In this episode, Vishal talks to one of the most important stakeholders that SEI works with in Nakuru - Grace Karanja, Nakuru County's Director of Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Natural Resources.
Together, they unpack the on-ground realities and concerns of the County government of Nakuru, Kenya, that play into the work being done by both the County officials themselves and in collaboration with SEI, Africa in order to make Nakuru a healthy environment where every citizen can have the opportunity to thrive.
In this episode, Vishal talks to one of the most important stakeholders that SEI works with in Nakuru - Grace Karanja, Nakuru County's Director of Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Natural Resources.
Together, they unpack the on-ground realities and concerns of the County government of Nakuru, Kenya, that play into the work being done by both the County officials themselves and in collaboration with SEI, Africa in order to make Nakuru a healthy environment where every citizen can have the opportunity to thrive.
Vishal Mehta 00:09
Hello and welcome to the fifth episode of The City Health and Wellbeing podcast. I'm your host, Vishal Mehta. I'm a senior scientist with the Stockholm Environment Institute, SEI, based in the US center in Davis, California. SEI is an international nonprofit that works at the intersection of science and policy in several countries. You can find out more about SEI at www.SEI.org. We are interested today in unpacking what makes a city a healthy environment where every citizen can have the opportunity to thrive. In the last episode, we talked with Romanus Opiyo, program leader for Urban Sustainability at our Africa Center in Nairobi, Kenya. This week, we follow up with one of the most important stakeholders that we work with in Nakuru, Grace Karanja, who works with the Nakuru county government. Welcome Grace. Thank you for being with us today.
Grace Karanja 01:12
Thank you very much. I'm happy to be here today on this very important episode.
Vishal Mehta 01:19
Grace, can you tell us more about yourself before we get into the specific topics like your background, position, your role in Nakuru County?
Grace Karanja 01:28
Okay, thank you for that. My name is Grace Karanja. I work with the county government of Nakuru as a Director - Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Natural Resources. My background is on environmental planning and then on climate change and sustainable development.
Vishal Mehta 01:48
Thanks, Grace. And... can you tell me... this particular position that you're in, the Director of Environment, Energy and Climate Change…It's fascinating to me that, at a county level, that there is such a position. So, I was... I was kind of interested in sharing with our listeners, how is it that position even came about, you know... and how is it funded? What kind of support do you have and who are the different stakeholders you work with and what kinds of programs you run?
Grace Karanja 02:21
Nakuru County... it's one of the 47 counties in Kenya and it is the third city right now, the city of Nakuru .. We have different departments within the county. And one of them happened to be the Department of Water Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Natural Resources where we are working. So, in the department, we have two directorates... that's Directorate of Water and Sanitation. Then, where I head is Department of... Directorate of Environment, Energy, Climate Change and Natural Resources. So, they are part of the departments that actually help in performing the mandates that are developed and also the mandates that have been given to county government through the County Government Act of 2012 and also Urban Areas and Cities Act of 2011. So they are also... like... we have the same at the national level. So, the same has been cascaded to county government, that is the second department at the local level, and each and every sector has its own mandate, and that's how we are organized in our counties.
Vishal Mehta 03:39
I know that we selected Nakuru as the city to work on almost six years ago at SEI, because we were focusing on the secondary cities so, not... you know, not the mega cities, but cities that are also fast growing and Nakuru came up as one of those. I was looking at the statistics on population growth in Nakuru County and I was wondering if you can tell us about... you know, what are the biggest challenges in Nakuru... in the county that you have encountered since, you know, you've taken up this position? And... also I wanted to ask you if you grew up in Nakuru County and saw a lot of change.
