Wetlands in Kenya

The Republic of Kenya lies on the eastern side of the African continent between latitudes 500 40’ north and 40 and 4’ south and between longitudes 330 50’ and 410 45’ east, with the equator running approximately in the middle of the country. It covers a total area of 582,646 km2. Topographically, the country can be divided into four regions; the north-eastern plain which is arid, south-eastern region which is fertile along Tana river, coastal strip and the Taita hills, north-western region which is low lying and includes lake Turkana and the south-western region – a plateau includes Mts. Kenya, Elgon, Aberdares the Great rift valley and Lake Victoria. Administratively, the country is divided into eight provinces including Nairobi, the capital.

Kenya has five major drainage basins namely; lake Victoria, Rift Valley, Athi (and coastal areas south of Sabaki), Tana River and Ewaso Ngiro. The pattern of drainage is influenced by topography. Although, the country has numerous rivers, a small number is permanent, e.g. Tana, Athi, Yala, Sondu, Nzoia. Major lakes include parts of Lake Victoria, the lakes of the Rift Valley-most of which are small and slightly saline.

Wetlands in Kenya cover between 2% and 3% of the country’s surface area and harbour a substantial proportion of the country’s water resources. Some of the country’s major wetlands are; the shallow lakes of the Gregory Rift Valley, the edges of Lake Victoria and mangrove forests of the Coast. There are also hundreds of small wetlands (such as swamps, small lakes, soaks and riverine floodplains) distributed throughout the wetter parts of the country as well as smaller wetlands occurring in the direr parts of the country.

Wetlands are rich ecosystems, which perform critical ecological functions and provide essential livelihood products and services. Critical wetlands functions include groundwater recharge and discharge, flood control, erosion control, sediment/toxicant retention (purification), nutrient retention, microclimate stabilisation, water transport and recreation. Products derived from wetlands include forest products, wildlife resource, and fisheries. Wetlands are habitats for biological resources and serve as feeding, spawning and refuge sites for a number of migratory birds. In some places they serve unique cultural functions.

However, their importance and attributes that are not directly related to human use are not often appreciated until they are destroyed, modified or restoration of the wetlands to provide those services proves too expensive. Kenyan wetlands are diverse in type and distribution, but no national inventory on the type, status and location currently exists. Like most wetlands world-wide, Kenyan wetlands are faced with numerous threats, among them; pollution and other forms of degradation, conversion to other uses especially for agriculture and settlement and over-exploitation of their resources. Currently, the management of wetlands is under various institutions whose activities and mandates are uncoordinated, sometimes over-lapping and ineffective. Integrated and innovative management and conservation approaches are therefore required based on the multiple uses of the wetlands.

In line with its stated mission, the Society has undertaken on its part a number of initiatives over the time to protect and promote the conservation and sustainable use of these vital ecosystems. Indeed, wetlands is one of the thematic conservation areas of the Society. The others being: forests and water catchment, species, conservation education and advocacy

The current engagements of the Society in wetlands conservation include;

· Conservation and sustainable management of wetlands in Kenya – a country-wide focus initiative, whose overall aim is to secure a sustainable future and functionality of Kenyan Wetlands through provision of support and assistance for the development of proper policy, legislative and management regimes
· Lake Jipe Conservation and Management – Lake Jipe is a transboundary wetland shared between Kenya and Tanzania on the south-eastern part of the country and whose deteriorating condition and status has been a major source of concern
· East Africa Marine Eco-region Programme – a regional programme involving multiple institutions for the promotion of the conservation and sustainable use of the regions marine environment

Past wetlands conservation initiatives include;

· The Tana Delta Wetlands Awareness and Education Programme