The study that was conducted along the entire stretch of Kenya’s SGR Phase I & Phase II A, covering eight counties from Mombasa to Narok, recommends that environmental impact be integrated into the planning of large scale infrastructure projects at every stage.

The researchers call for engaging and consulting key stakeholders in the design and implementation phases of projects.

“If a transportation corridor is to become a true development corridor bringing sustainable development and social wellbeing to a country such as Kenya and the region while minimising or eliminating environmental damage, these steps are essential,” said Dr Tobias Nyumba, research scientist, Development Corridors Partnership Project, African Conservation Centre/University of Nairobi.

Wholesome assessment

“Development corridors need not prioritise economic benefits alone.

“But should also account for the costs to the social and ecological systems that underpin human needs, desires and aspirations,” Dr Nyumba said.

“Therefore, the various stakeholders play a central role, regardless of the nature of costs and benefits they are likely to accrue from the development projects,” he added.

Lucy Waruingi, another DCP Co-Investigator and Executive Director of the African Conservation Centre, adds, “Africa has no option but to develop, but the future of development in Africa must be directly and closely knit within a framework that optimises environmental safeguards, for such investments to be sustainable.”

The team calls for a wholesome assessment of the environmental impacts engaging a range of different stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, which bring together a range of experiences and expertise, when planning such mega projects.

They investigators also say there is a clear need for more systematic monitoring of these impacts to ascertain their occurrence and severity in Kenya.

Regional masterplan

The SGR runs westwards from the coastal port town of Mombasa and through the central Kenya with the line through western Kenya to Malaba town at the Kenya-Uganda border still under construction to link up with other standard gauge railways planned for construction in East Africa.

The SGR forms part of the East African Railway Master Plan (2009) and the Eastern African SGR regional network which aims to rejuvenate existing railways serving Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and extend to Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

The first phase from Mombasa to Nairobi was completed and has been in operation since May 2017, while the second phase from Nairobi South Railway Station to Naivasha Industrial Park in Enoosupukia and onto Narok town was completed in August 2019.

Meanwhile, the third phase covering Narok to Kisumu and onto Malaba is yet to be constructed.