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Orina, Owala, Olola and the other like-minded brigade out there.

You all re activists and busy bodies. Your incessant opposition to Dominion Project just lacks basis. You seem to be immersed in ideological opposition to FDI without offering alternatives. When you say you like bottom- up as opposed to top - down approach to development and quoting half-synthesised documents; what are you offering as the alternative choice and solution?

Somebody like Owala simply has no facts. What he writes is already covered in various documents including the Feb 2006 KWF half-baked report written by a group of armatures after six days sojourn into DOMFARM project. The materials you are giving and basing your conclusions on are just unresearched opinions of activists and busy bodies.

Please instead of wasting everybody's time tell us what you propose to be the "other choice" for the people, how you will get it funded, whether you have done the feasibility studies or whether it has been done. Can we see your EIA and more importantly, when these farmers lose this potential source of income whether you have in place potential compensation for them and offer alternative project fully funded.

I have read KWF report on this project Entitled "Rapid Assessment of Yala Swamp Wetlands" following an investigative visit from 12th to 18th Feb 2006. KWF, in their own words, is a multi-institutional consortium that works to promote the conservation, management and wise use of wetlands and wetland resources in Kenya

I must say I am amazed at the unsupported recommendations like; stop the project immediately. To the credit of KWF, the report is published with a disclaimer below:

The views and interpretations expressed in this report are the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the consultative individuals and institutions.

In its Executive Summary, KWF has this to say in the report, " The often used reference of wetlands as wastelands has led to conversion and subsequent loss of many vital wetlands in the country". From this, it is clear that their involvement is motivated by a sole desire to conserve the Wetlands and insulate it from human activities or prevent any development activities from taking place in such an area. This is a neo- Marxist ideological position well favoured by disgruntled activists.

In addition, it goes on, "It is one of the most important riparian and floodplain wetlands around the lake, and indeed one of the largest in Kenya. The swamp forms the mouth of both Rivers Nzoia and Yala and is a freshwater deltaic wetland arising from backflow of water from Lake Victoria as well as the rivers' floodwaters. It provides a very important habitat for refugee populations of certain fish and animal species which have otherwise disappeared from the Lake Victoria."

Is Dominion the cause of disappearance of these species of fish and animals from Lake Victoria? Should we not be focussing on why these species disappeared in the first place and address the known problems of?

1. Industrial Pollution,

2. Discharge of untreated waste and sewer into the Lake,

3. Over fishing combined with poor fishing techniques,

4. Rapid population growth in the Lake region,

5. Marginal crop yields arising from poor application of agricultural technology to cope with climate change,

6. Diminishing farm sizes because of traditional land sub division practices

And who are the authors? Here they are:

1. Richard Mwendandu 2. Jane Kibwage 3. Patrick Muraguri 4. Jennifer Kimani 5. Peter Odhiambo

6. Lillian Wanjiku 7. David Mboya 8. Selelah Okoth 9. W. Omondi Were

Basically, the investigation was instituted to "provide the KWF with tangible and adequate information to enable it respond appropriately on the unfolding issues". The cause of these issues was the revelation of the new activities being undertaken by Dominion Farms Ltd, which had elicited mixed reactions from a number of stakeholders voicing various concerns ranging from issues of sustainable development, environment and livelihoods. On this basis, the Kenya Wetlands Forum (KWF) during its meeting of 12th January 2006 mandated a team of its members to undertake a rapid assessment of the swamp in relation to the Dominion projects.

KWF neither tells us what the exact issues were before the trip, nor who are those claiming to be the stakeholders to this project that have enlisted to be heard, to file objections to the project. Instead it lists issues which seem to have only come to light as a result of the trip and call them unfolding. It may well be that these issues came to light to KWF from input coming from activists and NOT necessarily the stakeholders.

The issues and concerns identified by KWF touch on:

1. Agricultural activities - Feasibility studies have not been undertaken for any of the crops .

- The agricultural activities are being undertaken before the approval of the

EIA.

-The crop varietals trials and introductions should be carried out in accordance to

and in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture.

For Gods sake, who is the complainant here? Is lack of consultation with a Government Ministry an NGO issue? This is misplaced priorities by busy bodies. Don't we have government agencies which regulate introduction of seeds and crop varieties in the Country?

2. Aquaculture activities - Feasibility studies have not been undertaken for any of the above aquaculture ventures; subsequently no independent and comprehensive EIA has been undertaken.

