During one of my evening strolls along the Kenyan coast in Kikambala, I noticed a stream of water draining straight into the ocean from a nearby hotel.
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Water from a hotel by the beach is draining into the ocean
I didn’t think much of it at the time. The sea was calm, the air warm, and it felt like just another detail in a familiar coastal scene.
Later that night, while taking a shower, the thought came back to me. Where does all the water we use in hotels actually go?
Every day, hotels use water for showers, laundry, kitchens, and cleaning, thousands of litres moving quietly through pipes and drains.
Standing there, I found myself wondering whether the water I had seen earlier was part of that same story. Not in a dramatic way, just as a passing question that refused to leave.
When water flows back into the ocean, it carries traces of where it’s been.
Soaps, detergents, food waste, cleaning chemicals, even when diluted, eventually meet the sea.
Water is designed to drain into the ocean from the facilities by the beach.
Water is designed to drain into the ocean from facilities by the beach. The ocean, especially close to shore, feels these impacts more than we realise. Coral reefs, fish, and seagrass don't have a way of filtering what arrives; they simply adapt or struggle.
For people who live and work along the coast, the ocean isn’t just scenery. It feeds families, supports tourism, and shapes daily life.
Clean water means healthy fish, safe swimming spots, and beaches that remain inviting long after the sun sets.
A tourist examines a brain coral exposed in the Indian Ocean during low tide.
When water quality changes, the effects can be subtle at first, noticed only when something feels slightly off.
This isn’t an accusation or a conclusion. Just a question that surfaced from an ordinary moment. Perhaps most hotels have proper systems in place.
Possibly what I saw was harmless. Still, it made me pause. Sometimes, it’s the small observations that remind us how closely our everyday comforts are connected to the natural world.
What leaves our rooms, our bathrooms, our buildings eventually ends up somewhere. And often, that somewhere could just be the ocean!
The scale of Kenya's maritime gateway at the port of Mombasa is impressive.
Container stacks form, like steel skylines, cranes move with practised precision, vessels berth steadily as cargo is offloaded from sea to shore.
A cargo vessel docks at the Port of Mombasa with containers
Beyond the visible choreography of trade lies a quieter, more consequential story: how port operations link with climate change, public health and the well-being of surrounding communities.
Wide-angle view of the Port of Mombasa and the surrounding coastline
A tour of the Kenya Ports Authority reveals a port at the crossroads of efficiency and responsibility.
Video capturing activities at the port of Mombasa
PORT AND CLIMATE CHANGE
The Kenya Ports Authority KPA green port policy and strategic plan addresses the pertinent issue of climate change that is triggering a rise in sea levels, stronger storms, surges and heavy rainfall, now synonymous with coastal ports around the world, affecting port operations.
KPA's Managing Director, William Ruto, stated during a recent tour to the Kenya Editors Guild that a necessary shift in planning and operations is required.
"The future of the Port of Mombasa depends not only on how fast cargo moves, but on how responsibly we manage our environmental footprint and how deliberately we protect the health and livelihoods of the communities that host this port"
The port, through its strategic plan, emphasises shoreline protection, ecosystem conservation and climate adaptation alongside capacity expansion.
KPA's general manager of Engineering Services, Julius Tai, who spoke on behalf of the Managing Director, said the most significant shift is the adoption of a digital platform.
The rollout of a Port Community System (PCS) links Shipping lines, customs, logistics providers, and regulators, transforming how cargo moves through the port.
Graphics displaying how digitalisation of cargo handling is enhancing efficiency at Mombasa Port
This, he says, creates a connected and transparent ecosystem that seeks to align trade facilitation with environmental and social safeguards.
The port is a hub of movement, which increases exposure; diesel-powered ships, trucks and cargo handling equipment contribute to air pollution, while run off and waste management practices affect water quality.
The environmental pressures raise concerns about public health for dockworkers, seafarers and locals living around the port areas.
Although the smart port system may be perceived as a tool for competitiveness, its social value is just as crucial.
Faster clearance reduces congestion, cuts fuel consumption from idling vehicles and minimises spillover of heavy traffic into residential areas.
The images from the tour- ships at berth, containers in motion, cranes sihoutted against the sky- tell a story of trade.
However, at integrity, we see the fuller narrative being about choices.
Choices about how infrastructure adapts to climate risk, how economic growth protects public health and how modernisation must include community voices.
Miles away, successful digitalisation of port activities is supporting faster data exchange between shipping lines, terminals and regulators, cutting turnaround times and lowering carbon emissions.
In Singapore's port, the integration of digital and smart cargo handling systems is part of its broader sustainability strategy. It has streamlined vessel scheduling and cargo clearance to improve efficiency through its digital platform, DigitalPort@SG.
Ports should not just be gateways for goods, but anchors of resilience for coastal cities- ensuring that as the port grows smarter, it also grows greener and healthier for all who live and work around it.
Kenya’s coastline dazzles with golden sands and turquoise waters, but the beauty hides a warning: the Indian Ocean is steadily retreating, exposing coral rubble and seaweed where vibrant marine life once thrived.
