Group’s effort to save Mara earns global accolade

MRWUA Manager Kennedy Onyango receives the 2013 Riverprize winner’s award. [PHOTO: CHARLES NGENO/COURTESY]

By CHARLES NGENO

Narok, Baringo: In 2003, the water levels at the Mara River were alarmingly low. This was attributed to uncontrolled human activities in the Mau forest and along the banks of the river.

There were fears that if the situation was not urgently addressed, an environmental disaster was in the offing.

Indeed, communities living along the Mara Basin were staring at crises that arise from water conflicts.

To avert the imminent conflict that could have arisen as man and wild animals competed for the scarce water resource, a group of individuals from Mulot, Narok County came together and formed The Mara River Water Users Association (MRWUA).

MRWUA, in an attempt to reverse the worrying trend embarked on creating awareness on conservation, reforestation, spring protection, water harvesting technologies and promoting energy saving technologies.

MRWUA Manager Kennedy Onyango says the association’s main goal is to ensure good quality and adequate water supply from the Mara River.

“We endeavour to see that the ecosystem sustainably functions well. This can only be possible when man and animals get quality and sufficient water from the Mara River,” said Onyango.

Armed with this knowledge, the association has introduced different alternative sources of livelihoods to the locals. According to Onyango, there is an urgent need for the conservation of the Mara River basin that is home to a population of approximately 1.2 million people.

This noble mission has borne fruit after the association was declared this year’s winner of the 16th Thesis International Riverprize Award.

At a gala dinner held on Tuesday at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Australia, during the 16th International River symposium, MRWUA was declared the 2013 Riverprize Awards winner.

It beat three other contestants from Australia, Philippines and Russia to scoop the world’s most prestigious environmental award. Australian Riverprize Judging Panel Chair Leith Boully thanked the association for demonstrating excellence and innovation in river restoration and management.

International River Foundation Award is funded by the Australian government’s Water Smart Australia program, under the Water for the Future initiative.

Onyango says the association will always aim to facilitate integrated river basin management that will ensure adequate water supply for ecosystems and basic human needs.

The association has so far been able to form 40 catchment management groups. As it endeavors to implement conservation activities, MRWUA has partnered with several organisations that include World Wide Fund for Nature, National Environmental Management Authority, Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources Management Authority and other research organizations.

Onyango warns that the wildebeest migration would lose it significance if Mara dries up and quickly adds that this will be a major blow to the tourism industry.

In 2010, the association won the prestigious Equator prize award, which also came with a cash grant of $5,000.

“This was a real achievement since it gave us international recognition for our efforts in conservation within the Mara basin,” says Onyango.

It has not been all rosy for the association for it has been faced with a myriad of challenges. Lack of finance has been a great hindrance towards the implementation of the association’s projects.

Poverty levels within the basin have also hampered the association from implementing its initiatives. The politicization of the Mau Forest issue has not helped matters.

The effects of the depleting water levels of the perennial river such as decreasing vegetation are already being felt by the people who live around it. The river is the lifeline for one million Kenyans and Tanzanians and two million wildebeest and zebra that depend on it.

According to the association’s Vice Chairman Joseph Kones, increased forest clearance and cultivation in the upper catchments of Mau have been caused by lack of alternative source of livelihoods for those living around the forest.

“We are introducing other source of livelihoods such as dairy goats, avocados and bee keeping. These will keep people from destroying forest covers,” said Kones.

He stated that seasonal floods and droughts have become more and more frequent and extreme, leading to Mara River water flow becoming unpredictable in the past few year.