- No authority has been given to Dominion Farms by the relevant government 
department with regard to breeding and introductions according to regulation 
27 of the Fisheries Act Cap 378 Laws of Kenya.

-The rehabilitated Lake Kanyaboli retention dyke has not taken into 
consideration the breeding and free movement of fish between Lake 
Kanyaboli and the wider Yala Swamp and by extension to Lake Victoria.

- Movement of live fish from both inland and foreign

- water bodies have been undertaken in contravention of Regulation 25 and 57 of 
the Fisheries Act Cap 378 of Laws of Kenya.

-Fish gears have been moved from one water body in contravention of 
Regulation 61 of the Fisheries Act Cap 378

3. Water works in the swamp - Dominion applied and was granted a water abstraction permit for extraction of 349,920 M3 /day from flood flow for general irrigation from River Yala, which is the main source of water to Yala Swamp. In order to achieve this the firm has undertaken construction of Weir and Water Reservoir, completed the original weir constructed by the LBDA and raised it by two meters. The raised weir is intended to create a water reservoir/dam covering approximately 100ha of land outside the area designated for the Dominion Farms. It is within this area that local households have been displaced and offered compensation.

The Firm proposes to install a hydro-electric power generation plant at the weir to produce hydro- power. The river channel has been diverted to enable water flow into the irrigation canal to meet the farm's general irrigation needs. One major canal intended to replenish Lake Kanyaboli is complete and functional, the other major canal for general irrigation is under construction. Along the Lake Kanyaboli feeder canal there are several water points intended for community and livestock use.

NOW, KWF has this to say : The permit for the amount of water applied for and granted for extraction is not backed by a feasibility study for their requirement and is silent on the balances for the community and the rest of the ecosystem.

(*) The permit does not define the extraction period.

(*) The control and management of the feeder canal to Lake Kanyaboli is not clearly spelt out.

(*)The reservoir created lacks a comprehensive feasibility and EIA study to address environmental 
and socio economic concerns, such as health, displacement, ownership, safety among others.

(*) The weir construction did not take into consideration fish ladders.

(*) Although there are proposed community and livestock water points the distribution is not clearly demarcated. Location of the water points was not done consultatively.

These people are just amazing. If EMA gave permit without feasibility studies why don't you challenge it in court? Do these government bodies report top you? The weir was part of the original plan, which could not be completed by LBDA due to lack of funds. Are you asking somebody taking over a defunct project to start fresh studies after taking over? Are you aware the diversion of river Yala from lake Kanyaboli was never completed and the lake was dying? It had no outlets and did not really stock much fish! In away this project will revive the lake and not kill it.

4. Construction Works - The following constructions have been completed or are in progress:

(*) Airstrip completed

(*) Rice silos almost complete

(*) Fish ponds almost complete

(*) Road works ongoing

(*) Office and accommodation complete

(*) Playing grounds ongoing

(*) Fencing is ongoing

(*) Fuel pump station

KWF Complaints are as follows:

(*) No detailed structural feasibility studies on the above

(*) Water runoffs and discharges mitigations not availed

(*) Local community free movement has been curtailed without due consideration

Approval of building Plans falls under the Local authority. How does KWF come in here? Is this part of your mandate to approve building plans now? Sorry you are busy bodies. The Councils of Bondo and Siaya do not report to you on issues of plan approvals. You cannot mount an objection since you are not a resident body in the two counties.

4. Land - The land under which the projects are being undertaken totals 6,900ha of which 3,700ha has been leased and an additional 3,200ha has recently been cleared by the Ministry of Lands to be leased from both the Siaya and Bondo county councils for a period of 25 years with option for another 20. In addition to the above, the firm has acquired an additional 100ha next to the farms to be submerged by the reservoir to be created as a result of damming the river. The affected displaced land owners have been compensated by the firm at a fee of KShs 45,000. According to KWF, opinions differed on the compensation rates with some accepting, while others felt the amount was too little. On the Siaya side, an area referred to as plot 899 had already been demarcated and allotment done. It appears that the County Council does not have the record of allottees. As such the County Council is unable to identify the true beneficiaries, therefore creating a conflict. On the Bondo side, a community committee had been formed which negotiated and settled for compensation, the families affected have evacuated the area except for one family which declined the compensation.

The land seems not to have been satisfactorily handled by both the County Councils and Dominion Farms which is a potential area of conflict.

