ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF DIMENSION STONE QUARRYING ACTIVITIES IN NDARUGO AREA OF KIAMBU COUNTY, KENYA

Solomon Wangela, Parita Shah

Abstract


Mining and quarrying activities is one of the devolved units of the County Government. This means the future and benefits of dimension stone quarrying lies on the Kiambu County Government in terms of supervision, regulation, and collection of revenue. It is on these bases that the study was conducted to unearth the effects of dimension stone quarrying activities in consideration to legal frame works in Ndarugo area in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study employed descriptive survey design because it relied on people’s opinions about different issues as stated on the questions. Using three randomly selected quarries with a population of 90 respondents, observation schedules, questionnaires, photographs, and interviews, were conducted to collect data from a stratified random sample of 34 respondents, some working, and others residing around the quarrying area. Qualitative data from interviews and observation schedules were analyzed using content analysis while that obtained from questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive tools such as SPSS to generate percentages and tabulations. The research found that 78% of the respondents depend on the quarrying sector either direct or indirect to earn their livelihood. Moreover, quarrying activities provided 83% of construction materials for infrastructural development. On the other hand, quarrying activities affected 87.5% of plants growing nearby either by producing dust or uprooting them on the first stage. It also turned 70.8% of land into pools of water and derelict ugly landscape in addition to causing 41.7% of healthy related problems. The study concluded that quarrying activities in Ndarugo area of Kiambu County have both positive and negative effects. The quarry companies are licensed to carry out their activities in Ndarugo area. The study recommends that quarrying companies should promote environmental, health and education to all the workers on safety measures and achieve sustainable development. It also suggests that existing laws need enforcement by having more National Environment Management officers on the ground.

 

Key Words: environmental effects, stone quarrying activities


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