ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THE LAKE NAIVASHA BASIN IN KENYA

BY

CAXTON GITONGA KAUA

caxtonk2008@yahoo.com

The Lake Naivasha Basin (LNB)• A complex entity of diverse stakeholder interests• Approximately 3400 KM2 • Lies in the Eastern Rift of the Gregory Riftvalley, 90 KMs from

Nairobi city, Kenya• Extends towards Mau Escarpment to the West (3048 m asl),

Aberdares (4000 masl) to the East and Eburru Hill (2800masl) to the N.E.

• Extends from the lacustrine beds, to rift valley floor, to rift plateau, to rift escarpments.

• Hosts Lake Naivasha a Ramsar Site and IBA. Sits at 1890 maslmaking it unique.

• Mostly semi arid in the lower catchment but has a narrow sub-humid zone in the upper catchment

• Rainfall bimodal ranging 1000-1300mm p.a in upper catchment, 800 mm p.a. in rift valley floor and 600mm around L. Naivasha

• Temperatures range 5 to 25 degrees centigrade• Main Rivers include R. Malewa, R. Gilgil, R. Turasha among others

Demography

• The basin has a population of over 500,000 people

• High population density

• This is due to emigration due to local resources and outmigration from high population centre's such as Nairobi

• Between 1989-1999 the population increased by 64% during the horticultural boom

• Between 1999-2009 the increase was 13%

• Residents are highly cosmopolitan

• 28 urban areas in the area given the population increase and urbanization

Stakeholders in the LNB

• The stakeholders can be divided into five groups:• Government institutions• National and international NGOs e.g: Greenbelt

Movement, WWF, Wetlands International, IUCN, Reconcile, World Vision

• Local civil society organizations and NGOs e.g: Naivasha Civil society organizations forum, LNRA, Local CFAs, Local WRUAs, Center for pastoralist development, NAPNET

• Private sectors organization e.g: LNGG, tour operators, hotel industry, horticultural firms

• Research organizations e.g: Local and international universities, KEMFRI, KEFRI, KALRO, KGDC, Earth watch, KWSTI

Economic activities in the LNB

Economic activities in the LNB include:• Horticulture/Floriculture• Tourism• Small scale agriculture• Fisheries• Forestry• Ranching• Geothermal power generation• Business activities• Formal employment• Pastoralism• Manufacturing industries e.g. Keroche• Real estate e.t.c

Legal and policy frameworksSome of the international frameworks relevant to the management of LNB include:• Convention on wetlands of international importance

(Ramsar)• Convention on biological diversity• Convention on migratory species• African convention on conservation of nature and

natural resources• The 1992 UNFCCC• Convention on international trade in endangered

species of flora and fauna• African Eurasian water bird convention• International convention on protection of the world

cultural and natural heritage site

Legal and policy frameworks-contd• Convention to combat desertification• The Rotterdam convention on trade in hazardous chemicals• The Basel convention • The Bamako convention• The East African Commission treatySome of the national frameworks relevant to management of the LNB include:• EMCA• Water bill 2014• Agricultural act (cap 318)• Physical planning act• Penal code (cap 63)• Forest conservation and management bill 2014• Wildlife conservation and management act, 2013

• Livestock act (cap 321)

• Tourism act 2011

• Land planning act (cap 268)

• Devolution act

• National land policy

• Public health act (cap 243)

• Kenya tourism development act (cap 382)

Legal and policy frameworks-contd

Land use planning

The LNB has been zoned into eight zones based on:

• Environmental characteristics

• Land use practices

• Need for conservation

• Conservation integrity and habitats

• Stakeholder interests

This arrives at seven management zones so as to accommodate all stakeholders as much as possible while ensuring sustainable resource utilization.

Land use zones in the LNB

The land management zone arrived at by the criteria include:

• Open water zone (Lakes, dams and rivers)

• Riparian buffer zones

• Wetland areas

• Protected area zone

• Sustainable utilization zone

• Intensive agricultural zone

• Urban and settlement zone

Land use typesLand ownership types in the basin include: state, trust lands and private freeholdThe land use types are both rural and urbanThe land use types include:• Urban and built up areas• Small scale mixed farming• Pastoralism• Forest plantation• Indigenous forest• Acacia woodlands• Grasslands• Horticulture/Floriculture• Aquatic areas• Fishing• Montane protected areas

Environmental issues in the LNB

• Increasing flactuation’s in lake water levels• Deterioration of river and lake water quality• Forest management issues including:

– Deforestation within the basin– Illegal logging– Forest fires– Illegal grazing– Charcoal burning– Illegal harvesting with some tree Spp now threatened

• Increased land degradation and soil erosion• Increased river and lake siltation and sedimentation• Encroachment and transformation of lake shore and river riparian zones • Increasing population hence pressure on resources• Numerous and conflicting demands on basin resources• Rapid urbanization in the backdrop of poorly planned development hence

waste management problems and settlement in fragile areas• Poor waste management especially in urban areas

Environmental issues- Cont,d

• Infestation by invasive species especially in the lake• Increased and unsustainable water abstraction• Agrochemicals and fertilizers polluting the water

bodies• Inequitable resource distribution• Poor management of livestock activity hence:

