Prevailing Situation
Communities and policy makers especially at local government levels have barely taken notice of the growing plastic pollution of the key rivers, lakes and seas within the Tsavo ecosystem and dispersal areas. The public also lack general understanding of the delivery role rivers and storm drains play in dumping plastics into the various lakes and seas within TEDA. There also lacks a general understanding of the negative health impacts of the micro and macro plastics in the community food chains.
The Challenge
Communities within TEDA, as is the case with most of Africa have as yet not started segregating solid waste at its source, and compounded with a poor or non-existence solid waste management culture within the public, a lot of the disposed of plastic is ending up in the rivers, seas and lakes. This is posing a potential risk to livelihoods through the blue economy value chains while degrading the Bluescapes negatively. Community awareness around the emerging challenge is totally lacking as is the political will to drive community mitigation action despite the existence of various progressive legislation on the same. Equally the continued pollution of the seas is driving climate change while killing sustainable sea habitats and life.
The Mitigation
The foundation is mobilising stakeholders to drive a clean seas ocean plastic campaign starting from Nairobi to Mombasa along the major highways and trunk road, spreading progressively throughout the landscape with the sole objective of raising awareness about the Plastic problem and galavanise communities for solid waste segregation while anchoring community’s education on the negative impacts of Plastics to the blue economy and sustainable seascapes.
Expected Outputs
# Increased plastic pollution awareness and mobilised community actors anchoring circularity along the
plastic value chain.
# Regeneration and clean of ocean of plastics anchored around sustained community action and policy enforcement.
# Functional community plastic waste recycling groups and committees and local grassroots levels
