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NAIROBI, KENYA - FEBRUARY 02: Kenya’s famed Yale Swamp, home to rare sitatunga or march antelope is under threat because of human activity. The largest wetland in the Horn of Africa country with an area of 175 kilometers, is not only a natural filter for the waters that go into the River Nile from Lake Victoria but also home to several species of flora and fauna. Speaking to Anadolu Agency coinciding the World Wetlands Day which is being observed on Wednesday, Lenon Otiko Omondi, a 53-year-old farmer who owns land near the Yale Swamp, said he has witnessed shirking of swamp over the years. “This swamp is our life; it has watery patches with a lot of fish that we use not only to earn a living but for nutrition. The problem nowadays is everything is slowly disappearing. The swamp is still big but it has shrunk, it is nothing like 20 years ago,” he said. He said some people were clearing the swamp to get land for large-scale farming, despite the government chasing them away. “People backfill the recovered wetland area and construct buildings. Then a small shopping Centre comes up. The people need water, food, and a place where they can dump their waste,” said the farmer. Over a quarter-million people who live around the swamp rely on resources such as water, medicine, firewood, and food from the ecosystem. (Footage by Andrew Wasike Shimanyula/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)