Resident associations in Nairobi will be developing an emission inventory that will provide the basis to address the rising pollution levels in the city. The Kenya Alliance of Resident Association (KARA) is teaming up with World Resources Institute under Clean Air Catalyst project to collect data from households in Nairobi that will be used to summarize and quantify pollution sources. This information will guide in the development of policy and shape decisions and actions to reduce emissions and improve air quality.
A process to collect data from households in Nairobi to assess quality of air to begin, to avert rising respiratory illnesses
Kenya Alliance of Resident Association
Resident associations in Nairobi will be developing an emission inventory that will provide the basis to address the rising pollution levels in the city. The Kenya Alliance of Resident Association (KARA) is teaming up with World Resources Institute under Clean Air Catalyst project to collect data from households in Nairobi that will be used to summarize and quantify pollution sources. This information will guide in the development of policy and shape decisions and actions to reduce emissions and improve air quality.
Residents of Nyayo estate in the East of Nairobi housing about 20,000 residents have been advised to offer their views to the research assistants who will be in the estate from the 7th February to 11th 2024 to collect views on air quality. The estate is located 2km away from the recent gas explosion in Mradi area that killed scores and injured hundreds. Nyayo Embakasi Residents Association NERA Chair Teddy Obiero says the pollution levels in the area are alarming owing to rapid urbanization and increased economic activities. He says the nearby health centres are recording increased patients suffering respiratory illnesses. He says the data collected will help in increasing awareness on the quality of air and enable policy makers design intervention measures.
DATA COLLECTION ON AIR QUALITY TO INFORM EMISSION INVENTORY
Meanwhile the Internews Earth Journalism Network will be training journalists to report on air pollution and drive the agenda towards cleaner air. The initiative under Clean Air Catalyst seeks to inspire behavioral change and engage communities into coming up with solutions and mitigation to the choking environment.
Nairobi Embakasi area is home to heavy duty vehicles. According to the latest report by the UN Environment Programme UNEP released this week, Africa lags behind in adopting standards on used heavy duty vehicles HDVs. The report shows that the use of heavy duty vehicles for transportation in Africa is on the increase yet their imports remain highly unregulated, the result being importation of old,polluting and unsafe used HDVs.Due to their heavy usage they are cited as highly contributing to pollution levels and affecting air quality. The report recommends better regulation on these imports and proposes use of advanced technologies in transportation such as electric buses and trucks.