FACULTY OF SCIENCE
Department of Biology
Limnology Unit
4 May 2012
The Director General
National Environment Management Authority
PO Box 67839, 00200
Popo Road,
Nairobi, Kenya
KWS reference: KWS/CL & P/029; new permit in process
NCST reference: NCST/5/002/R/439-4; new permit: NCST/RCD/14/012/14
NEMA reference: NEMA/AGR/7/2010
Dear Sir,
Following the telephone discussion on 4th May 2012 between Dr. Daniel Olago of University of
Nairobi (acting on our behalf) and Ms. Veronica Kimutai in order to clarify issues relating to delay of
issuance of the NEMA Access Permit for our research project, we can hereby respond to the queries
raised in the NEMA letter of 30 November 2011, following our application submitted on 25 July 2010.
All documents provided relate to the work we have been conducting, and are about to conduct on
Mount Kenya and Lake Bogoria since July 2009. A new research clearance to conduct research on
Mount Kenya and Lake Bogoria has now been obtained by NCST (valid until 30 th September 2014) to
replace the previous one that expired during the period that NEMA was still considering the Access
Permit. Additionally, a new KWS permit is being processed, as well as the MTA between KWS and
Ghent University. We expect these to be finalised in the next few days, and, as agreed with Ms.
Kimutai, the documents will be sent to NEMA immediately they are ready even as our application for
the NEMA Access Permit is being processed.
The following issues needed to be addressed to help the Authority make an informed decision:
(a) MTA between KWS and Ghent University
We will provide this document asap upon completion.
(b) MoU between University of Nairobi and our research institute
This document was part of our most recent NCST permit application (Form attached)
(c) We have to re-apply as a corporate and pay additional application fee of KsH 30,000.
We can apply on behalf of Ghent University (Form attached) and pay the required fee.
(d) Provide copies of passport/IDs for all the participating persons.
Copies of the passports of the project PIs Dr. Hilde Eggermont and Prof. Dirk Verschuren are
attached. Only these two persons will handle the export of samples, in August-September 2012. Any
samples that have been collected on Mt. Kenya on previous occasions (July 2009, August 2010) and
that will be collected by their junior associates Dr. Bob Rumes and Gijs De Cort in May 2012 will be
kept in safe storage at the University of Nairobi until that time.
Limnology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University
K.L.Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Gent, Belgium
hilde.eggermont@ugent.be
Tel: +32-9-264 5253 Fax: +32-9-264 5343
(e) Indication where duplicate specimens will be deposited:
They will be deposited in the Geology Department, University of Nairobi, with Prof. Daniel Olago.
(f) Indicate sources of funding supported by evidence, and provide breakdown.
Funding for a total amount of 240,000 euro is guaranteed by FWO Vlaanderen (Form attached) until
end of 2015.
Breakdown:
4 years of PhD @ 37,500 euro per year = 150,000 euro
4 years of support/training of Kenyan and Belgian master students @2500 euro per year = 10,000 euro
Fieldwork in Kenya, including support of students from Nairobi University = 20,000 euro
Operational costs to conduct the required analyses @ 15,000 euro per year = 60,000 euro
(g) Financial commitment for PhD students and Master.
See (e) – evidence of funding. As regards Kenyan students – we provided training for Geoffrey Kiptoo
Mibei (Master Nairobi Univ) during previous fieldtrips (July2009; Aug2010), and in the forthcoming
fieldtrips (7-23 May 2012; and 15Aug-15Sept 2012), we will support and train Abigail Wambui
Wamunyu (Master Nairobi Univ)
(h) Explanation of the statement in the proposal (pg4) which indicates that at some point we will deal
with "biodiversity of aquatic algae, insects, microcrustaceans". This statement is conflicting with
statement in application item 2.0 (Technical particulars) where you indicated that lake sediments and
plankton samples only will be collected. Clarification: The term "plankton" defines all small
organisms drifting in the open water of lakes, including "phytoplankton" (i.e. the organisms commonly
referred to as algae) and "zooplankton" (aquatic insects and microcrustaceans such as water fleas).
Hence, these statements are not conflicting - the first statement is just more detailed.
(i) Explanation of the mechanisms ensuring that no other biological species are collected other than
the samples of interest.
Plankton can only be collected with small hand nets of particular mesh size (e.g. for zooplankton 50
µm) and sampling techniques - so we can confirm that only these organisms are captured. Microorganisms such as bacteria are not retained, and larger organisms such as fish move too quickly to be
captured with these devices. Amphibia are not present in Mt. Kenya lakes nor in Lake Bogoria. All
samples are also treated with a fixative, which halts all life so that the sampled organism’s structures
are preserved for later observation. Any micro-organisms such as bacteria that may still be adhering
to the samples are also killed in the process. Further, hot springs in Lake Bogoria do not harbour any
plankton of interest to us, so we will not sample there. Consequently, we can guarantee that no microorganisms (either harmful or with potential biological or biomedical applications) will be exported.
(j) Valid research clearance.
th
A new NCST permit has been obtained (Attached doc: NCST/RCD/14/012/14) valid until 30
September 2014. A new KWS permit is in process, and we will submit it asap upon
completion.
Other relevant documents attached include: Import License, Confirmation letter of reporting on
previous activities, Application form and CVs of Hilde Eggermont and Dirk Verschuren, KWS permit
KWS/CL&P/029 issued 31 July 2009, MTA between KWS and Ghent University issued 24th July
2010.
Please note that we also provided NEMA with an additional support letter (14 Oct 2011) stating the
following:
“We totally agree that in order to stimulate capacity building and collaboration, we should try to
conduct most analyses in Kenya. Therefore, we agree it is not necessary to export the water samples
as we have run the water chemistry analyses in Nairobi before. However, as regards the sediment and
Limnology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University
K.L.Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Gent, Belgium
hilde.eggermont@ugent.be
Tel: +32-9-264 5253 Fax: +32-9-264 5343
plankton samples, some analyses cannot be conducted at the Geology Department or elsewhere in
Kenya because the necessary equipment is not available there. These include:
- Detection of paleomagnetic signatures, quantitative X-ray Diffraction analyses and high-resolution
core imaging. Equipment used for this includes, among others, the Geotek multi sensor core logger,
specialized in high-resolution, non-destructive analysis of geological cores. Such equipment is only
available at a handful of Institutes in Europe and US, among others Ghent University
- Analyses of carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios and isotopic composition of bulk sediments using
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS) which is not available in Kenya, to detect
human and climatic impacts on the aquatic ecosystems
- Scanning Electron Microscopy and phylogenetic/phylogeographic analyses of the plankton in
order to produce high-quality peer-reviewed publications on taxonomy & biogeography of the
recovered species.
Please note that we are willing to train Kenyan students at our Institute, so that they complete the
analyses themselves. Also, the Geology department will be involved at any time in the interpretation
and publication of results. Indeed, all publications that will result from the multi-proxy work will be
co-authored by the Geology Department of the University of Nairobi, and hence beneficial for their
publication output. However, without sophisticated analyses, we will not be able to publish in peerreviewed journals and strengthen our collaboration.”
We are looking forward to hearing back from you. We are available would you need further
information.
Sincerely Yours,
Dr. Hilde Eggermont
Principal Investigator
Limnology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University
K.L.Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Gent, Belgium
hilde.eggermont@ugent.be
Tel: +32-9-264 5253 Fax: +32-9-264 5343
Prof. Dr. Dirk Verschuren, laboratory head
Limnology Unit, Dept. Of Biology