KWALE COUNTY, KENYA — Young conservationists, local mothers, and fishermen along Kenya’s coast have joined forces to restore disappearing mangrove forests, aiming to replenish inshore fish stocks and spare fishermen perilous journeys into the open ocean.
In Kwale County, volunteers are planting mangrove seedlings along muddy coastal waterways. According to the Kenya Forest Service, roughly 45 per cent of the county’s mangrove forests are degraded. Because mangroves serve as crucial breeding grounds, their loss has forced fishermen in small wooden canoes to venture into rough, deep waters, where dwindling catches often fail to cover fuel costs.
For Kelly Robert Banda, founder of Kilifi Climate Change, the mission became personal after a fisherman friend disappeared at sea. “I have friends who are fishermen – one went deep-sea fishing and never came back. They looked for his body for almost three weeks,” Banda said. “If we restore this mangrove, all the fish will be coming to the creek.”
Banda also welcomed recent government efforts to introduce rotational fishing zones, allowing fish stocks time to breed.
Fearing for their husbands’ lives in rough seas, local mothers are actively planting seedlings alongside youth groups. “If I do this, it also makes his work easier, and no harm will happen either,” said resident Mercelyne Nyale.
These youth projects have already begun to bear fruit, as shown by the Kenya Youth Biodiversity Network’s restoration of 15 hectares of mangrove forests. These communities hope these fish will return to the creeks.
View the full video report below
[This current affairs report item is provided as part of Broadcast Media Africa (BMA)’s mandate to keep Africa’s broadcast media audiences and stakeholders informed on international developments in local and global humanitarian and public service broadcasting.]
