Mombasa County has unveiled a 25-year Climate Action Plan (CAP) that has prioritized initiatives intended to achieve climate change adaptation and mitigation. County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Water, Natural Resources and Climate Resilience Emmily Okello says the CAP is meant to guide the implementation of climate change actions towards strengthening resilience on the impact of climate change. ‘The county government realizes the urgency with which it needs to respond to the challenges brought about by climate change. This is a big milestone for the department as we are launching the Climate Change Action Plan. It is a 25-year plan broken down into five years because we realize that restoration work is long-term,’ said CECM Okello. The plan was developed in a participatory method in partnership with the State Department for Urban Housing and the World Bank through the City Climate Finance Gap Fund, a multi-donor trust fund with support from the governments of Germany and Luxembourg. ‘This document is important to us because it is going to be the road map that guides resilience adaptation and mitigation measures in Mombasa County,’ said Okello adding that it will also help mainstream climate change issues that are cross-cutting in all the departments. The CAP has prioritized different sectors that are big contributors to the carbon footprint. E-mobility and non-motorized movement are some of the interventions in the transport sector. Others are clean cooking options, participatory restoration proposals for degraded mangrove ecosystems and exploitation of the entire waste value chain for a circular economy. ‘Mombasa is a water scarcity county; we are looking at water harvesting mechanisms and even supporting upstream counties that are the source of our water,’ stated CECM Okello. To restore the coastline against encroachment, pollution, urbanization and settlement the County Government working in partnership with the Kenya Forest Service and other partners are putting up beacons around forests to deter encroachment. Eng. Benjamin Njenga, Secretary for Urban and Metropolitan Development in the State Department for Housing and Urban Development says Mombasa is on the right path regarding urban resilience and climate change adaptation plans. ‘We are committed to assisting the county by providing the necessary legal frameworks and policies to address all the challenges facing the coastline,’ said Eng. Njenga. Peter Ellis Manager of Urban Development and Resilience at the World Bank pledged support to counties in the promotion of climate action, and green and low carbon development to be more resilient to climate shocks through investment in adaptation abilities. ‘We are supporting Mombasa and Coastal region in general through City Climate Finance Gap Fund which is a multi-dollar fund that helps cities and regions to prepare Climate Action Plans to identify interventions that could help in more green and resilience growth,’ said Ellis.
Source: Kenya News Agency