Putting the Spotlight on Lake Naivasha this World Water Day

Kenya’s Lake Naivasha, in the Great Rift Valley, provides livelihoods, food and water to thousands on its shores and beyond. Yet it increasingly grapples with a large range of threats.

On the drive northwest out of bustling Nairobi, climbing through the dusty hills overlooking the volcanic mountains of the Great Rift Valley, a welcome green oasis greets the eye: on the dry horizon appear the verdant shores of Lake Naivasha. Yet all is not well in this piece of paradise.

The lake has traditionally supported local populations, tourism and a wide range of biodiversity, including hundreds of different migratory water birds, fish and plant life. In 2010, the water levels of the lake dropped so dramatically that there were widespread worries it would dry out, threatening the number and diversity of birds wintering there. Water levels – and wildlife populations – increased up to 2014, but since then pollution and over extraction have been increasing the burden on habitats.

According to Fleur Ng’weno of Nature Kenya, Africa’s oldest environmental society: “Lake Naivasha is unique and awesome: freshwater but without a known outlet, supporting a tremendous biodiversity but now also supporting a powerful horticultural industry, a growing population of flower farm workers, geothermal energy production, intense fishing and a runaway building boom.”

She adds: “Nature Kenya, international researchers and Lake Naivasha residents are extremely worried about the future of this remarkable lake.”

Recently UN Environment drew attention to the pollution issue and control measures being undertaken by the horticultural industry at the lake. Among other things, nutrient loading from the use of fertilizers has likely contributed to the growth of water hyacinth and other invasive species, which clog the waterways used by fishermen, tour boats and wildlife. Other forms of pollution, including litter and untreated wastewater from nearby populations and livestock, are adding to the stress on water quality.

*Water hyacinth and litter add to the threats already facing the lake. Photo credit: L. M. Bernhardt*

According to Joakim Harlin, head of the Freshwater Unit at UN Environment, dealing with water pollution and quality and the health of freshwater ecosystems form two of the cornerstones of UN Environment’s new global Freshwater Strategy 2017 –2021. The new Strategy, which is being launched this year on World Water Day, also prioritizes addressing water-related disasters and conflict, and the use of integrated water resources management approaches to manage competing uses of freshwater resources.

For the launch of the Freshwater Strategy on World Water Day, UN Environment will support local action for Lake Naivasha to draw attention to the threats facing freshwater bodies all across the world. With NGO Clean Up Kenya, a litter pickup will be organized at the lake and 22 other locations in Kenya’s Nakuru County, with accompanying lectures, school visits and the involvement and support of local and county government.

This year’s World Water Day theme of "Wastewater", with a focus on African cities, is particularly pertinent for Lake Naivasha. Wastewater from large cities in Africa, like many places in the world, is most often pumped directly into water bodies without treatment, leading to their pollution and posing a threat to the health of ecosystems and people.