AFRICAN RIFT LAKE PROGRAMME-ARL

KENYA

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WWF Kenya is an affiliate to World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the world’s largest and most experienced independent organization dedicated to the conservation of the Earth’s natural environment. WWF has presence in more than 100 countries across the world that contributes towards providing an enabling environment for the achievement of sustainable natural resource management.

WWF Kenya shares the spirit of the global WWF network’s mission, namely to stop the degradation of the natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. In as such we aim to secure a healthy natural environment that also supports people and growth in Kenya. WWF

recognises the close links between people and nature, so we have also developed social principles and policies for our work.

In Kenya WWF was founded in 1961 and commenced its operation in 1962 with an initial focus on wildlife conservation. WWF Kenya has however, since expanded its mandate to encompass management of scarce water resources, conservation of disappearing forests, climate and energy work, management of marine resources and governance programmes, among others. Our programmes include the Governance and Partnership Programme, Species Conservation Programme, Coastal Kenya Programme and African Rift Lakes Programme.

About WWF-Kenya

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Overview The African Rift Lakes (ARL) region is one of the 35 globally outstanding priority places identified by WWF. The ARL region brings together three distinct but interlinked regions, the Albertine Rift to the west, the African Great Lakes, and the Eastern (or Gregorian) Rift to the east.

In Kenya, there are two major priority landscapes: Mau Mara Serengeti and Naivasha Malewa Aberdares. The Mau Mara Serengeti landscape measures (44,000 km2). The core of the Landscape is the Mara River Basin (13,750 km2) that stretches from the upstream Mau Forests complex in Kenya, downstream to Musoma bay in Tanzania, where the Mara River enters Lake Victoria. The Mau forest complex the largest remaining indigenous montane forest in East Africa and Kenya’s largest ‘water tower’ supplying the Mara River, the only reliable source of surface water in the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, a lifeline to the Eighth Wonder of the World (Great Wildebeest Migration). This area is also a gem trove of charismatic WWF flagship species including the African elephant and the Eastern Black Rhinoceros that calls it home.

Managing the landscape’s unique natural resource base to sustain its critical ecosystem goods and services.

Aberdares

N A R O KN A R O K

K A J I A D OK A J I A D O

N A K U R UN A K U R U

B O M E TB O M E TK I S I IK I S I I

K E R I C H OK E R I C H ON Y A N D A R U AN Y A N D A R U A

K I A M B UK I A M B U

M I G O R IM I G O R I

M U R A N G ' AM U R A N G ' A

Eastern Mau

South-western Mau

Tinderet

Transmara

Ol-pusimoru

Londiani

BahatiMount Londiani

Eburu

Menengai

Maji Mazuri

Chepalungu

Kilombe Hill

Molo Nakuru

Mau Narok

Southern Mau

Masai Mara

Lake Nakuru

Hell's Gate

36°E

36°E

35°E

35°E

0° 0°

1°S

1°S

2°S

2°S

Mau-MaraNaivasha

Landscape

Mau-Mara-Naivasha LS

Mara River Basin

Lake Naivasha Basin

Protected Area

Mara Conservancies

Kenya County boundary

±0 10 20 30 405

Km

Context

KenyaTanzania

The Lake Naivasha Malewa and Aberdares landscape basin host Lake Naivasha, the only wholly inland freshwater lake of economic importance in Kenya. In addition to being a fundamental source of water, the lake supports a flourishing business in the horticulture industry (predominantly vegetables and flowers). The Lake Naivasha basin lies in Kenya’s Rift Valley, and covers between 100 - 150km2. The lake is designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention. It is surrounded by the Mau Escarpment to the west and the Kinangop plateau and Aberdare mountains to the east. It is also an Important Bird Area and the second largest freshwater lake in Kenya. The basin is home to three National Parks (Aberdares, Longonot and Hell’s Gate), as well as at least six privately-owned wildlife sanctuaries. The lake’s natural beauty, rich biodiversity and mild climate alone are an attraction to thousands of visitors.

Why is the ARL Region Important?The rich natural resources of the Mara/Serengeti/Mau Forest landscape in Kenya and Tanzania are crucial to the national and local economies. The natural resources directly support livelihoods of more than one million people who often have few alternatives for their food security, well-being, and development opportunities. The sustainable management of the natural resource base is therefore essential for the future of the landscape’s people and ecosystems.

Large populations of WWF’s flagship species are found in the ARL Region. The main delivery mechanism for the species targets is securing habitats for these species, anti-poaching work, and reducing human-wildlife conflict.

Large-scale commercial farming includes horticulture and flower farms that provide employment for tens of thousands of people around Lake Naivasha. Production of cut flowers, valued at over 400 million US dollars, now represents Kenya’s largest horticultural export.

Despite the incredible importance of the African Rift Lakes in Kenya, the two priority landscapes continue to experience immense negative impacts due to human related activities. For instance, years ago, Mau Forests Complex and the vast Mara-Serengeti rangelands were homes to thousands of rhinos and elephants. Today however, the populations of these critical species have considerably reduced due to increased human population, encroaching in forest and other protected habitats for homes and economic development. As the natural habitats disappear and natural resources are destroyed, wildlife has become target for poaching and subsequently human-wildlife conflict has increased.

Forest cover within the Mara River basin reduced by 48% between

1973 and 2015, while sediment concentrations in the Mara have exceeded acceptable levels (increasing by four times within that period). In the upper catchment of the Mara River, the mean annual rate of soil erosion has exceeded the tolerable rate of 11.2 tons/hectare with some areas in the hotspots recording 25 tons/hectare.

