Education – Mazingira Yetu https://mazingirayetu.net Environment | Sustainability Development | Magazine Thu, 25 Jan 2024 06:22:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.8 https://mazingirayetu.net/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-Mazingira-Yetu-fv-32x32.png Education – Mazingira Yetu https://mazingirayetu.net 32 32 Eurofishion Song Contest 2020 https://mazingirayetu.net/eurofishion-song-contest-2020/ Thu, 29 Oct 2020 13:27:33 +0000 http://mazingirayetu.net/?p=2779

MAZINGIRA YETU SONG BY LARRY WINS THE EUROFISHION 2020 SONG CONTEST

World Fish Migratory Day is one day global celebration to create awareness of open Rivers and migratory fish. This international day of events is coordinated by the World Fish Migration Foundation. On world Fish Migration Day organizations from around the world coordinate their own event around the common theme of: CONNECTING FISH, RIVERS AND PEOPLE.

Eurofishion song contest on October 24th, 2020 is part of global event about raising awareness for migratory fish and free flowing rivers. This contest is inspired by the famous Eurovision song contest, which was originally held on the same day. Their theme ‘’open up’’ inspired the World Fish migration foundation to use this momentum for river restoration and fish migration, because fish need open rivers.

Larry Ochieng Musician
Larry Ochieng

The 2020 Eurofishion contest was the first time it was being held and it attracted 40 entries from across the world that attracted participants from every age. The 40 submissions were whittled down to 10 incredible finalist from New Zealand, Kenya, South Africa, Spain, Netherlands, Czech republic, England and the U.S.A.

A global audience was able to watch the 10 amazing videos together with the judges in a two hour zoom session  Eurofishion-The Fishy Finale hosted by the World Fish migration secretariat and had a chance to place their comments and ask questions to each of the artist. The third place winner was the (save the fish by North west Children’s choir -nwcc-south Africa . The song was written and composed by an 11 year old Nico Smit that aims at promoting healthy free flowing rivers and the conservation of the fishes living in them.

The second place was swim on up by time-crawls from USA. The song was adapted from suber up and written by Ajr. The song is about the need of the salmons to enjoy free flowing rivers in order to enable them migrate from the ocean to the rivers and this can be achieved if obstacles like dams are removed from the rivers.

The overall winner was Mazingira yetu by Lawrence ochieng (Larry) and Shamir from Kenya. The song was written by Lawrence Ochieng and Shamir, audio recorded by Hit box studios , the video was done by sound34media and supported by  Mazingira Yetu Organisation  . Mazingira yetu (Our environment) was inspired by the ongoing restoration of River Ngong in Kibra sub county. Pollution of the Rivers in Nairobi through poor solid waste disposal, raw sewer and blocking of rivers is affecting the movement of fish or even killing them all together. Mazingira yetu song highlights the need of each and everyone to play a role in the quest of ensuring our rivers are free from pollution in order to make them habitable to aquatic life forms like fish.

]]> INVEST IN LOCUST EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS https://mazingirayetu.net/invest-in-locust-early-warning-systems/ Tue, 23 Jun 2020 05:32:57 +0000 http://mazingirayetu.net/?p=2718

INVEST IN LOCUST EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS

By Nyawira Gitaka

While the entire world is fighting a pandemic, in East Africa we are fighting a plague as well. For the past few months desert locusts have invaded the Horn of Africa and are causing destruction of unprecedented proportion. This is said to be the worst invasion in decades with the desert locusts now already spotted in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Desert locusts or, scientifically, Schistocerca gregaria are solitary insects that under the right conditions transform into aggressive feeders indiscriminately attacking all greenery within their path, affecting both humans and animals.

When the alarm was raised by UN FAO in February 2019 on desert locust outbreaks in Yemen and the Horn of Africa, months before the swarms made their way through Ethiopia, that would have been the best time for East Africa to strengthen already existing responses to the credible threat jointly, which is something we completely failed to do.

Grasshopper invasion Tonywild

The threats posed by desert locusts are substantial enough that in 1961 The Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA) was created to combat this after a devasting plague in the 1940s that caused a major drought. This then raises some questions, how did these destructive pests pass right through our defenses, what systems are and were in place to not only fight an invasion but prevent one?

It is worth noting that the locust invasion has largely been treated as an agricultural issue due to massive crop damage leading to food insecurity; but on closer examination, it is a multifaceted problem. First, the main contributor leading to the population surges being witnessed are changing weather patterns. The increased rainfall experienced along the Arabian Peninsula favored continuous unchecked breeding of desert locusts, in addition these pests are dependent on wind for migration. It is therefore a climate change issue.

Second, desert locusts being pests means that learning their ecology is vital so as to ensure the control measures utilized are not only effective but safe. It is considered the most significant and dangerous migratory pest in the world solely due to its ability to change not only its behavior but its physiology as well in response to environmental changes. This also important because its developmental stages exhibit different behavior patterns, with the most destructive phase being the hopper stage. This stage also happens to be the stage targeted for control before the adult stage after which control becomes very difficult.

Third and most important is that desert locusts are transboundary pests. This means the safety of a country is dependent not only on its immediate neighbors but far off countries as well, their ability to control or eliminate the menace before it spreads as well as information sharing across boundaries.

With these facts at hand, it is obvious that a one-dimensional approach against an 80 million insect strong swift and ferocious adversary is setting up for failure. This means that an early warning system should and must involve a number of experts so as to obtain information that is robust and can be relied on in making critical decisions. It is unfortunate that most early warning systems are highly disaster driven and abandoned in periods free of any disasters; this being a great example – yet if the economic losses and destruction were to be quantified

what exactly would an early warning system entail? In this case national meteorological services of member states can provide information on weather patterns that inform the migratory route, the entomological societies and ecologists should inform on the latest tools, safest chemicals and approaches of fighting the pests as well as the agricultural, forestry and conservation departments can provide satellite imagery that will help identify potential breeding sites and areas prone to invasions. In many cases, these experts work independent of each other which puts countries and the region as well in a very precarious position.

TonyWild Anthony Ochieng

As much as The Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA) exists with countries as member states, it is important that each country has its own system as well localize the early warning system to areas prone to invasions and potential breeding sites. There should be continuous monitoring and surveillance as well as adequately trained personnel on the latest control operations in case of invasions. With localized monitoring and personnel responses come quicker and enhanced early pest control.

A key challenge has also been the communication about the plague to the public. With this being the worst invasion in decades a lot of farmers have never come across a desert locust and have little information about it. In one case a cabinet secretary requested for individuals to take photos of what they thought to be desert locusts and send them through social media for verification and identification. This then became a subject of ridicule on social media and the exercise yielded no results.

Why not have the experts all share information about the desert locusts in simple and effective language? With an early warning system adopted at a local, national and regional level against desert locust invasions, the approach can not only improve responses in case of an infestation but can also reduce the economic and physical destruction in case of an aggressive plague.

The set up of such a system calls for a lot of cooperation and collaboration across and along various lines to secure the region as this is the only sure way to protect against desert locusts in this era of climate change.  

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