Tourism stakeholders have raised concerns over coral bleaching, particularly along the North Coast, as it threatens the region’s biodiversity.
The loss of marine species discourages tourists, who are then compelled to visit the South Coast to see the wildlife they originally sought.
Coral bleaching is the process where corals become white due to loss of symbiotic algae and photosynthetic pigments.
Various stressors such as changes in temperature, light or nutrients can cause this loss of pigment.
Ishpal Oberoi, a tour operator and former Coast chairperson of the Kenya Association of Tour Operators, said when this happens, the corals lose their ability to sustain the marine species that feed off them, thus reducing the biodiversity.
He said the North Coast, which hosts the North Coast Marine Park, has a lot of species of corals, becoming one of the most vibrant marine parks in the world.
“We have turtles, dolphins and stingrays. We have everything here that anybody would want to see, including sharks around the coral reefs.
“But bleaching is reducing the biodiversity, which reduces the availability of marine life,” he said.
So, when tourists go out into the sea, they do not see much and do not enjoy as much as they would have wished.
“We don’t have to send tourists all the way to Wasini and Diani in the South Coast when we have it here and we’ve had it for 40, 50, 60 years,” Oberoi said.
He spoke on Wednesday during the launch of the 2024 annual tourism sector performance report alongside climate change and sustainability report.
He said although there is not much that can be done in some natural cases like global warming – which raises the temperatures of the sea and causes bleaching – some of the causes of bleaching is man-made and can be avoided. This includes spilling chemicals into the sea.
“As the sea levels rise with the melting of ice cups, the salinity of the sea reduces and the corals cannot adapt that fast. It takes thousands and thousands of years for corals to grow to the sizes they are,” he said.
He however said more stringent measures can be put in place to prevent the pouring of chemicals into the sea.
Mombasa Tourism Council chairman Sam Ikwaye said development projects also contribute significantly to coral bleaching and a balance must be found.
Ikwaye said human and development activities like sand harvesting, dredging and dumping tend to affect corals in a big way.
The Kenya Ports Authority has been the biggest entity doing development activities at sea including dredging of the channel to expand it and make it more accessible by vessels.
They have also been involved in sand harvesting much to the hue and cry of tourism stakeholders and environmentalists.
