Management of Tana River basin set for change

Management of the Tana River basin is set for a revolution with the launch of a project aimed at better water management and climate change adaptation.

The Tana River - one of two chosen in Africa - is targeted under a four year programme dubbed the  'Water Infrastructure Solutions from Ecosystems Services Underpinning Climate Resilient Policies and Programmes,' or simply 'WISE-UP to Climate'.  The other river is the Volta in Ghana.

WISE-UP to Climate aims to show use of natural infrastructure as a 'nature based solution' for climate change adaptation and sustainable development. The project, the first of its kind in the region, will develop knowledge on how to use built water infrastructure like dams, levees, and irrigation channels, as well as natural infrastructure like wetlands, and floodplains, for poverty reduction, water-energy-food security, biodiversity conservation, and climate resilience.

Speaking during the launch of the project's first stakeholder meeting in Malindi, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Water Resources Prof. Judy Wakhungu said she was optimistic the project 'will generate significant new adaptive capacity at different levels, both in the Tana and Volta basins, and spread the knowledge to other basins at the continental and global levels'.

"The WISE-UP project is coming at the right moment when the Kenya government through the Tana-Athi River Development Authority (TARDA) has identified infrastructure development as a key strategy for meeting water and energy needs, both nationally and within the basin," said Wakhungu.

The project is funded by the International Climate Initiative of Germany's Ministry of Environment  Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. Its co ordinated by a global partnership that brings together The University of Nairobi's African Collaborative Centre for Earth Systems Sciences (ACESS), Ghana's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and others.

Clashes between pastoralist and farming communities in the Tana delta region, largely linked to a scramble for resources within the basin, have led to the death of dozens and uprooted thousands from their homes over the years.

A history of poor land use and management in the area hasn't helped much either, pitting residents on one hand, and both local and foreign investors on the other. This has seen poverty remain widespread in the Tana basin- with levels as high as 63 per cent- despite the area's wealth in natural resources.

University of Nairobi lecturer Prof Eric Odada, says different interests along the Tana river basin, including use of water for human consumption, production of hydroelectricity, irrigation, agriculture, and conservation, compete for the same water resource, hence the need for the basin's proper management.

The Tana basin occupies over 138,000 square kilometers and serves over 12 million people across 20 Counties. The Volta, on the other hand covers 417,000 square kilometres and is shared by six countries including Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali.

Just like in the Tana, water resources in the Volta basin are under stress due to increasing demand from a growing population, rainfall variability and unco ordinated water resources development.

"If left for survival of the fittest some people will lose out and these water resources will be lost if there is no understanding of fair sharing," says Odada.

One of the aims of the project is therefore to develop scientific tools to help decision makers and planners analyse how different combinations of built and natural infrastructure perform. It is also expected to link eco system services more directly into water infrastructure development in the two river basins.

It has been argued that services from ecosystems underpin water, food and energy security, and that unhealthy systems deter sustainable functioning of infrastructure built for irrigation, hydropower or even municipal water supply.

Odada, a lecturer in the Geology department, cites the importance of involving all stakeholders in order to understand their needs in terms of water demand and management, hence the project's involvement of scientists, engineers, water managers, climate change specialists and governance experts.

While water security has been cited as being vital for sustainable economic growth, investments made, worldwide, in water infrastructure for storage, flood control, water supply and quality aren't always evenly distributed. This has seen least developed countries often the most poorly serviced.

According to Wakhungu, sustainable development requires making obvious and sometimes tough choices, given what can be seen in the Tana basin and other parts of Africa, where the interplay of ineffective governance, poverty and droughts are causing immense suffering and instability.

"The people of the Tana Basin and their counterparts in Volta river basin are being buffeted by repeated shocks: floods, drought and spiking challenges of livelihood sustenance," she said.

Many of these challenges, she argues can be linked to extreme weather events, climate change and other global environmental change effects, and would require co ordination in dealing with the matters.

Among issues to be addressed by WISE-UP include the subject of 'trade-offs', given the different water users within the basin, how decision processes on use of the water can be improved, the place of County governments with regards to infrastructure development and natural resource management within the Tana, as well as their capacity to implement such projects and the role of policy in management of the basin.

The WISE-UP to Climate project will, for instance, seek to find out how much water is flowing into the river basin and how much of it is required for natural systems, wetlands, coastal zones and development, to help create viable options for managing the basin.

Given that the Tana is both a national river and has a transboundary element, its expected that the experience gathered during the four years of the project will be replicated elsewhere in the world.

Odada cites evidence of extreme climate, like droughts and floods, and says these changes are bound to intensify and become more regular, affecting both humans and the ecosystem.

"WISE-UP will be looking at climatic changes occurring in the basin and how this will affect activities both now and in future," he says.

Director of the Global Water Programme under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Dr Mark Smith cites inability to predict and manage rainfall as a key contributor to high levels of food insecurity and poverty in many developing countries.

He says 80 per cent of the world's population faces high levels of threats to water security linked to ecosystem degradation, with impacts of climate like drought, floods, storms, and melting ice, creating vulnerability to food security and water scarcity.

National Climate Change Secretariat's Stephen King'unyu also urges co ordination of different key agency stakeholders as crucial in management of the Tana basin.

Other participants at the forum also discussed what would constitute demands of the project that would include setting up an information sharing forum between stakeholders, undertaking surveys to understand current status of resources where information is lacking in the Tana basin, finding co coordinating mechanisms for activities within the basin, identifying possible conflicts, shedding light on socio cultural issues, using appropriate technology and involving County governments in management of the basin.