Currently the sediment load in the Nyangores River within the Mara basin exceeds the allowable rate of 30 mg/liter with figures as high as 95mg/liter recorded; as a result of high soil erosion levels of over 25 tons per hectare per year in farms upstream, well above the tolerable rates of 11.2 tons per hectare per year.

Some of the environmental challenges in Lake Naivasha/Malewa Aberdare landscape basin include,

• soil erosion resulting from poor land-use,

• riparian degradation and deforestation,

• industrial activities that pollutes the rivers and lake, and contributes to lowering of lake levels.

• Weak governance,

• widespread poverty and insufficient incentives for local communities to view conservation and sustainable use as an economically attractive land use as well as emerging threats such as climate change are some of the imminent threats to the landscape.

Threats to the Landscape

WWF Interventions in the ARL RegionWWF has worked in the region since 1962 and is uniquely positioned to address the conservation and development challenges based on its experience, established partnerships and credibility from the community and field implementation levels to national and regional levels. WWF’s interventions in the ARL include addressing threats and opportunities at the important trans-boundary and ecosystem scales, linking local and site-specific work to regional and international advocacy and also mobilising resources and competence within the global WWF network and through partnerships with international organisations and the private sector. Within the ARL Region, WWF involves civil society in landscape work by building on their institutional and technical capacity and that of their networks at regional, national and local levels, to tackle the major drivers of environmental degradation in ARL trans-boundary region using a rights-based approach.

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Our Aim WWF continues to initiate various interventions in the two landscapes in order to mitigate various anthropogenic threats. The mostly demand-driven interventions are aimed at empowering the local communities to sustainably utilise resources for now and for future generations. The Mara landscape programme is ensuring that the unique natural resources base is effectively managed at local, national and trans-boundary levels to sustain its critical ecosystem goods and services and support national and local economies as well as livelihoods of present and future generations.

On the other hand, the Integrated Water Resource Action Plan Programme (IWRAP), a multi-partner programme in the Naivasha Malewa landscape is dedicated to creating essential enabling conditions for effective water regulation and governance, sustainable land and natural resource use and sustainable development in the Lake Naivasha Basin.

Thematic Areas WWF is working in three main thematic areas:

1. Protected Areas Management

WWF is focusing its work on a limited number of high value conservation areas. These include the Masai Mara and Serengeti conservation areas and the catchment forests for the Mara River in Kenya. Most populations of WWF’s flagship species in the ARL Region are found in these parks and hence the protected areas oriented work is the main delivery mechanism for the species targets in addition to human-wildlife conflict work in the Mara ecosystem.

2. Forest Resources Management

WWF is working to improve the management of upstream catchment forests of the Mau Forest Complex, as well as in the upper catchment in the Lake Naivasha/ Malewa River basin. This is being done through development and implementation of mechanisms for collaborative forest management that increase levels of sustainable community benefits.

3. Water Resources Management

WWF’s freshwater work in the ARL Region is focused on establishing, piloting and scaling-up the implementation of integrated water resources management (IWRM) and continuing to evolve model projects for the water sector reforms in the East African countries. Priority is given to the more water stressed catchments in the Lake Naivasha-Malewa-Aberdares Landscape in Kenya, the Mara-Serengeti-Mau Forest Landscape in Kenya and Tanzania

Cross-cutting Concerns

Considering the complexities of the pressures and opportunities in the ARL Region, WWF is integrating several cross-cutting issues associated with these priority landscapes and thematic issues. WWF is therefore working on issues such as climate change adaptation, energy, civil society strengthening, gender, community benefits and livelihoods as well as market mechanisms to strengthen conservation work within the priorities described above.

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to their own needs.” (WCED, 1987)

ARL IN BRIEFVISION: The rich tapestry of forests, rivers and lakes of the African Rift Lakes Region is effectively managed and conserved to sustain locally and globally important ecosystem services and biodiversity, providing a foundation for sustainable development and secure livelihoods for the people of the region.

SCOPE: The African Rift Lakes Region spans 8 countries: parts of southern Ethiopia, eastern parts of the DRC, much of Uganda, parts of western Kenya, parts of northern and western Tanzania, much of Rwanda and Burundi and a small section of northern Zambia. In Kenya our work cut across Mau-Mara-Seregeti, Lake Naivasha-Malewa-Aberdares and Lake Nakuru-Bogoria.

GOALS: SPECIES: The populations of flagship species (African elephants, African great apes and African rhinos) in priority landscapes in the ARL Region are stable and / or increasing.

PLACES: The ecological integrity of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, processes and ecosystem services of ARL priority landscapes are maintained and / or improved.

Reference: The Africa Rift Lakes (2015), (WCED, 1987), Partnering To Secure The Future Of The Lake Naivasha Basin: The Integrated Water Resource Action Plan Programme (Iwrap) (2015)

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Why we are here.

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To stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment andto build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

www.panda.org/kenya

THE AFRICAN RIFT LAKES (ARL)WWF KENYA

OUR VISIONA HEALTHY NATURAL ENVIRONMENT SUPPORTING PEOPLE AND GROWTH IN KENYA

WWF Kenya .:|:. The Mvuli, Mvuli Road,off Waiyaki way,Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya .P.O. Box 62440 - 00200, Tel +254 20 387 7355 .:|:. Kenya.info@wwfkenya.org .:|:. wwf.panda.org/Kenya