Baseline Review and Ecosystem Services Assessment of the Tana River Basin, Kenya
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IWMI Working Paper Baseline Review and Ecosystem Services Assessment of the Tana 165 River Basin, Kenya Tracy Baker, Jeremiah Kiptala, Lydia Olaka, Naomi Oates, Asghar Hussain and Matthew McCartney Working Papers The publications in this series record the work and thinking of IWMI researchers, and knowledge that the Institute’s scientific management feels is worthy of documenting. This series will ensure that scientific data and other information gathered or prepared as a part of the research work of the Institute are recorded and referenced. Working Papers could include project reports, case studies, conference or workshop proceedings, discussion papers or reports on progress of research, country-specific research reports, monographs, etc. Working Papers may be copublished, by IWMI and partner organizations. Although most of the reports are published by IWMI staff and their collaborators, we welcome contributions from others. Each report is reviewed internally by IWMI staff. 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IWMI Working Paper 165 Baseline Review and Ecosystem Services Assessment of the Tana River Basin, Kenya Tracy Baker, Jeremiah Kiptala, Lydia Olaka, Naomi Oates, Asghar Hussain and Matthew McCartney International Water Management Institute The authors: Tracy Baker is a Researcher – Hydrology/Hydrological Modeling at the East Africa and Nile Basin office of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Jeremiah Kiptala is a Lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya (JKUAT); Lydia Olaka is a Researcher and Lecturer at the Geology Department and the African Collaborative Centre for Earth System Science (ACCESS), University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya; Naomi Oates is a Water Policy Research Officer at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London, United Kingdom; Asghar Hussain is a Senior Research Officer (Spatial Data Analyst) at the Pakistan office of IWMI, Lahore, Pakistan; and Matthew McCartney is Theme Leader - Ecosystem Services at the Southeast Asia office of IWMI, Vientiane, Lao PDR. Baker, T.; Kiptala, J.; Olaka, L.; Oates, N.; Hussain, A.; McCartney, M. 2015. Baseline review and ecosystem services assessment of the Tana River Basin, Kenya. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 107p. (IWMI Working Paper 165). doi: 10.5337/2015.223 / ecosystem services / assessment / river basins / land cover / land use / land management / pastoral lands / highlands / living standards / farmland / small scale farming / rainfed farming / coastal area / biodiversity conservation / soils / climate change / floodplains / flooding / surface water / sedimentation / natural resources / infrastructure / groundwater recharge / wetlands / forests / eucalyptus / dams / irrigation schemes / sand / mining / charcoal / livestock production / socioeconomic environment / water power / energy generation / food security / Kenya / ISSN 2012-5763 e-ISSN 2478-1134 ISBN 978-92-9090-830-2 Copyright 2015, by IWMI. All rights reserved. IWMI encourages the use of its material provided that the organization is acknowledged and kept informed in all such instances. Please direct inquiries and comments to: [email protected] A free copy of this publication can be downloaded at www.iwmi.org/Publications/Working_Papers/index.aspx Acknowledgements This report is an outcome of a literature review conducted on natural resources and ecosystem services of Kenya’s Tana River Basin, and is based on data and information obtained from published and grey literature as well as spatial analyses carried out using publicly available sources. The authors gratefully acknowledge the overall support of James Dalton and Rebecca Welling of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as well as comments on an earlier draft of this paper made by Laetitia Pettinotti (Basque Centre for Climate Change, Spain) and Anthony Hurford (University of Manchester, United Kingdom). Project This work was undertaken as part of the Water Infrastructure Solutions from Ecosystem Services Underpinning Climate Resilient Policies and Programmes (WISE-UP to Climate) project. The project is generating knowledge on how to implement mixed portfolios of built water infrastructure (e.g., dams, levees, irrigation channels) and ‘natural infrastructure’ (e.g., wetlands, floodplains, forests) that contribute to poverty reduction; water, energy and food security; biodiversity conservation; and climate resilience at a landscape scale. ‘WISE-UP to Climate’ aims to demonstrate the application of optimal portfolios of built and natural infrastructure developed through dialogue with stakeholders and decision-makers at multiple levels (local to national) to identify and find consensus on trade-offs. The project also seeks to link ecosystem services to water infrastructural development in the Volta River Basin (Ghana, principally, and also Burkina Faso) as well as the Tana River Basin in Kenya. The project is led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and involves the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Water Research Institute (CSIR-WRI); African Collaborative Centre for Earth System Science (ACCESS), University of Nairobi; International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Overseas Development Institute (ODI); University of Manchester; and the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3). This project is part of the International Climate Initiative. Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit (BMUB) (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety), Germany, support this initiative on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. For further details about the project, visit: www.waterandnature.org or www.iucn.org/water_wiseup Collaborators This research study was a collaboration of the following organizations: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya African Collaborative Centre for Earth System Science (ACCESS), University of Nairobi, Kenya Overseas Development Institute (ODI), UK Donors This research study was funded by the following: Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit (BMUB) (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety), Germany. This work has been undertaken as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). IWMI is a member of the CGIAR Consortium and leads this program. Contents List of Figures............................................................................................................................vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. ix Acronyms ............................................................................................................................xii Summary ............................................................................................................................ xv Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 PART I: Review Background ...................................................................................................... 5 Assessment Scope ................................................................................................................. 5 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 5 Desk Study.................................................................................................................... 5 Remote Sensing ............................................................................................................ 5 Spatial Analysis ............................................................................................................ 5 PART II: Basin Context ............................................................................................................... 6 Historical Background of Development in the Basin .......................................................... 6 Demographics ........................................................................................................................ 9 Tribes of the Tana River Basin .................................................................................. 16 Land Cover and Use within the Tana River Basin ............................................................. 17 Protected Lands .......................................................................................................... 21 Livelihoods .......................................................................................................................... 24 Livelihoods and