Green Podium

COP21 (21st Conference of Parties) held in Paris, France, comes 6 years after the previous climate conference in Copenhagen that ended in failure and acrimony. Most leaders and delegates at the beginning of this conference admitted that it would not be a walk in park to get countries to fulfil the pledge of giving priority to issues of combating climate change. However, the Paris deal seems to have rebuilt much of the trust that is required for a concerted global effort that would aid combat climate change. US president Barrack Obama stated that “this should not just be an agreement to reverse the pollution filling our skies, but it should be an agreement that would help lift people out of poverty without condemning the next generation to a planet that is beyond the capacity to repair”. After 2 weeks of intense negotiations (from 30th November to 11th December 2015) at COP21, the Paris deal has been hailed as the world’s first true global climate deal. The accord commits both rich

Environmental degradation has become a major problem especially in urban centres. This is mainly as a result of growing industrialization, urbanization, development of new technologies etc. Most of these developments are usually geared towards the economic empowerment of the people or the nation as a whole. People usually move to urban areas in search of employment opportunities especially in the various industries which have come up. This will be on an effort to earn themselves a means of livelihood. As a result, this leads to growth of urban centres. In Kenya, most of the industries dump their untreated wastes into the environment just because they consider it to be too expensive to have the wastes treated to the required standards before they are released. Some of them usually consider that the environment is available at no cost so they don't usually mind even if they are polluting it. An example is the Webuye Paper Mill which is known to release toxic gaseous emissions such

Wangari Maathai took the KANU government to court in 1989 when they planned to build a sixty storey skyscraper at Uhuru Park which was supposed to serve as the party's headquarters. This project was to be undertaken by the Kenya Times Media Trust. This would have been the tallest building in this region. Uhuru Park is one of the historical grounds in this country. It also serves as a green space within the central business district in Nairobi. With this it serves as an important role to this country and mainly the city of Nairobi. The park has alot of trees which provide alot of fresh air. This provides a relaxing atmosphere in the park hence it hasalways attracted many people who come to unwind after a busy day, hold picnics and parties as well. During the time of the suit i.e. 1989, there was no legislation that provided guidelines on the management and coordination of environmental issues. The issue of 'locus standi' was not addressed at this time in the law.

Today marks the World Environment Day. This year's slogan is "Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care." Let us all make our environmentally friendly resolutions and work towards achieving them for the benefit of present and future generations. Happy World Environment Day to all.

May 22nd of each year marks the International Biodiversity Day which aims to increase awareness and knowledge on the issues affecting our biodiversity. The theme for the 2015 celebrations is "Biodiversity for Sustainable Development". This is an important day as it helps in raising awareness at local, national and international levels of the importance of ecosystems and biodiversity to the well being of present and future generations. This is being incorporated into the SDGs which are taking over from the MDGs whos time will br elapsing in 2015. There is also need to take keen interest in biodiversity conservation in order to help elavate green growth, fight poverty and improve rural livelihood through efforts which will lead to adequate access to food and clean water.

Isiolo county has moved a step in promoting environmental conservation by embracing the use of solar in powering street lights within isiolo town. This is a welcome idea to most of the local residents who believe that this project will enhance security levels in the town. But the other most important point to note is the use of renewable energy of solar power. Isiolo has plenty of sunlight hours which makes it a very important resource of energy if well tapped. Similar initiatives have been initiated in Nairobi too. We hope more towns will come up with such projects that are environmentally friendly.

Today, 2nd February, is marked as the World Wetlands Day and the theme for this year is "Managing Wetlands for Our Future". In Kenya, the celebrations will be held in Kibirong Wetland, Nandi County. The World Wetlands Day marks the day when the Convention on Wetlands, also known as the Ramsar Convention, was signed back in 1971 in the city of Ramsar, Iran. The first World Wetlands Day celebrations were however celebrated in 1997. This day is important in raising public awareness on the benefits and the need to take action to conserve wetlands.