Grace Karanja 04:24
Okay, I didn't grow up in Nakuru, per se. I grew elsewhere, but I've been in Nakuru County, at least for the last 10 years. I've been in Nakuru County... both in Naivasha and now in Nakuru. Because Nakuru is very fast (growing), it has 11 subcounties and Naivasha happened to be one of them. In fact, it's one of the municipalities within the county and then, now... Nakuru County which was also municipality and then was elevated to be a city. So... with.. issues of planning, we have a lot of challenges. Like, for example, when people come in from city... from the rural areas coming to the city to look for greener opportunities, we usually have, maybe... the development issues whereby, maybe, the resources that were there before cannot be able to be tenable at this moment. So, we are talking of... maybe of a stretch to resources... the available resources. Maybe, for example, the increase in waste generation, and also increase in... yes.. Increase in also water demand... basically, the things that basic needs that really are human needs to survive in a city. Some of them are a bit challenging, because some of... maybe, we did not have, maybe, enough water to drink, and do not have the services maybe others are having. But the county is working very hard to ensure that we are also taking the service to the people and that one through provision of water in more areas, provision of energy services at the same time, and also on issues of education and awareness, because when the urban sprawl is happening, it comes with its own challenges and if you are not able to take care of that challenges before it happens, then you will not able to manage that urban setup. So... as the county or as the cities grows, it comes with a lot of challenges, at the same time opportunities. So, even if... it is... we have population growth, we have a lot of economic activities coming up as a result of many people now will come in to stock for this, so they have diversified economic activities. So... before, we didn't have many markets. Now, many modern markets are coming up. Initially, we did not have... like, a green urban setup; many of them were not well made. Right now, they are all rehabilitated and people are living in there. So, we are talking of having more big challenges, opportunities, and also things we can... in future we can be able to... be able to take advantage of and grow our city.
Vishal Mehta
I was also wondering about the specific emphasis on climate change. What have you seen or what have you experienced in terms of climate change in Kenya and in Nakuru, that seem attributable to... to climate change? Because. we know you have different stressors, you have all the in-migration, you have many more people coming in, this happens all over the world, like where Gokul [the producer of the podcast] and I grew up in Bangalore in India, for example. But, you know, it's like... history repeating itself. So, we have those challenges, but in what ways does climate change itself impact... you know, other stressors of increasing demand and energy and water and waste management services... and transportation.
Grace Karanja
You have touched on a very important area whereby climate change is not just something that happens when you just wake up. It has been something that has happened and we cannot really see the trends. For example, in Nakuru.... in Nakuru, from the history and from things that I've been able to see... we have experienced some... a bit of temperature rise, where some of the areas were very cold but, right now, the temperatures are rising. We also have our water rising levels in our lakes. Remember... Nakuru county hosts the mineral lakes the country... around six of them. So... that one comes with its own challenges. So, the most affected lakes are Lake Naivasha, Lake Nakuru. Even right now, many people are displaced as a result of wastewater rising levels. We also have some instances we experienced there of prolonged drought that was not there before. Both hydrological and the agricultural drought. For some instance, we have experienced also invasive species... in terms of.. invasive species which has destroying, maybe our agricultural product. So you feel like... some of the things, maybe, where the areas that were very much productive are no longer that. So... also, as we search for resources, you see the inadequate water supply as a result of demand. So... to some areas where, maybe, you are drilling even... dry wells... boreholes that are dry that means there is no... yes, the replenishing of water... the water cycle... it's not happening as it used to be. So, to some extent the things that are vivid enough is... things we can be able to attest and see. From previously, maybe, people who are there before... they can tell us, "We used to have a river that is... that was... we could swim, we could do all sorts of things." Right now there's no more river. Some of them who are... even seasonal rivers... they used to take a long time right now. Something is not the same anymore. So... in some areas, they were very fertile. As a result, maybe over... over-exploitation of the same resource... you see the production has gone down. So to some extent... also, in the area of pollution, both air, noise and excessive vibrations and, also, on... in terms of land and water contamination, because we're now all hustling to get things done and to get something on the table. Each and everyone... we can use different methods to ensure that they have food on the table but how sustainable are they? So... to that, if you have scarce resources and many people are depending on that returns, you expect the over-exploitation of the same and in the end conflicts comes. So there are so many things that are happening but... as Nakuru County, as guided by the National Climate Change Act of 2016, County Government are supposed to be... are to ensure that they mainstream climate change actions in their own plans. And this one has happened in Nakuru County, whereby we have our own Nakuru County Climate Change Act of 2021.
Vishal Mehta 09:01
Okay!
