Lake Bogoria

Översikt

The upper Lake Bogoria catchment basin covers an area of about 475km2, occupying the Eastern wall of the Central part of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley (WWF, 2009) (Figure,1). It comprises of Mbogo-ini and Subukia divisions. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, (2009), the population in this part of the basin is estimated to be 72,910 people with 12,258 households. According to WRMA (2008), the major source of fresh water for upper LBB communities is Waseges River and its tributaries. The climate in the study area is arid and semi- arid except in the moist highlands around Subukia Division. The average annual precipitation is about 700mm per year (WRMA, 2008). Mountane forests are found around Subukia Division while the other areas comprises of grasslands, bush lands, shrubs, scrublands and woodland. According to WWF (2009), the upper LBB has three major soil types; clay soils, clay loam and silt loam. The riverine soils are composed of eroded volcanic sediments and alluvial deposits. The main socio-economic activity is irrigated agriculture. In addition, communities in Mbogo-ini Division practice smaller range/sedentary livestock productions (WWF, 2009). Currently, the government through the Kenya Agricultural Productivity Programme (KAPP) has funded a fish industry for some groups.

Climate change is already threatening ecosystems, with severe consequences in Africa. Poor people who depend on these ecosystems need urgent help to enable them to adapt to this change. Thus adaptation to climate change is essential, especially for the vulnerable millions.

http://www.cekinfo.org.uk/images/frontImages/gallery/Vol._2_No._4_/10.pdf

The following link is to a paper which reviews a case study in the upper Lake Bogoria catchment—in Kenya’s Rift Valley—where WWF has been actively engaged on a project on water resources management. It discusses how the local communities are adapting to climatic variability, indicating the interventions undertaken and providing recommendations and the way forward.

http://assets.wwf.org.uk/downloads/lake_bogoria_cc_adaptation_1_08low.pdf

Kenya: Cultural Ecology Map 1
updated 08/2014 by Resilience Wales