Elgeyo Marakwet – Widespread water losses along the volatile Kerio Valley strip have triggered ecological disasters.
The major economic activity in Elgeyo Marakwet county is agriculture.
The county has three ecological zones: highlands (49%), escarpment (40%), and valley (11%).
However, it is now emerging that agricultural irrigation is one of the major drivers of water losses in this part of the world.
Addressing the water conflict between agriculture and ecosystems in arid regions is imperative, but significant gaps still need to be discovered in knowledge of the water-agriculture-ecosystem nexus.
Lake Kamnarok, which covers 87.3 square kilometres and borders Rimoi National Game Reserve, started losing its glory several years ago due to a rapid decline in river discharge to the downstream area.
But Jayson Lagat, the Elgeyo Marakwet Executive in charge of Water, Environment, and Climate Change, told this publication that the devolved unit had implemented measures to ensure locals enjoyed the wetland’s benefits, such as fishing, tourism, and trade expansion.
“One year ago, we noticed that the lake was facing extinction, and this is because of the siltation emerging from upstream to downstream. We have a lot of silt going into the same,” said Lagat.
In an exclusive interview with Y News, Lagat encouraged people living along the escarpment to ensure that many conservation activities are happening there.
“One of the strategies that I have employed as the chair of the county environmental committee, is that I am telling our people that we need to revive the spencer line,” Lagat explained.
The CEC said indigenous trees will be planted around the lake as a buffer zone to protect it.
“In the coming days, we will plant specific species of trees in the buffer zones. We have already focused on coffee because it does very well in such areas,” he said.
Over the years, Lake Kamnarok has become a national tourist attraction, hosting over 15,000 rare white crocodiles.
However, the lake has lost almost 10,000 in the past year alone.
Lake Kamnarok had the second-largest crocodile population in the world after Lake Chad. But today, the lake is a pale shadow of its past.
“We are going to plant a lot of coffee trees because they do so well along that belt that cuts across to the Soy area in Baringo county along the belt of the escarpment,” Lagat insisted.
Human activities, such as illegal logging and haphazard cultivation upstream, have caused the lake to shrink alarmingly.
To combat this, the CEC revealed that the county government had inaugurated a new committee keen on implementing the conservation project.
“As the Executive, we are also in agreement with the county assembly multisectoral committee on water, environment, and climate change that they should push this agenda in the assembly and ensure it is implemented into the law,” he added.
Lagat said the county will work closely with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to enforce environmental laws.
The 30-by-six-metre rule on catchment areas, wetlands, and rivers is among the laws set for enforcement.
He said that for the lake to regain its lost glory, the county will work closely with environmental partners to plant the correct species of indigenous trees.
“Already, there is a partner, or rather, a donor, who would want to rehabilitate Kamnarok and restore it to its lost glory. We would wish to return to that by ensuring that we don’t have silt going back there,” Lagat explained.
Similarly, Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo counties must play key roles in rehabilitating the lake.
“As Elgeyo Marakwet county, we encourage our people not to destroy the environment. Our neighbours in Baringo should also follow suit,” he said.
Lagat also praised the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) for its role in environmental conservation in the region.
“When the president presided over a tree-planting exercise in Kaptagat Forest, he promised us that if we implemented these policies to revive the lake, his administration would give us coffee tree seedlings to plant around the lake,” Lagat explained.
Wetlands like Lake Kamnarok are essential for human survival as significant supplies of water for consumption, agriculture, and the watering of cattle, according to Stephen Kibet, the Resilience Water Sheds Manager in charge of the Eldoret-Iten Water Fund and River Yala Water Fund, who spoke with this magazine.
“They replenish springs and wells, which are frequently the only water sources for certain rural communities, livestock irrigation, and the maintenance of wildlife habitats,” said Kibet.
However, the Living Planet study from the World Wild Foundation (WWF) states that the loss of freshwater ecosystems has been worse than any other, with 64% of wetlands lost globally since 1900 and 76% of freshwater plant and animal species have disappeared in the last 40 years alone.