– over grazing– Purging compaction and re-suspension of river and lake

substrates– Nutrient addition into lakes and bacterial infections– Creation of plant invasion microsites– Introduction and dispersion of seeds and other

propagules

• Fishery management issues including:– Increased fish mortality and reduced yields due to: – water level flactuation’s– loss of macrophyte’s– over fishing– Invasive Spp such as common carp. Formerly major spp were red

bellied tilapia, blue spotted tilapia and black bass.– Fishing controlled i.e. 50 boats, 10 gill nets of 4’’ and 3 people per boat– Controlled fishing hence loss of revenue for fisher folk – There is thus poaching of fish especially during closure periods

• Environmental degradation has a negative impact on performance of the tourism industry

• The tourism industry also faced with challenges of concentration of activity on the lake hence associated impacts, poor marketing strategies, lack of a strong tourism stakeholder forum and infrastructure in upper and mid catchment areas

• Energy issues due to excess dependence on biomass energy and low adoption of renewable energy sources

Environmental issues- Cont,d

• Geothermal development though a positive also bring about issues of:

– Release of hydrogen sulfide

– Surface disturbance

– Thermal effluents

– Chemical discharge

– Waste generation

– Increased water use i.e. drilling one well uses 100,000M3 of water

– Rapid dereliction of Hells Gate National park

• Climate change which exacerbates impacts on the already stressed ecosystem

• Wildlife management issues including:

– Human wildlife conflicts

– Poaching

– Disconnect of corridors due to land fragmentation

– Invasive species introduction

Environmental issues- Cont,d

Political issues• Low political will towards environmental management

• Payment of political debts at the expense of the environment

• Political marginalization of the less powerful and the grassroots communities

• Political influence of large firms who bank roll local campaigns

• Politicians manipulating existing community divisions for personal ends

• Politically powerful individuals being part of polluting firms

• Non truly environmental sensitive of concerned individuals taking power

• Maintenance of the status quo as political asset or card

• Politicians instigating conflicts

• Political interference in management activities

• Poor environmental governance

Gender issues

• Inadequate involvement of women in decision making processes and leadership

• Women have low ownership of resources• Cultural stereotypes towards women• Long history of marginalization making women assume a

low profile• Lack of gender aggregated data• Lack of financial and managerial capacity among women• Lack of adequate cohesion among women• Lack of adequate support for women groups and ventures• Corrupt individuals exploiting and pulling fellow women

back• Lack of adequate physical endowment to benefit fully from

some of the economic activities e.g. fishing• Some organizations and individuals manipulating women

Community participation issues• Community participation being more of rhetoric than substance• Low technical and financial capacity• Minimal government support e.g. Extension services• Leadership wrangles leading to conflict in community participation

structures• Lack of adequate leadership skills• Financial and community project mismanagement by some

community members• Fluidity of communities• Political and ethnic divisions within communities• Abuse of rights and freedoms by some when given• Powerful individuals hijacking the process for personal benefit• Some organizations manipulating and even leading to collapse of

community structures• Political and economic changes at higher levels that affect the

community structures

Natural resource use conflictsDiverse stakeholder groups with often competing interests and mandates leads to conflictsThe main conflict issues in the LNB include:• Human population and land fragmentation hence it can no

longer adequately support their needs• High dependence on natural resources for livelihoods• Minimal formal opportunities to participate in sustainable

management of resources• Encroachment into protected areas• Gazzettement of protected areas without prior consent of

communities• Riparian land tenure where some farmers alienate it and

acquire title unscrupulously hence denying the public access to the lake and even blocking the access lakes

• Conflicts due to bias in water allocation and abstraction where by horticulturalists use most of it and even pollute it at the expense of the majority

Natural resource use conflicts-Cont’d

• Conflicts between upper catchment and lower catchment users due to reduced water flows especially during drought seasons

• Inequitable sharing of benefits emanating from basin resources of which amount to more the 350 billion per annum

• Lack of compliance with set laws and regulations

• Weak enforcement due to lack of adequate capacity, morale, will and commitment in government institutions

• Lack of proper access to information that would aid in proper decision making

• Weak permit enforcement and follow up

• Poor implementation of EIA and EA regulations and EMPs

• Inadequate inventory of basin resources

• Poor local, national and international linkages

Responses to the issues in LNB• Develop and implement strategies for water resources

management• Develop and implement proper regulations for

environmental management• Effective continuous participatory monitoring and

evaluation of the environment• Develop and implement an effective strategy for

rehabilitation of degraded areas• Develop strategies for equitable sharing of resource

use benefits• Come up with a basin wide payment for environmental

services scheme• Develop an invasive species control strategy• Building communities capacity for sustainable livestock

production

• Designing and implementing an appropriate fisheries management strategy

• Building environmental awareness and management capacity of all stakeholders in the basin

• Promote community wildlife conservation and enterprises

• Promote protection of wildlife habitat, corridors and endangered species

• Develop and implement strategies for enhancing performance of the tourist sector

• Promote efficient and alternative renewable energy technologies at domestic, commercial and industrial levels

• Come up with and operationalize community based strategies for conflict resolution

• Developing effective strategies for data collection and information sharing to support decision making

Responses to the issues in LNB, Cont’d

Conclusion

The LNB is an important resource that continues to benefit many people. This however poses a challenge given the need to satisfy diverse interests both private and public while at them same time maintaining its ecological integrity. The issues faced include environmental degradation due to the activities in the basin, rising population pressure on resources and rapid urbanization among other factors. Issues among other things include management issues, gender issues, political issues , shortcomings in community and public involvement and resource use conflicts. There is thus need for urgent measures aimed at addressing the existing issues. This is so as to ensure proper management, equitable sharing of resources and resolve existing conflicts. This will also ensure that all stakeholders are happy while leading to sustainable utilization of its resources