Environmental Activism - Essay Example

Environmental Activism Introduction Kenya for the past few years has been on the brink ofenvironmental collapse. This is attributed to the fact that many Kenyans have neglected the environment and exploited natural resources for profit. As a result, forests, rivers, minerals, and other natural resources are being depleted at a faster rate than they can replenish (Maathai 86). This depletion of resources is causing deterioration of the environment, reducing its holding capacity in a rapidly increasing population. This situation has led to environmental activists rising up and fighting for the preservation of the environment. Ikal Angelei is fighting for the preservation of rivers and lakes in Kenya and also throughout the whole continent (Akiiki 342). Her actions are aimed at preventing the exploitation of small communities (such as Turkana) by profit seeking bodies at the plight of people. Professor Wangari Maathai promoted planting of trees as a practice to preserve the environment. Environmental activistism in Kenya plays a major role in preserving and improving the lives of Kenyans. Environmental Activist groups in Kenya Ikal Angelelei was born in the town of Kitale. In 2012, she won a Goldman Prize for fighting for preservation of Lake Turkana by preventing the construction of the Gibe III dam in Ethiopia (Thornton 2). She is an environmental activist fighting for preservation of rivers in Kenya. Before engaging in environmental activism, Ikal was working in the Turkana Basin Institute. Ikal founded an organization called ‘Friends of Lake Turkana’ in 2008 (Abbink 129). The organization operates on a nonprofit base and its purpose is to fight for the preservation and sustainability of Lake Turkana. The lake is found in an arid area of Kenya and it runs through to Ethiopia (Thornton 1). It serves as a tourist attraction thus, playing a role in increasing the income of the Kenyan government and in the surrounding communities. The lake also serves as a water source for farmers and pastoralists in the surrounding communities (Akiiki 340). People also use the water from the lake to drive their daily activities such as cooking, bathing, and drinking. Ikal learned about plans that had been made to construct a massive dam by the Ethiopian government. The dam would be fed by water from Lake Turkana which runs from the northwestern Kenya to the southern side of Ethiopia (Thornton 1). Her motivation to fight for conservation of the lake was that a massive dam would result in lower water levels of Lake Turkana. Water life including crocodiles, fish, and sea plants would die off (Thornton 1). Decreased water levels would also affect the lives of people living in Turkana. Being an arid area, recovering the water levels would take a long time or be an impossibility disrupting the lives of Kenyans. The benefits of constructing the dam were against the quality of life of Kenyans living in Turkana. Strategies and Activities Promoted Ikal used the media in Kenya to fight against the construction of a hydroelectric dam by the Ethiopian governments. Through the media, she was able to educate people on how construction of the dam would impact negatively on the lives of Kenyans (Abbink 136). The dam would result in depletion of water in the desert lake. This would greatly affect the communities living near Lake Turkana. By educating the local communities, she was able to get the people to rally against the construction of the dam (Thornton 2). The campaigns were focused on how the lives of the people will be affected adding more to their hardships. This plea through the media caught the attention of many Non Governmental Organizations who joined her in the rallies. Ikal went a step further and filed petitions with the governments and banks that were funding the construction of the project (Thornton 4). She raised awareness about how the construction of the dam would affect the lives and communities in Kenya overwhelming the obvious benefits that were to be achieved by completion of the government. Ikal promoted awareness to the people living in Turkana communities and got them to fight for their quality of life against government funded projects (Akiiki 343). She also promoted other affiliated parties to consider all the aspects that would arise from the constructing of the dam. Through her actions, people living around the lake continue to have an undisputed life and she maintained tourism attraction in the region. Impacts of the ‘Friends of Lake Turkana’ Ikal through her actions has managed to unite Kenyans to fight against an injustice that would have resulted in the suffering of a marginalized community. This was achieved by holding educative platforms to the people of the Turkana lake region in the Rift Valley (Thornton 5). She utilized the knowledge gained from her former work place to help preserve the lives of Kenyans. Her actions in environmental and life preservation