Environment Cabinet Secretary Dr. Deborah Barasa will tomorrow (Monday) launch the Lake Naivasha Basin Ecosystem Management Project.
The three-year project funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF-7) through the WWF-US to a tune of 1.8 million USD is aimed at addressing the challenges and threats present in the Lake Naivasha Basin Ecosystem, restore forest ecosystems, reduce land degradation, and enhance biodiversity conservation in the basin through an integrated landscape management approach.
The Lake Naivasha Basin (Lnb) is a vital ecosystem in Kenya’s Eastern Rift Valley, spanning approximately 3,400 km².
It serves as a crucial source of water, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, supporting livelihoods through agriculture, tourism, and fisheries.
The upper catchment areas, where most of the project’s intervention activities will take place, contribute nearly 80pc of the water flowing into Lake Naivasha, a fresh water lake which sustains a diverse ecosystem and is habitat to a range of wildlife.
Lake Naivasha also faces severe environmental threats, including land degradation, deforestation, water pollution, and climate change.
The riparian land is under immense pressure due to anthropogenic activities within the Naivasha headwaters.
Uncontrolled agricultural activities by local farmers have degraded the land and damaged the integrity of the lake ecosystem, reducing its biodiversity levels. These challenges threaten the basin’s ecological integrity and economic viability.