Stunning beaches face the slow threat of a retreating ocean.
It is retreating farther from the shoreline than residents can remember.
What was once blue, living water now exposes mould-coated rocks, seaweed mats, coral rubble, and slimy puddles trapped in the bare seabed.
Puddles trapped on an exposed, mouldy seabed at low tide in Kilifi. Fishermen say these extreme retreats are becoming more common.
The extremely low-tide stretches, lasting longer and occurring more frequently, are raising alarm among fishers, beach operators, and climate scientists.
At the Kikambala Beach, fisherman Khamisi Ndenge, who has navigated these waters for 27 years, watches the horizon, worry written all over his face.
“The sea is running away from us, where we used to cast our nets; now it is only rock and seaweed. Some days we return home empty-handed.”
Khamisi Ndenge- fisherman
He points toward the exposed seabed, where pockets of murky puddles now gleam, where fish once teemed. Boats sit stranded for hours after sunrise, waiting for water deep enough to launch.
Early morning, and boats sit in the sweltering heat as the ocean waters recede at the Kikambala beach.
Hotel barriers signal a coastline under stress.
Hotels on the Kikambala beachfront are constructing stone and wooden barriers to prevent sand erosion and protect against increasingly unpredictable wave patterns. But these structures also disrupt natural sand movement.
“The beach is not the same. Hotels are building walls to protect themselves, but these walls change how the waves behave. Other parts of the beach erode faster now.”
Brian Mwangala-beach operator
A coastal hotel barrier built to protect property from erosion. Residents say such barriers shift wave patterns and worsen erosion in nearby stretches.
What scientists say the receding shoreline reveals
Marine scientists warn that what coastal communities are witnessing is consistent with warming oceans, ecosystem collapse, and changing current patterns.
Dr David Obura, one of Africa’s leading coral-reef ecologists, says Western Indian Ocean coral reefs are approaching a critical threshold.
“Coral reefs are at the forefront of ocean heatwaves that we’re seeing. We are losing coral reefs rapidly… Once you lose those species and those genes, you never get them back.”
Dr David Obura, CORDIO East Africa (Source: The Founder Spirit)
Coral death reduces natural sand formation and weakens the buffer that protects coastlines, leaving the seabed exposed longer during low tides.
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) scientist Dr Timothy McClanahan, who has monitored Kenyan reefs for decades, also notes that local disturbances and warming seas have drastically reduced reef resilience.
His long-term studies highlight the combined strain of climate change, sedimentation, pollution, and overfishing.
“Corals are stenothermic organisms — they only survive within a narrow temperature range. Slight rise or decrease in temperatures will stress the coral and eventually cause its death.”
Dr Jelvas Mwaura, KMFRI(Source: People Daily)
Without healthy reefs, seaweed and algae overwhelm the shallow waters.
Gradual collapse of the coral reefs around the sun and sand beach resort in Kikambala
Communities are witnessing the ripple effects
Beach guide Said Kenga shares how visitors react to the exposed seabed:
“Tourists ask me if the ocean is sick when they see the mouldy rocks and brown seaweed. For us it is becoming normal.”
He fears that disappearing fish, unattractive beaches, and recurring extreme low tides may hurt tourism — the region’s main economic artery.
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The coastline is facing combined climate and human pressures. The receding Indian Ocean is not just a tide — it is a signal.
What Can Be Done?
Experts are now calling for urgent interventions to safeguard Kenya’s fragile coastline. They say enhanced reef restoration and consistent monitoring will be essential in stabilising marine habitats already strained by warming oceans and rising sea levels.
Beyond conservation, scientists are pushing for tighter regulation of sand mining and stricter controls on hotel developments along the shoreline, warning that unplanned construction continues to weaken natural coastal defences.
They also emphasise the need to strengthen the country’s marine protected areas to improve biodiversity recovery.
Tourism stakeholders have been advised to adopt climate-resilient practices, noting that the sustainability of Kenya’s beach destinations will depend on how well the sector adapts to shifting ocean conditions.
At the same time, authorities are being encouraged to support artisanal fishing communities with modern, adaptive gear and training to help them cope with rapidly changing marine ecosystems.
Dr David Obura cautions that the coming decade will be decisive for the survival of Eastern Africa’s marine environment, stressing that the region cannot afford to delay action.
Scientific evidence on tidal variability at Lamu-Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366609732- Anomously large seasonal modulations of shallow water tides at Lamu, Kenya
WHAT COMMUNITIES ARE DOING
Kenya Marine and Fisheries Institute KMFRI & Beach Management Units carry out tide awareness and informal monitoring.
Community-led coral rehabilitation at Kuruwitu has increased fish biomass, restored coral cover, and created alternative livelihoods such as eco-guiding and reef monitoring. https://www.coralguardian.org/en/indian-ocean-kenya/
WhatsApp-based early warning groups among fishers, beach management units, and tourism operators enable real-time sharing of tide and hazard alerts, improving safety.
Faster reaction and reduced loss during extreme weather events.
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