Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices towards Infrastructural Developments along the Riparian Ecosystem of the Nairobi River Basin, Kenya

Abstract

Urban riparian ecosystems provide vital ecosystem services, including water quality improvement, flood mitigation, and recreation. In the recent past, infrastructural developments and encroachment by humans for agriculture and settlements have compromised their integrity and subsequently the ecosystem services they provide. This study assessed the perceptions towards these factors amongst practitioners and local residents in the Upper Nairobi River Basin comprising Motoine, Nairobi, and Mathare Rivers in Kenya. Both semi-structured and structured questionnaires were administered to a total of 305 respondents comprising 270 local residents (riparian users) within an area of five kilometers on either side and nine kilometers along the Rivers, and 35 key informants representing practitioners in environmental management, civil engineering, land appraisers, land surveyors and contractors among others. The study revealed that polycentric and uncoordinated governance by multiple government agencies are the leading cause of the complex issues and uncoordinated developments along riparian ecosystems that results to pollution by both liquid and solid waste and land degradation. About 86%n of professionals and 77% of the respondents cited corruption and population pressure due to lack of alternative land as major causes of encroachment, respectively. Other reasons cited included poor law enforcement, ignorance of existing legal and policy frameworks of Nairobi County, and poor leadership by 71%, 40% and 34 % of the respondents, respectively. There is need to formulate strong legal and policy frameworks and enhance enforcement, streamline management by involved government agencies, and sensitize citizens through a multiagency approach to ensure to protection of these vital ecosystems.