KWF is now veering into Land ownership. Is this its mandate? According to them opinions on the ground are divided with some satisfied with compensation and other grumbling. That is expected in any project any where in the World and should not be an issue. Is it possible that after six days these people have concluded that land is an issue over the 100ha water reservoir ?

5. Environmental issues – KWF has identified the environmental concerns for the projects being both implemented and proposed for Yala Swamp wetlands and surrounding ecosystem as:

a) Pollution -The proposed projects are bound to release different effluence and pollution to the environment in the form of fertilisers, pesticides, invasive species, and effluents from fish factories (processing and meals), noise and pungent smells, waste discharge from machineries.

b) Degradation of the environment downstream - The potential for degradation of the Yala swamp environment by the proposed projects are claimed to be as a result of:

- The damming and diversion of the river Yala at the weir; already having an effect on the downstream ecosystems and fish dynamics like upstream movement. When operational to the expected level, then the downstream ecosystem will be adversely affected. Already, the River enters the Lake Victoria by a mere trickle. It could dry up.

c) Land clearing and preparation -By the end of the whole project preparation approximately 6,900ha of land will be cleared and delineated. This activity will occasion loss of trees, shrubs, grasses, papyrus, and habitats for various fish and animal species. Dominion Farms is also applying proscribed burning of large tracks of papyrus as part of their land preparation. This activity besides releasing large quantity of ash and soot, results in the loss of wild life e.g. the endangered Sitatunga, among others.

There are already fish factories around the lake and this is not going to be the first or last. In Kenya fertilizer is used widely in Central, Rift Valley, western, Nyanza, Eastern etc, to grow crops. Why is it an issue only at Yala swamp?

KWF concern is cantered on:-

(*) No inventory of the actual or potential biological loss from the areas being converted

(*) Implication of soil losses from the prepared land to downstream users and the entire ecosystem has not been taken into serious consideration

(*) Waste management treatment has not been addressed convincingly

(*) Other envisaged pollution has not been addressed. (air, noise, water)

(*) There is no Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the activities of the entire ecosystem.

(*) There is a lot of reference and reliance on earlier plans by the LBDA which are outdated and obsolete due to the acreage under consideration, the crop stipulated and the new legal and socio economic requirements.

6. Socio-economics – These are captured under:

a) Livestock - Accessibility during the dry season : The leased area of 6,900ha of land represents more than 1/3 of the total swamp area. In addition, the upper part of the swamp area is most suitable for grazing. This will result in loss of traditional grazing land and water for the riparian communities.

b) Flora and fauna - The part of the swamp delineated by Dominion Farms is host to unique tree and shrub species which are used for medicinal purpose. In addition, the area is also home to the endangered Sitatunga.

c) Quality and quantity of papyrus - Papyrus has several important uses by the local community e.g. roofing material, mats, pottery, cottage industries all of which are threatened.

d) Shrines & Cultural issues - Part of the swamp has sites which have been traditionally used for spiritual purposes. This is an area that has not been taken into consideration.

e) Energy Source - Yala riparian community draws over 80% of its energy requirement from fuel wood. The delineation of the swamp area and subsequent loss of the alternative fuel wood source will result in increased pressure on surrounding forests.

f) Employment - One of the original justifications of Dominion was the creation of employment opportunities for the local community. Currently over 90% of the jobs availed are temporary and of unskilled nature, majority of which are offered to women. While most people felt the availability of employment in itself is a good contribution from Dominion Farms, there were major complaints in terms of pay, long and intense working hours all of which have began to cause tension within families.

g) Community Participation and Dialogue - The consultations which have taken place between the community, the county councils and the company have not adequately addressed the concerns of the community. The majority of the communities are not well informed of all the dealings and the implications on their daily lives. There is a strong feeling of betrayal among most of the community members on the part of the Company. There were consistent complaints that the company has reneged on what it originally promised at the beginning. This has led to the feeling that the company is implementing its activities without the interests of the community being considered. More recently, the company has embarked on constituting an ad hoc committee to try and address the emerging conflict. However, this committee was also not constituted in a participatory manner hence creating further conflict.

h) Technical capacity of the County Councils - The council's of Siaya and Bondo are the custodians of the community's interests through the elected councillors, however, their technical capacities to negotiate in a multi-disciplinary project of this magnitude is lacking. This is evident by the fact that there was no technical evaluation team from either council to appraise the Dominion project.

