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"id": 204348,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/204348/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Prof. Maathai",
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"speaker": {
"id": 226,
"legal_name": "Wangari Muta Maathai",
"slug": "wangari-maathai"
},
"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I was trying to draw the attention of the House to the fact that the proposed National Disaster Management Authority will need to understand that many of the issues that are mentioned here are actually symptoms of environmental degradation. While I strongly support the formation of the proposed authority, so that all disastrous issues are co-ordinated, it is important to understand that many of these issues are actually caused by the fact that we are not managing our environment properly. So, we end up with floods, drought and famine. It sometimes makes me feel very bad when I see people rushing to areas such as Kakamega, Budalang'i, and other areas where our people are, really, suffering. During such times, we do everything. We go there ready with money, helicopters, medicine as well as accusations against each other. However, as soon as that particular disaster is over, we go back to slumber. What the proposed authority could do is to make sure that we are constantly prepared. One way of making ourselves prepared is to manage our environment properly. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, if we do not go back to Cherengani Hills, and address the issue of soil erosion, for example, it does not matter how many times we go to Budalang'i and cry over spilt waters, we will never be able to solve that problem, or to help those people. It breaks my heart sometimes when I see people expressing so much dismay, as if they do not quite understand what is happening upstream. The proposed authority will have to work very closely with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Lands. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there is no reason why our people should be allowed to settle in very steep areas, for example, what we saw in Kakamega. It really makes no sense to allow our people to settle in these areas and then we are faced with a disaster where our people are buried alive in the middle of the night. Then there are no people to help them. In this very City, buildings have collapsed. As the Deputy Government Chief Whip said a little earlier, this is due to September 12, 2007 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3859 corruption. An Authority like this one would make sure that such issues are addressed and we do not have buildings collapsing because somebody somewhere did not do his or her job properly. It is important for such an Authority, therefore, to study, compile data and be prepared just like the fire engine, because you never know when the fire is going to break out. With disasters, you never know when they are going to occur. One way in which we must avoid disasters is to prevent them. When we were holding the Bomas talks, we proposed that the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources should recommend that every person who owns land in this country should be required to put 10 per cent of their land under trees. We calculated that to be about 25 trees per hectare. If everybody was required to do that, and it does not have to be a woodland, there could be trees scattered all over the land. The 25 trees per hectare are very few. That would raise the tree cover in our country to about 10 per cent. Along with this, if we also made sure that every hill and mountain in this country is covered with trees, we would prevent many of these disasters. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I would like to see an Authority that does not just sit and wait for disasters to strike, but rather, an Authority that engages all the different departments of the Government so that the country is prepared to deal with disasters, and when disasters strike, they are natural phenomenon that we cannot prevent. With respect to drought, lack of water, famine and the highland malaria, I want to draw the attention of the House to the fact that climate change is actually a phenomenon that is now drawing a lot of attention in the world. The other day, I was very happy to hear the President mentioning the issue of climate change when he was addressing the current conference of lawyers which is going on here in Nairobi. He said that it is very important for us, as a country, to pay attention to climate change. If we do not pay attention to climate change, especially to our environment, especially our forests and triple our tree planting efforts, when the impact of climate change finally truly hits this part of the world, there will be disasters that we will not be able to manage. As we think of this Authority, it is very important for us to pay attention to climate change. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}