Grace Karanja 09:25
And, on the same, we have been able to develop a regulation fund, at least to source funds for climate financing.
Vishal Mehta 12:02
Ah...
Grace Karanja 12:02
And this one is taking... is taking place in all our grassroots level wards. And, we also have some financing programs through the National Treasury called Financing Locally Led Climate Actions at the local level. So... with that one is meant to ensure that we increase the resilience of our people. Also, we concentrate on mitigation of repetitions of climate's effects. So with that one, we feel that it will capacity-develop with the support of our people. We encourage them on... maybe, coming up with alternative sources of livelihood, not to over-depend on the things that are really characterizing the climate change or... issues. And then, we can be able, now, to have.... to build resilience, make our urban setup habitable, at the same time you can grow our economy.
Vishal Mehta 12:59
Yeah... that's wonderful, Grace. I mean... you mentioned climate financing. And... you know, when I was looking at the water supply for Nakuru, some... couple of years ago, there were some plans for increasing water supply from a different river and it wasn't clear if that was going to happen. So my... my question is... with the climate financing that you mentioned, what kinds of projects could that support? Could it support improving infrastructure, making improvements in expanding water supply sources? What are the different ways that you could use that climate financing?
Grace Karanja 13:41
Okay..., in climate financing... it is focusing on climate resilience investments whereabout it will have a high impact in terms of reaching out to the community and solving the issues they're having right now. And... water can... water is part of the creating resilience for people because when people access water, they can be able to do agriculture, they can be able to fend for their animals if they're pastoralist. They can be able also to fend for themselves. So... they can be able to use it commercially by having commercial agriculture... you can grow crops and then you can be able to sell. You can also use it to own agroforestry, for example, and be able to.... to do some activities that will ... add value to whatever you do. So water, for example, if a community identify... these programs have to be identified by the community themselves. They know what they are facing in terms of climate change issues. They know who it hurts most. So, we'll guide them on them coming up... we have done risk and vulnerability assessments. So you already know where... in each and every ward, where you can be able to have a very... very... very positive investment on the matter of carbon.... combating issues of climate change. So, in areas that [they] are water scarce, you can be able to assist the community... maybe drill water... do a water plan, do a dam. And then it should be climate proofed. For example, you can put a liner; you can... be able to conserve the areas where the waters are coming from. They can also use it... the money to rehabilitate riparian land and, also, the water catchment within their setup for them to continue being supplied with clean water for using domestically and also, if... they need more, they can use it through the one that we have been able to... maybe, through... roof catchment technologies...
Vishal Mehta 15:50
Rainwater harvesting...
Grace Karanja 15:52
Yes! So, at that community level, you will be able to educate them to do the basic things they can be able to have. And then they will not be depending on the water from the tap that's not forthcoming and... that is not enough. So, we feel that the programs will have high impact, and it is reaching to many community demand, that one would be very viable for the funding.
Vishal Mehta 16:18
So, just to catch up with these amazing things that you mentioned ... have you already secured climate financing and other examples of its deployment... those funds... or is that in progress?
Grace Karanja 16:31
For... for right now, this financial year, we have secured some money. And because with... within Financing Locally Led Climate Actions, we have different grants, one of them is called County Climate Institutional Strengthening. It's to ensure that the counties are capable, are capacitated to ensure that they can handle issues of climate change by preparing them by having the legal frameworks and surely capacity-develop the community and, also, the stakeholders on issues of climate change. And with that one, have already received the first grant of 11 million and ever since, we are able now to capacity-develop our community, educate them on the scenarios that are happening, what we can be able to do, identify potential areas where investments can be able to be done. Then, after that, we'll be able to have, now, another grant called County Climate Resilience Investment and that one will be a development where they identify different projects at the ward level or at that grassroot level and, now, meet the challenge and can be able to have a high impact say, it should be able to now be financed through that. And, then, also the county is supposed to provide a... also a percentage on the same. A minimum of 1.5% of the total... of the total development fund within our budget. That one has happened.
Vishal Mehta 18:05
That's pretty amazing. And all of this is channeled through the Kenyan national government?
