Story by Helen Nyambura
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
"The buyers in Europe and US must learn that their
anyway strange behaviour to purchase cut flowers as
sign of "love", actually harms, if the flowers
are produced in such crazy way."
Surely one could argue that the flower business earns
Kenya the much needed hard currency from the "first
world" flowermarkets. But if one looks carefully
into questions like who is earning what or at what cost
to human and environmental health, one quickly reaches
the conclusion that the "business" actually
has reached a level, which could be called extortion
and ruthless exploitation of people, land, water and
the environment in many cases.
In addition the use of Methylbromide (a toxic substance
banned in most countries) is still sanctioned by the
EU and the US for the production of imported flowers
from Kenya. Also the social dimension of the Kenya flower
industry is imbalanced: Small outgrowers, using organic
farming methods, have no chance in the multi-million
dollar cut-throat sector, where pesticide use, land
and water theft and GMOs are widely uncontrolled.
Kenya Fishermen Blame Flower Farms for Lake's
Woes
KENYA: December 11, 2003
NAIVASHA, Kenya - Two Kenyan fishermen land their canoe
on the edge of Lake Naivasha, tipping their silver catch
on the grass under the eager eyes of their employer.
The meager haul of 20 bass - worth 800 shillings ($10)
- is a far cry from what fishermen working for Stanley
Mungai would have netted a few years back.
Mungai, like many living near the shore, blames the
environmental impact of 30 or so flower farms that have
been set up around the lake in the past decade.
"We have tried to complain but nothing can be
done because they contribute a lot to the Kenyan economy,"
said the 56-year-old fisherman, referring to the flower
farms housed in giant polythene greenhouses.
"The government should find a balance. We can't
close the flower farms but we need to protect the fisherman".
Naivasha is the center of Kenya's flower business,
part of a horticultural industry that has expanded rapidly
in recent years to earn some $63 million annually, one
of the country's best sources of foreign exchange.
Growing carnations and roses to send by air freight
to European markets provides many jobs, but locals say
the farms aggravate some of the lake's biggest
problems, contributing to pollution and falling water
levels.
The flower farms in turn point to a wider set of problems,
from a soaring lakeside population, to deforestation
which reduces rainfall in its catchment area.
In Naivasha, the environmental stakes are particularly
high. Nestling in the Rift Valley, the lake is an abundant
source of wildlife with more than 400 bird species and
giraffes, zebras and antelopes grazing by its shores.
Tens of thousands of people rely on the fragile ecosystem
to preserve their livelihoods in an environment that
has increasingly come under threat.
FISH STOCKS FALLING
Falling catches for fishermen are one of the most tangible
signs of environmental damage.
Fishermen blame the flower farms, accusing them of
allowing pesticides and fertilizers to pollute the water
reducing the fish stocks. They say the farms use powerful
pumps that suck up both eggs and young fish. The level
of the water is dropping.
Environmentalists say phosphates and nitrates nourish
water hyacinth, a weed that spreads rapidly across the
lake's surface, blocking out light needed by species
living below and hindering the passage of fishing boats.
Flower farms say they are doing their best to reduce
their impact on the lake, but point to other sources
of pollution beyond their control.
The Lake Naivasha Riparian Association (LNRA), a non-governmental
organization of lakeside land owners, blames pollution
partly on the unplanned growth of Naivasha's population
to 350,000 from about 50,000 twenty years ago.
"The municipal council is one of the pollutants
certainly", said LNRA Chairman Lord Andrew Enniskillen.
"Their sewage works is not adequate for the size
of the municipality as it has now become".
Fishermen also point to shrinking water levels on the
lake, saying flower farms are contributing to the problem
by sucking out vast amounts to nourish their blooms.
It takes about five liters to produce a single stem.
Oserian Flowers says it is doing its best to minimize
its use of the lake by recycling water and reducing
pesticide use, partly in response to demand from consumers
for flowers grown in an environmentally-friendly way.
DEGRADED CATCHMENT AREAS
Demand for water from flower growers is compounded
by another problem facing much of Kenya—deforestation.
Communities are cutting down trees for farms or firewood,
removing a key component of the environment that helps
produce rain feeding the lake.
For peasant farmers, falling water levels may at first
seem a blessing that allows them to increase the amount
of land under cultivation - even if environmentalists
say the long-term effect could be dire.
"As soon as that bit dries up, we follow it",
said Joseph Kamau, standing on a patch where he grows
beans.
Like many poor farmers and fisherman, Kamau says responsibility
for caring for the lake should rest with the flower
farms rather than poverty-stricken families.
"You can't tell a hungry man to care for
the lake", he said. "Enable him to produce
his food first if you hope to get him to care for his
surroundings".