Focus on the coastal region of Kenya

The coastal region is mainly known for its pull and attraction of both domestic and international tourism, with the beautiful beaches in major towns such as Mombasa and Malindi and even the small town like Watamu and Mambrui. The tsavo national park is also a main tourist attraction in that area. . Though we promote and advocate for tourism, we find the beaches, especially the public beaches littered without a care in the world...this lack of care for the environment will eventually bring forth catastrophic disaster to the country as a whole. We all know the impact of plastics and oil on the aquatic life, the unsightly beaches will also cause a reduction in tourist activity in the country. We need to care for our environment, the little we do, the more we boost our economy and the more we ensure that the future generation is catered for. Little or no focus has been on the communities, the area and the lifestyle the indigenous coastal people have. If we remove focus from the known and loved coastal region to the interior part of the coast, inhabited by the mijikenda, pokomo, taita and taveta communities, we find that most of this land is characterised as low land areas with the exception of the taita hills. The counties in this province are among the poorest in the country with over 70% leaving below the poverty line. There is inadequate supply of drinking water, poor infrastructure and limited access to basic education and healthcare. The geographic and climatic conditions are also deemed unfavourable for the majority who rely on small scale farming. The natural resources at the coast have not been utilised properly to fend for the growing population and to help curb the increase in poverty in the area. The area is reach in mineral resources with precious stones like rubies and tanzanite being mined. The rocky Taru desert has been known for its quarry which could provide better building material and improve infrastructure in the area. There is also the problem of inaccessible water that could be used for drinking or farming. In real sense the taita hills have potential of feeding the whole of the coastal region and part of the eastern region if the resources are tapped accordingly. There is limited amount of rainfall received in this area that could be harvested by educating and helping the locals put up rain water harvesting systems. Local government and private investors may help and facilitate this project to increase the water supply and help in water management and regulate sustainable irrigation systems. Effort to help this region has been shown by a number of organizations and foundations with the recent being the safaricom foundation. It has invested Ksh .25million into a project in Wundanyi that will see locals getting clean water readily without long treks to the river and springs. This was a called for and appreciated investment that will see growth in the region. In my opinion, more has to be done to ensure food security in this region. They say you can give a hungry man fish and he will be satisfied for a day or you could teach him how to fish and he will never go hungry. Education is key in this region, invest in education in the coast, urge good farming practices and irrigation projects be it small scale or large scale. The region will grow and be able to sustain itself without the need of relief or government aid.   Bin it to green it 