Grace Karanja 18:10
Yes...
Vishal Mehta 18:11
It is international financing that has been secured by the national government and it's being dispersed... I imagine?
Grace Karanja 18:16
It is World Bank... World Bank through the national government and coming to the county and then counties financing the same.
Vishal Mehta 18:25
Amazing! That's really nice to know. So, I just wanted to, now, switch for the remainder of our conversation, to... you know, SEI's work in Nakuru with you and other stakeholders in both Nakuru city and the county. Now... I think you know that... probably more than I do that, you know, we've had so many activities in Nakuru over the last five or six years, including participatory mapping of water and sanitation issues in selected neighborhoods, especially in informal settlements. We did a lot of work on fluorosis with local partners, NGOs, with the county, we also organized a... an international workshop on fluorosis which is, you know, when you have excess fluoride in groundwater, just from natural causes through certain kinds of crystalline rocks and formations, which is all over the Rift Valley and many other parts of Asia and China and Africa. And then, we have shifted to air pollution and air pollution monitoring. And, among all these different activities that we've been part of, I was wondering if you could share what kind of impact these kinds of interventions have had, especially given our focus at SEI... at least in Nakuru on... on citizen science, you know... letting the community decide what the researchers should focus on investigating. So, I wanted to ask you... of all these different activities, what kind of impact that organizations like SEI can have? And, you know, how can these types of activities be institutionalized? How can they be strengthened? What else we can do to support organizations like yourselves and communities like Nakuru?
Grace Karanja 20:34
We have had... in fact, Stockholm Environment Institute is one of the... like consistent partner on matters of citizen wellbeing. And... the time that I came to know of this program, it was happening but it was not happening within our department. It was somehow in partnership with the Department of Health ...
Vishal Mehta 20:59
Right!
Grace Karanja 20:59
...and yes! And,,, that one is very key, because the issues of environment, you cannot do them in isolation. And... from the time that... the time that you are conducting this citizen well being in one of the informal settlements, that one... helped a lot because the community themselves were able to take care... take care of themselves through collection of data because they were capacity-developed on the same and, at least they knew what they... they were having and then they can project on what they don't want to happen, especially on issues of waste management. And... with that one, the community they are more informed. They know what they are required to do; they have a great role in that. And, from the... the results that we... findings that we got from that report, it can be able to be mainstreamed within our county plans and they can be supported there. So, when it comes to now, consistent... consistency in partnership... there is a lot we can be able to do. The best opportunity for us is to ensure that, whenever we have a partnership and we have a finding, it will find itself to the county planning. With that one, we are able, now, to identify the issues that were there, you can be able to incorporate them in the, maybe, annual plan or in the county development integrated plan... that is a five year plan... and from there, you can be able... you are assured within the span of five years, some of the activity, if not all, will have... find its way to... to where you wanted them to happen in terms of financing. On the same level, you should also continue resource mobilizing because we know we do not have adequate resources to fund the same. But when we incorporate the community, the stakeholders, the partners, I think we can do much on the same. So... when it comes to, now, the participatory approach of we are also identifying different activities. The same information helped us when we are conducting risk and vulnerability assessment because we already knew this site is this... these are the challenges they are passing through in terms of, maybe, economic view, environment and social. So... the information also... it's a very key resource whereby many of the county maps or different organization, they lack data. And whenever you want to do something that you don't have accurate data for that matter, you are not able to do what is required. So... to us... Stockholm has helped us in, maybe, coming up with and compiling data that is very informative, that has helped us to make proper decision making. On the same plan... when it comes to issues of air quality monitoring... that has been a very good opportunity for us and we are happy you also came as a test and you are able, also, to supply us with the same seven number of air quality monitoring centers and that one has put us on a high level as a county because we are seen to be very keen on what we're doing as a county and advising the county for better. You know, as a city it has a lot of issues; we have a lot of air pollution coming