Keeping the balance: development and protection in Africa

This is the point made by Nancy Karigithu, director general of the Kenya Maritime Authority. She explains that the country, recognising the operation and construction of ports brings major economic development and social opportunities, has also had to recognise that these same developments can also raise serious environmental concerns – which have the possibility of cutting the ground from underneath the feet of positive social change.

Sadly, much has already been lost or degraded - for example, mangrove forests have been destroyed by dredged-up sediment during construction of sea jetties or cleared to reclaim land for industry or housing.

Ms Karigithu, talking at the first East and Southern Africa environmental managers conference, said that to address the issue Kenya is has been putting in a lot of effort to strengthen legislation and the regulatory framework. Actions like these have ensured that, for example, the expansion of Lamu Port was subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and mitigation strategies were put in place.

But it has been a slow process. “To introduce a maritime analogy, climate change is like a giant oil tanker, in that, to stop it, or even to alter its course, not only takes a massive force but also a considerable amount of time and distance,” says Ms Karigithu , “even though it actually only takes a light push on the right button to actually initiate the action.”

Over the last decade there has, however, been movement toward general recognition of the environmental management role – which is, predictably, some carrot, some stick.

Ms Karigithu explains, “There is increasing awareness of the threats posed to the environment coupled with increasing pressure on world resources. Society is getting increasingly litigious and there is a vast increase in legislation imposing a variety of accountabilities and penalties on institutions. Therefore,” she adds, “ports will come under increasing scrutiny and must put in place measures to address the negative environmental impact of their operations.”

The environmental concerns facing ports in the East and Southern African region are similar to the concerns facing many operations, and these are diverse.

There are challenges posed by ships’ operational waste, sewage and garbage, effluent discharge and hazardous cargo. Further, repair docks are possible sources of toxic or harmful materials such as anti-foulants, paints, or heavy metals.

There are also concerns generated by accidents and incidents, bunkering in particular is of concern as it can so easily cause oil pollution. The transit of chemical products also can cause problems and further, commodities may fall from cranes or be damaged by handling vehicles.

Pollution is also generated from the maintenance of port infrastructure and superstructure works, and may also come from activities such as grit blasting and spray painting or from ship repairs in the port area – and though not all threats are port-generated, like the shadow of oil pollution from the high levels of oil transportation, drilling and processing activities in the region, some fall within port limits. For example, the transportation of alien invasive plants in ballast can cause changes to freshwater availability and alter the diversity and abundance of species within ecosystems. Aquatic weeds too changes water quality by adding or removing nutrients and thus affect drinking water and human health.

However, there is a sense that despite the amount and cohesive nature of environmental legislation, application, according to one source, is lagging behind. At the same time, the long walk to protect the marine environment is getting steeper as an increasing proportion of the urban population now lives in port cities which, because of development activities, are piling on the pressure.

The ports of the region like Mombasa, Maputo, and Durban, Dar es Salam are also major trade centres, as industrial development has expanded in the neighbouring areas to take advantage of opportunities for trade, tourism and other commercial activities opened up by the ports.

“The highly attractive and diverse resources of the coastal and marine environments mean that coastal areas are experiencing rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and infrastructure development,” she says.

Unfortunately, the exceptional demand for resources and infrastructure development in the coastal zone is putting pressure on fragile ecosystems.

However, Ms Karigithu adds that a piecemeal approach won’t work, ”Environmental impact assessments should be conducted as part of proactive and holistic development planning,” she says. “These need to be integrated into an overall development plan for a region or area, so that the cumulative impact of all developments are considered and habitat loss and fragmentation are minimised.”

She also pointed out that noise and vibration from cargo handling equipment and road traffic can cause unacceptable levels of stress among local people. “Appropriate selection of the location of port can mitigate these adverse effects,” she said.

So, priorities for action, says Ms Karigithu, include strengthening of existing mechanisms by investment in equipment and personnel, as well as better coordination between government departments and other related organisations, so that environmental and development issues are integrated into all decision making at both the national and sub-regional level.

Further, she says there’s a need to exert pressure on the international community to implement the proposed mechanisms for emissions trading, reforestation schemes, and cleaner development. She adds that there’s ambiguity in the CO2 footprint calculations which need to be applied uniformly to be of use.

However, she doesn’t stop there: “There’s also a role for radical reforms to the energy and transport sectors, including adoption of appropriate clean technologies,” she concludes.