have been met warmly by the people of Kenya. She has also received global recognition as an environmental activist and was awarded the Goldman Prize in the year 2012 (Abbink 131). Ikal has been chosen as the voice of the people living in the Lake Turkana Basin (Thornton 5). She has utilized the power awarded to her by her people to fight for the preservation of Lake Turkana that supports the live in Turkana region. She has gone an extra mile and sensitized the whole world on the plight that stands to befall Lake Turkana community if the Ethiopian project is launched. Her influence has even reached governments, banks, and other organizations affiliated with the project (Thornton 5). By educating them on the plight that will befall her people, they withdrew their financial support towards the project. Her influence even led to a commercial bank in China being identified to lacking Corporate Social Responsibility as they had loaned Ethiopia money to buy equipments for the dam. A humble plea to preserve Lake Turkana has turned into a global movement fighting for other marginalized communities vulnerable to exploitation by government bodies like Turkana community (Thornton 5). The FOLT (Friends of Lake Turkana) organization which was founded in 2008 has received a lot of attention and global support in fighting for environmental preservation against commercial exploitation. Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement The late professor deserves every credit from every thankful Kenyan who enjoys the current environmental scenery. She founded the Green Belt Movement, which even in her death has carried forward with her vision of producing a sustainable environment for our future generation. The movement educates people on the importance of tree planting as a practice thus, playing a role in promoting environmental sustainability. Tree planting has evolved into a uniting social practice (Joseph and Bari 517). Thus, she also played a role in bringing Kenyans together by introducing a practice that can be carried out by everybody despite their ethnic background. Everybody from children to dignitaries can share a common practice that eventually improves the life of every citizen. Commercial improvements in the sector of paper making, obtaining of timber for building, charcoal burning, and selling of firewood has also improved. The increased populations of trees have contributed to a healthy market. Wangari Maathai has also played a role in conservation of our heritage. This is by preservation of indigenous trees contributing to the richness of our heritage. Her role in the movement was to inspire change at an individual level, which has been successfully achieved. She gave rise to a practice that has evolved to great height currently. Her efforts have enabled for a sustained environment which in turn supports the people and the animals (Maathai 90). Efforts to achieve balance of nature are still being carried out by facilitating complete rehabilitation efforts of forest land throughout the country. Conclusion Preservation of the environment in Kenya has been directed at improving the lives of Kenyans. Forests and water bodies in Kenya are among the natural resources that play a major role in life preservation. They also serve as a tourist attraction which Kenya relies on as a source of local and foreign income. Preservation of the environment serves to sustain it for the future generations. Environmental preservation also serves to conserve our heritage that gives Kenyans their identity. Preservation of the environment translates to the stability of a society. Many commercial activities in Kenya are supported by the natural resources. These include the fishing industry, farming practices, architecture, and other industrial processes. Neglect of the environment will reduce its capacity to support the lives of Kenyans. Therefore, environmental activism should be a practice by everybody to ensure the wellbeing of the society. Works Cited Abbink, Jon. "Dam controversies: contested governance and developmental discourse on the Ethiopian Omo River dam." Social Anthropology 20.2 (2012): 125-144. Akiiki, Robert Kugonza. "Not All Dams in Africa Are Developmental: Advocacy Perspectives from the African Rivers Network." Water, Cultural Diversity, and Global Environmental Change. Springer Netherlands, 2012. 339-347. Joseph, Regy and Bari, Rachel. “The Green Belt Movement: Ecofeminist Movement of Wangari Maathai.” Research J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 4(4): October-December, 2013, 515-518. http://www.academia.edu/6253747/The_Green_Belt_Movement_Ecofeminist_Movement_of_Wangari_Maathai Maathai, Wangari. The Green Belt Movement: Sharing the approach and the experience. Lantern Books, 2004. Thornton, S. “Case Study: Friends of Lake Turkana.”National Geographic, 2012. http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/news/case-study-friends-lake-turkana/?ar_a=1 Read More