both from transport sector, agriculture sector; it's coming from the daily activity... commercial and the activities that we are already doing. And if you are not... we stay business-as-usual, it will not be able to happen. We did a study before on... like a baseline on greenhouse inventory on Nakuru that is... yeah... before, it through other partners; that was taken ..January 2019 through December 2019. And it revealed that we are generating about 1,642,736 tonnes of CO2 as greenhouse emissions as a county. And in a lay man.. if you... it is like you're talking of driving around 37,000 cars from Nairobi... or from Nakuru to Nairobi - that is our capital city - on a daily basis. That is a lot! And that only was coming from stationary energy... coming from waste and transport. So, you see, if you are not able to monitor what we are generating, we'll not have more effort in mitigating the same. So, when you assisted us with the air quality monitoring sensors, we feel that data is helping us to make the right decision. And... we would like your assistance in also escalating the same by ensuring that you capacity-develop us and also our officers on the same so that we can have well-monitored data, we can be able to keep... I will create a database for that and any other climate related issues so that we can be able, now, to utilize that information on a real time data and also advise our... our clients and also assist them on the mitigation missions they can be able to do. On the same level, we are able, now, to... to know what we are generating maybe and where and what are the things that we can be able to put in place to ensure that we mitigate against that. So, our request was to have... you know, without a legal framework, you'll be doing things in futility. So, to... to like strengthen that component, we really wish that if we can partner with you and develop an quality plan or a policy or a regulation, so that we can be able to anchor our activities within that Act. And with that one, we feel that... we will have really done something for our city. And also, when we are reporting on climate issues... related issues, that one has come up very clearly. And... we feel after Nairobi, we are the first one to have been helped by you people and installed those air quality monitoring sensors and we feel we are... we are good. Some other counties are taking shape of the same...
Vishal Mehta 21:02
Very progressive...
Grace Karanja 22:28
... and asking "how did you manage to do that?". And we feel that we want to maintain the same relationship and then moving it to where they put more... maybe, installed more of the air quality [sensors]. But capacity development on the same is really key.
Vishal Mehta 28:06
I was just thinking when you mentioned the legal framework, when we did a workshop on water quality a couple of years ago, almost like exactly two years ago, I think... which was virtual, you know, we... were also focusing on emerging pollutants when it came to water quality... from pharmaceuticals, for example, and how there isn't a any kind of legal framework or laws that address those issues. And, you know, that was the same with the Indian partners we had in that workshop... is that there are gaps in the legal framework that we should probably be concentrating on and helping out with. So when you talked about helping with legal frameworks, I think you were talking about... you're thinking about, probably, air pollution and related standards and policies to reduce emissions that cause air pollution. But the same would apply in the water quality and water pollution field as well.
Grace Karanja 29:14
Yes, currently, we... we do have a Waste Management Act of 2021. And we also developed through the Directorate of Water where... I do not work there, but we... we are... we are in the same department. We... they also have Water and Sanitation Act of 2021. So, yes... I know the Act cannot be that fully with all everything, but we can be able to identify gaps within there and assist and then come up with the right regulation to ensure that we have healthy and clean environment. So... what we do not have right now is, now, on the policy on the... pollution is mostly the air... yeah, we do not have anything on that. So, we are relying on the information here and there but we need to have a groundwork and be able to rely upon when it comes to issues or maybe of even educating our people by bringing them to task on what they should be able to do. It is very important that government should provide an enabling environment, and that only [happens] through guided legal frameworks.
Vishal Mehta 30:29
I think we are coming to the end of our podcast, but I wanted to end by getting your thoughts on... on one aspect of what you mentioned, which was, you know, your desire that organizations like SEI can consistently keep working with you all, in Nakuru. And usually, the way we come in is through, you know, different resources... to come and do what we can. And, do you think that there are other mechanisms for continuing a presence and a connection between organizations and... and like yours, and what kind of mechanisms that there might be so that the relationship gets stronger and continues on to... from one problem to the other and finding solutions?
