Phase I of the project was implemented by Africa Water Network (AWN) in conjunction with several stakeholders including the University of Nairobi, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and UN Habitat among others. AWN was contracted by UNEP to undertake a situation assessment on the status and impact of pollution on the Nairobi River Basin.

Children playing along Nairobi River

Partner stakeholders carried out various activities towards this goal. For example, the University of Nairobi was involved in establishing pollution sources and pollutants, identifying designated sampling points and defining parameters for measuring river pollutants. UN Habitat developed a baseline map locating the sampling stations and also produced the final report.

All information was to be fed into an Environmental Management Information System (EMIS). Detailed findings of the assessment are contained in a report prepared by AWN entitled A Pollution assessment report of the Nairobi River Basin, available at UN Habitat and UNEP. Phase I of the project provided recommendations and proposed interventions for implementation under Phase II of the project.

Activities under Phase I can be summarised as consisting of: