Effects of Dimension Stone Quarrying Activities in Ndarugo Area of Kiambu County, Kenya.

Abstract

Dimension stone quarrying is a vital activity that dates back since the dawn of civilization because it provided premium materials for all kinds of constructions. Stone quarrying activities have affected the quarry workers, residents near quarry sites and the country’s economy at large. It creates employment opportunities, source of construction materials, recharge of underground water and source of revenues to County Government. However, despite positive effects, there are several negative effects associated with quarrying activities. This includes loss of biodiversity, land dereliction, air pollution, and water pollution among others. There are several legislations enacted in Kenya which provide guidelines on how mining and quarrying should be done. These includes the Environmental Management and Coordination Act of 2015, the Legal Notice No. 101 (The Environmental Impact Assessment and Audit Regulation) of 2003, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2007 and the Mining Act of 2016 among others. These regulations are aimed at streaming lining mining and quarrying sector, dimension stone quarrying not excluded, to attain environmental sustainability. 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.