Grace Karanja 31:23
Yeah, I think maintaining a relationship is very key. For you, we've been together for six years. And since like, for example, each and every partner has its own... I would say the strength in terms of, like for your... you, bless you... when it comes to the issues of science, data management... you are very key on that. So... and that's where the area, the gaps is. Within our county, we do not have, maybe, that elaborate data management systems. And... with that one, you can be able to assist to maintain the relationship because I feel that this is a good opportunity for us, maybe, to come up together, so that we can also document that relationship that we've been able to have, and then keep on identifying the gaps that we have on... in terms of data management and also creating a resource or database to ensure that we have all the information there. So, at the click of a button, you can be able to see what we've been able in partnership with Stockholm Environment Institute... these are the activities have been able to do and also incorporate other activities within the same department and the county. And then, we can be able to bring out the information out there. And, together with also other partners, it is good also we join together. I always bring Romanus and others together to ensure each and everyone has their own strengths. They can, like for example, say he can conduct a research and do that, can support. The others who have other strengths, they can be able to put that. But in the long run, we'll be having a secure county, for that matter, and would have solved this challenges that would have not been able to do by yourself. So it so good to incorporate all the efforts from all the partners. Knowing where their strengths are, you can be able, now, to achieve what you were not able to achieve because, remember, counties... they... we are expected to do a lot. You can imagine, that the Directorate of Climate Change, it has a lot of issues... on pollution control... on everything. And it has also other issues to do with waste management;, it has also issues to do with natural resource management... energy issues. So... if you do not have proper... you do not have partners to assist, you can be... you cannot be able to execute your... your mandate. But, when it comes, now, to embracing each and everyone's efforts towards whatever you want to achieve, I think it's the best opportunity we focus on where we are. One strength that I know... that is the gap that we are having... on issues of data management and having a database on the same... that's the most area we would like to be assisted. And also, since you have now, like... seen... you have already identified a niche in areas of air quality, you can take lead on that and then we can bring us on board to ensure that we have the quality... the quality functions that we'll be able to depend on now and differently in the future. That will be my thing.
Vishal Mehta 34:52
Yeah, Thank you, Grace. We've learned a lot from this short conversation. I think your message on how we can support you into the future is... very clear. Romanus is, of course, very much in tune with this. And... I really look forward to continuing to build this relationship with you and Nakuru... in the near future, and hopefully, we can support you on some other aspects like water supply planning, and even figure out, you know, beyond planning, you know, how can organizations like ours help you in operationalizing you know... the day-to-day management of your systems, your various systems, but then, also like... not get to a stage where folks like you are now dependent on... us. You know, that it's like... part of your everyday institutional structure and... and way of life and working. So that's... that's the mission that we have. So, I just wanted to thank you for joining us today. I'm really... really glad we had this conversation. I hope that... I myself can join you in Nakuru sometime in the near future and be part of this great project.
Grace Karanja 36:06
I would also request maybe one day, one time you can organize maybe for virtual meeting.
Vishal Mehta 36:12
Yes...
Grace Karanja 36:13
You'll be there and then can... we can introduce you to our seniors.
Vishal Mehta 36:17
Oh, I would love to...
Grace Karanja 36:19
...you can talk and I can talk with Romanus. We can have, maybe, a virtual meeting where you get to meet our CEC and our CEO both for environment and... and water. Because I can see the... now, the partnership is geared to us the same department and we work very closely. So it will be fine now. I'll be glad when you get to meet them so we can organize for that.
Vishal Mehta 36:47
I'm glad you mentioned that. And thank you for your kind invitation because Romanus and I have talked... been talking about that, specifically, actually.
Grace Karanja 36:56
Yes.
Vishal Mehta 36:57
And... you know, once this podcast series is done, I will focus my attention on... on working with you and remind us on that. So thank you.
Grace Karanja 37:06
Yes..
Vishal Mehta 37:07
So, well, have a great day. Thank you for joining us this early in the morning. And let this be the start of many conversations and great projects together.
Grace Karanja 37:16
Well, thank you very much. It was a privilege for me.... you having me here.
Vishal Mehta 37:21
No the honour was ours and thank you again.
Well, that brings us to the end of the fifth episode of the City Health and Wellbeing podcast. Thank you for joining in and I hope we meet again for a second season. This is your host, Vishal Mehta, signing out. Goodbye!
SEI is an international nonprofit that works in several countries at the intersection of science and policy. You can find out more at www.sei.org