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Challenges in water management in the Lake Naivasha Basin Analysis on the effects and performance of IWRAP for different irrigation water user groups in the Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya M.Sc. Thesis by Joël Verstoep March 2015 Water Resources Management Group MSc Thesis Joël Verstoep Frontpage images:( http://www.makewealthhistory.org; http://www.seeddaily.com; WWF, 2012) 2 MSc Thesis Joël Verstoep Challenges in water management in the Lake Naivasha Basin Analysis on the effects and performance of IWRAP for different irrigation water user groups in the Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya Master Thesis Water Resources Management submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Science in International Land and Water Management at Wageningen University, the Netherlands Joël Verstoep March 2015 Supervisor: Dr.ir. Pieter R. van Oel Water Resources Management Group Wageningen University The Netherlands www.iwe.wur.nl/uk 3 MSc Thesis Joël Verstoep 4 MSc Thesis Joël Verstoep Acknowledgements I would like to make use of this opportunity to thank the people that assisted me in my journey that ended with this M.Sc thesis. The road towards this report was an adventurous one, with surprises, challenges and revelations. Several people helped and supported me or stood beside the road and showed me the right direction. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Pieter van Oel, for supporting me in my fieldwork, in the process of analysing and writing and for stimulating me to think critically. Secondly, I would like to thank the sub-regional office of WR MA-Naivasha for hosting me for 4 months during the period of research. Special thanks goes out to John Munyao, for arranging the facilities for my stay and to Dominic Wambua and Joseph Wendott for involving me in their day-to-day duties for WRMA. Besides that I want to thank all WRMA- staff for the warm welcome, nice atmosphere and your enormous help. Thirdly, I want to thank Carls Gakuu for enabling me to stay in his small guesthouse, just outside Naivasha town. It was a great pleasure to be part of your family for 4 months. Also special thanks to my parents. They supported me throughout the whole thesis process and they even visited me in Naivasha. Last but not least I want to express my gratitude to my family and friends who supported me, encouraged me and who were always willing to listen to my stories about Lake Naivasha, the flower farmers and the hippo’s walking around my house. 5 MSc Thesis Joël Verstoep Abstract Lake Naivasha Basin (LNB) is a basin under pressure. Both environmental integrity and the booming horticulture and floriculture must live together. Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in the Rift Valley, Kenya. Due to the presence of horticulture and floriculture around the lake the interests in water availability are high. The agricultural-based economy depends highly on the available water resources in the LNB. Also power relations play a big role in the water management. The project Integrated Water Resources Action Plan (IWRAP) is implemented since 2013 in the LNB. This ongoing project aims for a long-term sustainable development in the LNB. The main question in this thesis research is: “What are the effects of implementing the IWRAP programme for the irrigation sector in the Lake Naivasha Basin, with a particular focus on the interests for different irrigation water user groups?” To answer this question the concept of the Echelons of Right Analysis is used. This concept is suitable because it classifies resources, rules, authority and discourses in areas of water conflict or scarcity. The discourse analysis is supported by several other concepts including those by Foucault (1977) and Pahl- Wostl (2005). The data is acquired through 3 months of fieldwork in the Lake Naivasha Basin, making use of observations, structured and semi-structured interviews. The results show that the IWRAP project encounters difficulties in implementing their integrated project. Due to corruption, volatile environmental conditions, a gap between politics and policies and the skewed power relations it is hard to become successful. The beneficiaries are mainly the IWRAP partners themselves. The lack of accurate data and knowledge is one of the biggest problems in the LNB. This knowledge gap is caused by volatile environmental conditions and the weak position of the Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA- Naivasha). WRMA-Naivasha is not able to generate accurate data on water quality and quantity to ensure a proper water management. Due to this knowledge gap, especially on the hydrological subsystem, proper policies are hard to be implemented and legal authorities face problems with enforcement. Therefore one of the conclusions is that IWRAP can be a target- wise success, but an impact-wise failure. Also the debate about water availability is an interesting result. There are different opinions about water scarcity and this hinders an integrated approach as well. NGOs and several local organisations try to convince that there is an increasing water scarcity, while the farmers in the LNB and WRMA-Naivasha claim that there is enough water for the existing practices. 6 MSc Thesis Joël Verstoep This thesis explores how the success of an integrated project is hampered by lack of accurate data and knowledge, transparency, communication and involvement of all stakeholders. Besides that the aspects of corruption, volatile environmental conditions, bureaucratic issues and cultural habits needs consideration to achieve a successful implementation. Keywords: Lake Naivasha Basin (LNB), Echelons of Rights Analysis (ERA), water scarcity, water management, water rights, IWRAP, discourses, volatile conditions 7 MSc Thesis Joël Verstoep Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 5 Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 6 List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................. 10 List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ 11 List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. 11 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................12 1.1. Problem statement ..................................................................................................... 15 1.2. Research Objectives .................................................................................................... 15 1.3. Main Research question and sub-questions...............................................................16 1.4. Scope ........................................................................................................................... 17 1.5. Scientific perspective ................................................................................................. 18 2. Concepts and theories ....................................................................................................... 20 2.1. Socio-technical approach ...........................................................................................21 2.2. ERA (Echelons of Rights Analysis).............................................................................21 2.3. Water Management Concepts ................................................................................... 26 2.3.1. River Basin Governance ..................................................................................... 26 2.3.2. Responses to water scarcity ............................................................................... 27 2.3.3. Integrated Water Resource Management .......................................................... 29 3. Methods ............................................................................................................................ 30 3.1. Data collection and sample selection ........................................................................ 30 3.2. Data analysis .............................................................................................................. 32 3.3. Research limitations .................................................................................................. 32 4. Setting the scene ............................................................................................................... 34 4.1. Study area .................................................................................................................. 34 4.2. Hydrology .................................................................................................................. 36 4.3. Institutional framework ............................................................................................ 37 5. Resources .......................................................................................................................... 40 5.1. Upper-catchment and LaNaWRUA ........................................................................... 40 5.2. Water use and allocation ........................................................................................... 42 5.3. Future perspective ....................................................................................................
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