NATIONAL REPORT TO THE 6 TH SOUTHERN AFRICAN AND ISLANDS HYDROGRAPHIC COMMISSION MEETING TO BE HELD IN PREPARED BY B. N. OWIN0

Transcription

1 REPUBLIC OF KENYA NATIONAL REPORT TO THE 6 TH SOUTHERN AFRICAN AND ISLANDS HYDROGRAPHIC COMMISSION MEETING TO BE HELD IN MANGOCHI, MALAWI, 27th 28 th AUGUST, PREPARED BY B. N. OWIN0 SENIOR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF SURVEYS Hydrographic Survey Division Survey of Kenya P.O. Box NAIROBI, KENYA. Website: bnowino@ardhi.go.ke Or bnowino@yahoo.com 1

2 1. Introduction The Republic of Kenya covers an area of square kilometers, it borders Somalia and the Indian Ocean to the East, Ethiopia to the North, Tanzania to the South, Uganda to the West and Sudan to the North West. Kenya has a population of over million people, with total fertility rate of 4.9%. Kenya lies across the Equator on the Eastern seabed of Africa. It has about 600 kilometers of coastline, stretching from the Somalia border in the North to Tanzania in the South, marking part of the Western border the Indian Ocean. The country has over 143,000 square kilometers of Exclusive Economic Zone, and is also endowed with a number of lakes mainly located within the Great Rift Valley and shares 6% of Lake Victoria with other East African countries of Uganda and Tanzania, totaling to 11,230 square kilometers of inland waters. There are two main perennial rivers in Kenya the Tana and the Athi which both drain into the Indian Ocean. Mombasa is the main port along the Kenyan coastline. It handles about 13.3 million tonnes of Kenya s sea borne trade annually which includes also cargoes for the hinterland countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern parts of D.R. Congo, North Western parts of Tanzania and the Southern Sudan. 2. Hydrographic Survey Office Hydrographic Survey Division is one of the six Divisions in the Survey Department, Ministry of Lands. It was established in January 2006 and is headed by Senior Assistant Director and has four category B hydrographers and other support staff. The Division provides the secretariat for the Kenya National Hydrographic Committee. The committee has been reactivated and has held a number of meetings. The terms of reference of the Committee are as follows i. To coordinate hydrographic services and requirements in the country. ii. To promote international cooperation with other hydrographic agencies. 2

3 iii. iv. To formulate policies, standards, guide lines and procedures in respect of hydrographic services. To promote training and research in hydrographic surveying. v. To coordinate acquisition, archiving, retrieval and dissemiviation of hydrographic information. vi. To advise the government on matters relating to hydrographic activities. The membership of the committee is drawn from ten (10) relevant government ministries, agencies and other stakeholders which had been identified and have nominated representatives to serve as members. 3. Hydrographic Surveys Hydrographic surveys have been conducted by various agencies mainly from the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Canada, India and Russia. Some of the surveys are not reflected in the published charts. In 2006, The French Agency (BHO) carried out bathymetric survey within the 200M Exclusive Economic Zone (or the Continental Shelf) off the Kenya Coast and delivered to the Government of Kenya the following: Bathymetric sheet at scale 1/3,500,000; Hydrographic and gravimetric datasets; Hydrologic profile. The East African Community through the Lake Victoria Basin Commission Secretariat has commissioned a consultant to conduct hydrographic survey of Lake Victoria and to produce charts for the ports of Mwanza, Port Bell and Kisumu. The three East African countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are in the process of formulating programme for survey/ delineation of their international boundaries within Lake Victoria in accordance with existing E.A.C. treaty. 4. Charts and Publications: Currently, Kenya relies on United Kingdom Hydrography Office for chart production. In 2004, Kenya produced and published the fourth Edition of the Kenya Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone Maps which have been 3

4 deposited with the Secretary General of the United Nations, copies are available in both paper and digital forms. 5. MSI and GMDSS The Kenya Government in collaboration with the International Maritime Organisation has established a regional Maritime Rescue and Coordination Center at the port of Mombasa. It is operated by the Kenya Maritime Authority, and covers the territorial waters of Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles and Somalia. 6. Capacity Building Survey of Kenya has four (4) category B hydrographers, who have been trained in Japan and have recently obtained sea experience during the United States Navy surveys in Lamu and Manda Islands in Kenya. The Kenya Navy has three (3) officers who have undertaken category B courses. Currently one officer from Survey of Kenya is undergoing hydrographic course in Japan. In February 2006 officials of the SAIHC visited Kenya and held meetings with officials of the Kenya Government. As a result of that meeting KNHC was reactivated and has held a number of meetings. SAIHC technical advisor Lt. Commander D J Wyatt visited Kenya in March, 2007 and held cordial and fruitful discussions with Kenyan officials and then made the following recommendations: a. The proposals in the Kenya s country Report be reviewed and a programme for full implementation of those outstanding be formulated at the earliest opportunity. b. Undertaken a full audit check of the information displayed on all the charts for the Kenya maritime area and associated publications at the earliest opportunity to generate a baseline status of the information available to the maritime community. c. The KNHC endorses the proposed survey frequency plan and then identify their priorities into an initial 5 year programme. d. The acquisition of at least two (2) full portable survey suites to include side scan sonar systems and appropriate processing capability, SBES and DGPS systems. He most strongly suggested that major equipment items be hired rather than having expensive assets lying idle. 4

