Nairobi — Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai on Thursday criticised the re-introduction of the shamba system in which squatters settle and farm in forests.

Prof Maathai said this was likely to interfere with the eco-system, resulting in the drying up of rivers. "It is sad that politicians and the government continue to dilly-dally on important issues like the removal of people from the Mau Forest.

"At what stage will politicians think beyond safeguarding their interests with an eye to the next election?" she asked.

Prof Maathai singled out the closure of Masinga dam as a prime example of the adverse effects of climate change.

"Climate change is viewed as an elitist concern yet it's a matter of life and death as it has had an adverse effect on agriculture, the mainstay of our economy," she told a press conference in Nairobi.

Visiting Rockefeller Foundation president Judith Rodin said her organisation would work with Kenya in the fight against climate change.