In a move to reclaim the lost glory of Mombasa, the government and local private stakeholders are tackling the 50-year-old Kibarani dump. They have started to repurpose the tract of land into a green recreational park.
Image: PSCU
Advertisement
Kibarani is the gateway to Kenya's oldest city, Mombasa. But for five decades, it has been characterized by a sprawling dumpsite beside the Indian Ocean. Not only an eyesore, the site has long been a public health concern for locals as well as the cause of marine pollution.
But now it's facing a greener future as a park.
As part of a move by the government and private stakeholders keen to reclaim the lost glory of Mombasa, a once famous tourist city, the garbage site has been relocated to Mwakirunge, another neighborhood in Mombasa County, and different varieties of trees have been planted in places once given over to rotting trash.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta (right) visiting the Kibarani site with Governor Hassan JohoImage: PSCU
Just getting started
The governor of Mombasa County, Hassan Joho, had promised to deliver a new face for the site.
"There are serious historical damages in terms of environment that we need to deal with," he said. "We're not yet done but we're on the right track."
It is estimated that the project will take between three and five years to complete. And while development continues, part of the area has been turned into a garden with sculptures of wild animals sitting on artificial grass.
Environmentalists have raised concern over that use of the land, saying it is harmful because it suppresses the local ecosystem that touches the Indian Ocean.
"They are also interfering with the soil there," Benson Wemali, an environmentalist, told DW.
"Kibarani was a dumpsite and is very fertile for natural grass and flowers to grow. If we are to have a recreational park then it should be natural."
One of the new wildlife sculptures decorating the park. Notice the plastic 'grass'Image: PSCU
A top priority
During a recent visit to Mombasa, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta expressed his satisfaction with the progress of the Kibarani beautification project.
He said he was impressed by the transformation and encouraged the county government to improve other public spaces across the city as well.
The decision to close the Kibarani dump was made early last year and trash disposal on the site was stopped before the transformation project got underway.
Waste management in the city has continued to be a challenge for the county government, which has long been an issue for the local population
Cairo's Al-Azhar Park
It's a wonder of human ambition and engineering set in the middle of Cairo. Al-Azhar Park was built on a 500-year-old rubble heap and is now a green jewel for the Egyptian capital.
Image: Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Gary Otte
Egypt from above
Today, Cairo is Africa's largest city and home to nearly 23 million people. The sprawling metropolis is host to a quarter of the whole nation's population and is expected to grow by another 500,000 this year. Surrounded by a lot of desert and salt water, the city and its citizens can use all the green they can get.
Image: Reuters
In the beginning
In 1984, the Aga Khan expressed his interest in creating a park in the middle of Cairo. Finding the appropriate location was not easy, but in the end a 500-year-old trash and debris dump on 33 hectares in the neglected low-income neighborhood of Darb al-Ahmar was selected.
Image: Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Stefano Bianca
Still not done
After years of detailed planning, work on the site near the historic Old City started in 1996. For the next five years 80,000 truckloads of fill and smoldering waste were removed and three monstrous fresh water tanks were buried within the park to meet local water needs.
Image: Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Stefano Bianca
An impressive green sight
Twenty years after its inception the park was finally finished in 2004 and the officially inaugurated in 2005. The $30 million (25.5 million euro) to create the park was given by the Aga Khan. It was a gift to the people of Cairo to commemorate the foundation of the city by his ancestors, the Fatimid Califs.
Image: Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Gary Otte
Room with a view
Besides fountains, a restaurant and an artificial lake, the park was spruced up with 650,000 new plants. But sometimes this pales in comparison with the majestic views of Cairo's Old City. Though the local government owns the land, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture has taken on running the park for 25 years to assure it a good start in life.
Image: Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Gary Otte
Welcome to the neighborhood
The park pays homage to the neighborhood by borrowing its name from the thousand-year-old Al Azhar Mosque. Located only a few meters west of the park, it is thought the mosque derives its name from the title "az-Zahra" given to Muhammad's daughter, Fatimah. To this day it is still one of the most important centers in Egypt for Sunni Muslims.
Image: Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Gary Otte
Walls as an attraction, not a barrier
During excavation in the park, many ancient buildings and architectural elements were uncovered. These were painstakingly restored and integrated into the park design. Here a section of the Ayyubid Wall is being worked on, though it physically divides part of the park from the surrounding city, it is seen as an attraction not a barrier.
Image: Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Gary Otte
It's all about the details
Part of the overall park project was the restoration of a number of neighboring buildings and schools. Here the finishing touches are being put on a ceiling in the Amir Aslam Mosque. The Al-Azhar Park has served as a model for other similar park projects in Mali, Zanzibar and Afghanistan. Hopefully many more will follow.