i) Health impacts - Dominion Farms Ltd has promised to put up and/or upgrade health facilities within the two districts. However, the EIA undertaken by Dominion farms does not address the emergent health issues associated with population influx like social diseases. The EIA is also silent on water borne diseases associated with rice growing and creation of water reservoirs e.g. malaria, bilharzia, dysentery, typhoid, etc.

j) Threatened community livelihoods - The large offer of temporary employment by Dominion Farms, coincides with the planting season, is removing communities' from their farms and is bound to have a negative impact on household food production. This is further aggravated by the fact that 80% of Dominion's labour force is made up of women who are also traditionally the back bone of household food security. Over 60% of the riparian community heavily depends on the wetlands for grazing. The loss of grazing land is already impacting negatively on their livelihoods. For the fishing community, the loss of the wetlands which is a habitat and breeding ground for various species of fish is bound to further have negative impacts on them.

The loss of papyrus is bound to negatively affect the community livelihoods because it is the source of roofing materials, mats, pottery and cottage industry materials.

7. Government and Dominion Farms Ltd Relations - Official communication between Dominion and different arms of the government has been selective or totally lacking, consequently official protocols were ignored. This has led to mistrust and suspicion between Dominion and the various government departments in both districts.

8. Environment Impact Assessment - The assessment revealed that Dominion Farms Ltd is implementing several major activities without feasibility studies and an authorized EIA. The activities being undertaken fall within the second schedule of EMCA 1999 which must be preceded by comprehensive feasibility studies and an EIA. Further to the above, the Yala Swamp falls under section 42 of EMCA 1999 which spells out the protection of lakes, rivers and wetlands. EMCA 1999 explicitly and clearly specifies that projects of the kind being undertaken by Dominion Farms Ltd should have a comprehensive feasibility study and on this basis should be subject to a full EIA. Indeed, Dominion commissioned an EIA for its projects which has since been submitted to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and which is still subject to public debate and awaiting NEMA's verdict (dated September 2005 and notified for public debate on 07/01/06 in local dailies). This EIA report, does not address each of the intended projects separately and comprehensively as is required by the law, instead it has a blanket description of the intended activities.

KWF concludes with this: Salient features revealed by the assessment include:

a. Deviation of Dominion Farms Ltd from the original plan adopted from the LBDA

b. Non fulfilment of EIA requirements

c. Lack or absence of a comprehensive Environment Management 
Plan for the area nor demonstrated capacity to effectively 
manage the envisaged impacts/consequences of the projects

d. A clear demonstrated threat to the immediate and long term integrity of the Yala swamp wetlands as a functional and 
healthy ecosystem.

I doesn't make sense that an activist is complaining that Government departments are not adequately involved in the Project, or that the Ministry of Agriculture is not controlling the project. On one hand they say Lake Basin was undertaking the same project but lacked funds, then what is the difference?

We advocate alternative view that the Local people decide whether they want a project or not. The land does not belong to the government but to the community. The Environmental Impact will affect the Local community hence it is them to be consulted and not some busy bodies from Nairobi and else where in Kenya.

Integrated Yala Swamp and Surrounding Wetlands development for sustainable use is a very good thing.

Below is the hydrograph map for lake Victoria:

You will notice a rapid rise in Lake Level in 1960 coinciding with full commissioning of Aswan High Dam in Egypt. This displaced many people in West and East Yimbo, Bunyala in the Kenyan Part. Some of this land has not been inhabited to date. By damming River Yala, slowly settlements are coming back around Lake Sare and Lake Nyamboyo in Yimbo.

The projection for population growth around Lake Victoria is intimidating. Look at the data below:

We have to have intervention measures on food security now and not tomorrow. There has to be changes in land use, agricultural techniques, research in seeds and agricultural production, fish breeding, animal husbandry, housing and construction methods for low cost shelters, energy security, infrastructure development. If these activists are advocating that, we maintain status quo they are mad. You cannot rely on papyrus as fuel in an increasing population.

This is the time for capacity building in the affected Local Authorities of Bondo, Siaya and Busia to engage professionals in Regional Planning, architecture, Law, engineering, Accounts Medicine, Education etc in anticipation of the rapid population growth in the area plus the concentration of people attracted by the projects backward and forward integration.

It if a fallacy to argue that DOFARMS project in the great ecological disaster in Lake Basin. Introduction of Nile Perch

Akelo nyar Kager, jaluo@jaluo.com

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