5 e. Survey of Kenya to create sufficient benchmarks for the ports of Mombasa and Lamu, and acquire appropriate tide gauges with UKHO assistance and/ or advice. f. All future surveys are undertaken using side scan sonar in addition to SBES. g. Secchi data is acquired to determine the feasibility of undertaking LIDAR surveys in the near shore coastal zone and inland lakes areas. h. The areas outside the 50 metre contour are considered surveyed to a sufficient standard for the present time. i. Investigation for the contracting of a consultant to oversee outsourcing the surveying of the near shore coastal zone area. j. Acquisition of copies of M 13 IHO (Manual on Hydrography) to assist any internal training effort. RCMRD, IHOCBC and SAIHC be approached with view to obtaining assistance in training personnel in all levels of hydrography. k. A new Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation Services be created with all qualified personnel brought together under this single authority. l. He recommended that Ministry of Lands, as the body charged with responsibility for the provision and maintenance of hydrographic surveys, to establish a National Hydrographic and Navigation services Database, (NHNSDB), this task should be passed to a new Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation Services when created. m. The KNHC should identify data types required to be collated and their providers should have authority to liaise directly with all the data providers and users. They should work closely to ensure the correct prioritization for the release of information is realised. n. An executive order or directive may be required to encourage other organizations to co operate and supply information in a timely and regular manner. o. IHOCBC and SAIHC should be approached for advice on the acquisition of a suitable GIS software package to manage the database together with methods of backup 5

6 p. Information held within the NHNSDB should be freely accessible to all organization and authorities to facilitate faster decision making based on comprehensive and informed data sets; a centralized NHNSDB will facilitate the operation of the MSI system and thus assist in meeting Kenya s legal obligations under the SOLAS convention q. The technical advisor observed that KMFRI operates tide gauges for research in the ports of Mombasa and Lamu, but there is lack of up to date data for navigational safety for these ports and that reliable benchmarks do not exist for either port. r. Survey of Kenya personnel should survey in new bench marks in both ports using Geodetic GPS techniques, with guidance from the UKHO on observation techniques and acquisition of the most appropriate tide gauges to meet the long term needs of both ports. s. He further recommended that the various organizations installing tide gauges should collaborate on the acquisition and locating of these equipments to minimize on cost and maximize data usage. t. He provided a comprehensive baseline status of hydrographic surveys for all ports and approaches in Kenya and made recommendations for their resurveys. 7. Oceanographic Activities Kenya is in the process of delineating its Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf. The Government of Kenya, therefore constituted a National Task Force in 2006 to among others to advise the government on the preparation of the Kenyas Continental Shelf claim for submission to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) and to carry out delineation of the Kenya s Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf, and prepare a comprehensive ocean management policy and make recommendation for the management of ocean resources within national jurisdiction. The Task Force has completed the desktop study phase of the delineation and is in the process of preparing for extra bathymetric data acquisition to fill the data gaps. Bathymetric data for the desktop study was acquired from Grid Arendal of Norway. Kenya lacks survey vessels to undertake hydrographic surveys and is in the process of hiring one to collect the extra required data. 6

7 CONCLUSION On behalf of the Government of Kenya, I wish to thank very sincerely Captain Abri Kampfer, the Chairman SAIHC and Captain (Rtd.) Mike Barritt the Vice Chairman SAIHC for visiting Kenya in February 2006 and also appointing a technical advisor Lt. Commander D. J. Wyatt, to visit Kenya in March, The Officials of the Kenya Government had very fruitful discussions and meetings with the technical advisor. The members of KNHC were very happy and enthusiastic, and had very cordial and fruitful discussions with the technical advisor. They were in agreement with most of the technical advisors recommendations and are in the process of implementing them. I wish to assure you that the Kenya Government is committed to the promotion of such international cooperation and that Kenya will need valuable assistance and support of the SAIHC in developing her national hydrographic capability in order to achieve her marine resource exploitation goals. Finally, we need your support in training our personnel and attachment of our hydrographers to gain practical experience on board survey vessel in home waters and to provide exposure to our hydrographers to international workshops and conferences. Last but not least, I wish to take this opportunity to thank very sincerely Norway through Mr. Terje Langvik for sponsoring my travel cost and accommodation in Malawi for this meeting. I wish to also thank CARIS bv for paying the cost of my extra day stay in Malawi which will enable me to attend the CARIS workshop on 29 th August, Thank You AHSANTE SANA 7