Project Overview
Lake Naivasha (fig. 1) is the second largest freshwater lake after Lake Victoria in Kenya. Drainage from two perennial rivers, the Malewa (Nyandarua Mountains) river and the Gilgil river (Rift Valley escarpment ridges). | Lake Naivasha is surrounded by the major source of cut flowers and vegetables in Kenya (productivity of export crops: 1,4-2,1 t per year). | This project is funded by European retailer buyers of flowers from Lake Naivasha and additionally, Lake Naivasha is a RAMSAR site since 1995 (over 300 species of birds).
Ecosystem Services
Provisioning
- Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water and other resources.
- Food: Ecosystems provide the conditions for growing food. Food comes principally from managed agro-ecosystems but marine and freshwater systems or forests also provide food for human consumption. Wild foods from forests are often underestimated.
- Fresh water: Ecosystems play a vital role in the global hydrological cycle, as they regulate the flow and purification of water. Vegetation and forests influence the quantity of water available locally.
Regulating
- Regulating Services are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.
- Erosion prevention and maintenance of soil fertility: Soil erosion is a key factor in the process of land degradation and desertification. Vegetation cover provides a vital regulating service by preventing soil erosion. Soil fertility is essential for plant growth and agriculture and well functioning ecosystems supply the soil with nutrients required to support plant growth.
Habitat / Supporting
- Ecosystem services "that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services". These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production and soil formation.
- Habitats for species: Habitats provide everything that an individual plant or animal needs to survive: food; water; and shelter. Each ecosystem provides different habitats that can be essential for a species’ lifecycle. Migratory species including birds, fish, mammals and insects all depend upon different ecosystems during their movements.
Cultural
- Cultural Services corresponds nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences.
- Tourism: Ecosystems and biodiversity play an important role for many kinds of tourism which in turn provides considerable economic benefits and is a vital source of income for many countries. In 2008 global earnings from tourism summed up to US$ 944 billion. Cultural and eco-tourism can also educate people about the importance of biological diversity.
Major Issues
Encroachment of riparian areas
Encroachment of riparian areas
Decrease of water level of the lake
Decrease of water level of the lake due to water over abstraction
Invasive species such as the common carp
Invasive species such as the common carp and the Louisiana crayfish
EH Engineering Solutions
Protection of Cyperus papyrus (fig.2) fringe through
Protection of Cyperus papyrus (fig.2) fringe through replantation in the riparian area.
Artificial islands were planted onshore in ponds
Artificial islands were planted onshore in ponds with papyrus to be anchored offshore in selected locations.
Project Activities
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Establishing educational programmes for the local stakeholders and communities such as training « Water Friendly Farmers » and « Water Ambassadors »
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Restoring dams on small impoundments and building cattle drinking troughs below them, using cleaning action of natural wetland plants to clarify water
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Modelling the economic costs of water by all users (agriculture, industry, tourism) to propose a voluntary ‘conservation levy’ that can maintain ecosystem health
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Establish an Equitable Payment for Watershed Servies project
Expected Outcomes
Reduction of eutrophication, restoration of lake-shore vegetation, reliable water domestic & industrial water, sustainable fisheries yields