges, Cherangany, the Aberdares region and Mt. Elgon zone. Our country has arable land of about 21 per cent. If we are to preserve this important catchment zone, it is extremely important that the available arable land be used most responsibly. This is to ensure that the resources that Kenyans require, for example, food for industries and export, should be produced to the maximum from the arable lands and prevent our people from the temptation to encroach on marginal land and forests that we so badly need. So, not only are we asking the Government to preserve Cherangany Forest and other water catchment areas, but also to effect effective land usage policy. There is no point having individuals holding large tracts of land which they do not use. In the process, they cause Kenyans who have no land and means to eke a living by encroaching into forests. Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I urge that preserving Cherangany Forest will also July 16, 2008 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 1869 entail other policies touching on land usage. It will also entail all other issues relating to poverty. Even though poor people would wish to preserve the environment, they are hard equipped. They will not worry about the environment before they have means of livelihood. The cycle of poverty also induces people to destroy the environment which they need in order to lift themselves up. This creates desertification. Therefore, it is upon the Government to take the lead and show Kenyans that we can make a difference. We need to preserve our forests to provide water, improve the weather and clean the air. We need to make a difference on the rest of the world which has failed dismally to preserve the planet. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}