Time running out to save Mau

By Steve Mkawale

The destruction of Mau Forest has led to drying of major rivers and receding water levels in lakes.

This has severely affected the agriculture sector in the Rift Valley Province and other parts of the country.

The wanton destruction of the forest complex, which is one of the country’s major water towers, is being felt in the South Rift region, which is an important tea growing area.

A report recently compiled and handed to the Prime Minister Raila Odinga says the future is bleak for the country’s largest water catchment.

The report is yet to be made public, but members of the taskforce that prepared it say the forest has lost hundreds of thousands of acres of trees.

Multinational companies have expressed fears that continued destruction of the Mau Forest will affect tea production.

"If the Mau disappears, I don’t think we can grow tea in this area anymore," said an environmentalist at one of the companies.

Tea requires regular rainfall and the prevailing prolonged drought has affected production.

Lakes Naivasha, Nakuru, Elementaita, Baringo, Bogoria, Natron and Turkana have not been spared by human activities in the Mau catchment.

Experts have warned that Lake Nakuru may be extinct in eight years if destruction in Mau East is not contained.

The Impact

Kenya Wildlife Service Director Julius Kipng’entich said the impact of human settlement were first felt after the excision of 67,000 acres.

This, he said, affected the rivers that had been draining into the lake, with some drying up or becoming seasonal.

River Njoro’s water volume has gone down by more than 75 per cent, while the Mara River is only one-twelfth of its original volume.

It is not only the humans who are in danger. Experts say flamingos are also endangered due to diminishing food.

Mr Jackson Raini, a researcher with Flamingo Net, said the impact would affect the Lake Nakuru National Park, which is a leading tourist attraction.

The wildlife in the park depends on the lake for survival. Makalia Falls has stopped flowing as the Makalia River has been reduced to a stream.

wayforward

The river is one of the two that flow into the lake.

The situation, however, could be salvaged if stringent measures are enforced to save the catchment.

The report presented to the PM recommended resettlement of families living in the Mau forest complex.

Former Rift Valley PC Hassan Noor Hassan, who was the chairman of the enforcement committee, says there has been drastic improvement since the taskforce was set up.

There are more than 162 officers drawn from the KWS, Kenya Forest Service, Administration Police and Narok County Council.

Some of the activities that have been contained include illegal logging, charcoal burning and cultivation in the forest.

A lobby, Friends of Mau , has commended Government’s effort to restore the water tower.