Threatened Ecosystem, Shared Responsibility

LAKE JIPE Threatened Ecosystem, Shared Responsibility Background Lake Jipe is located on the Kenya-Tanzania border, to the North and East of the Pare Mountains. The lake borders Kenya's Tsavo West National Park to the south, while Tanzania's Mt. Kilimanjaro dominates the horizon some distance to the northwest. The lake is 700 metres above the sea level and has an area of 28 square kilometres, maximum length of 12 kilometres, average depth of less than three metres and the width varies between 2-3 kilometres. Lake Jipe is part of the Pangani River Basin. The River Lumi is the main river that flows into the lake from Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania passing through Kenya before it reaches the lake again in Tanzania. River Muvuruni flows into the lake from the south. There are several seasonal streams, mainly from the North Pare Mountains that also drain into Lake Jipe. The lake has one outflow, the River Ruvu, located in Tanzania to the North of the lake flowing westwards to Nyumba ya Mungu. The lake's ecosystem is endowed with rich biodiversity and is known especially for water birds. Commercial activities taking place around the lake include fishing, livestock rearing, agriculture, tourism, especially around the Tsavo National Park. The prosperity and future of the populations who live near the lake, and the well-being of the environment, depend on wise use of the lake's water and wise management of natural resources. Over the years, the effects of human activity and climate change have conspired to rob the lake of its valuable resources, thereby affecting ecosystem biodiversity and the livelihoods of local populations. Currently the lake is faced with enormous problems which include reduced runoff, increasing siltation, decreasing water levels and quality, and advancing wetland plants that threaten its existence. Figure 1: Lake Jipe Catchment Diminishing Water Levels In the recent years, the lake has suffered extreme dry spells, disrupting the lives of people who eke a living out of its resources. Poor farming methods, encroachment on wetlands and weeds blocking the estuary are causing severe environmental destruction on Lake Jipe. In addition, unsustainable extraction of water for agriculture, domestic and other uses has hugely impacted the lake's levels, making it difficult for local communities to access water. The situation has been exacerbated by diminishing agricultural land ownership which has forced farmers to resort to irrigation in order to maximize outputs. Invasive Weed The Evolution of the Collaborative An invasive weed, Typha domingensis, has overrun the lake, Management Programme threatening fishing and tourism activities and the survival of The importance of Lake Jipe in sustaining ecosystems and socio- the lake's flora and fauna. The out-of-control weed thrives in economic activities cannot be overemphasized. Rising concern shallow waters with high nutrients from fertilizers washed into over continued pressure on the lake's meager resources on both the lake from adjacent farms. sides of the border have resulted in a programme aimed at collaborative resource management and the development of Typha, which grows to over five metres high, has reduced the lake's sustainable economic activities. Over time, a number of key open surface area by 60-80% and impaired the quality of water. partners have contributed to this programme, including the East African Community, Coast Development Authority, Kenya Wildlife Efforts to control the Typha invasion will fail unless the Service, IUCN, Wildlife Division of Tanzania, Pangani Basin Water conditions that facilitate its growth (shallow, nutrient-rich waters) Office, Pamoja, InWEnt, communities and local authorities. They are addressed. have initiated the following steps to promote sustainable management of Lake Jipe: • 1994: Tanzania's Pangani Basin Water Office and Kenya's Coast Development Authority met in Mombasa and initiated a cross-border water resources management collaboration. • 1995-1996: A study on management needs of the watershed and waters of Lake Jipe was carried out in both Kenya and Tanzania with financial support from IUCN. • 1999: A follow-up meeting held in Moshi, Tanzania, expressed the need to initiate a cross-border water resource management programme within the Pangani River Basin. • June 2004: The first district level joint cross-border dialogue meeting, popularly known as the “First Multi-stakeholder Dialogue Workshop”, was convened and made a resolution to initiate a process through which dialogue between the stakeholders could be established. A joint interim committee was constituted to produce an action plan to guide the proposed border dialogue process. • October 2004: The first meeting of the interim committee was held in Moshi. Collection and collation of documents on natural resources management within the basin was Declining Fisheries initiated and a draft structure of the dialogue programme produced. • December 2004: The Lake Jipe Fact-Finding and Hydrological Water Balance Study carried out by the Governments of Kenya and Tanzania generated reliable data and information on threats to the lake ecosystem and the water balance, and recommended short-term and long- term measures to conserve the lake and its catchment. • December 2004: A stakeholders workshop held in Lushoto, Tanzania, identified issues which required cross border intervention. • 2005 - 2006: Kenya Wildlife Service and Tanzania Wildlife Division engage in awareness raising and management planning activities. • March 2005: Second district level stakeholders' meeting was held in Taveta, Kenya, • September-October 2005: Follow-up of the resolutions of the stakeholders' workshop by Pangani Basin Water Office. Lake Jipe is known for the endemic tilapia Oreochromis jipe. • November 2005: The second interim committee workshop Fishing on the lake is said to have been booming in the 1960s, was held in Moshi. It led to the drafting of the cross-border attracting a large population of fishermen from different integrated water resource management programme communities like Kenya's Luo, Luhya, and Taita and Tanzania's proposal and the scheduling of policy level workshop, which Pare and Chagga. However, fishing activities have almost was held in March 2006 to endorse the joint programme document for implementation. ground to a halt owing to siltation, receding water levels and the spread of water weeds, especially Typha. Rising demand - The overall objective of the program is to ensure issues on the buoyed by population increase - has also decimated the fish on two sides of the border are addressed in a holistic and the lake, resulting in the migration of fishermen who depended coordinated manner, and shared resources are used in a on it for their livelihood. sustainable and equitable way. 2007 Parliamentary Tour 2007 Parliamentary Tour IWRM Case Study - Pangani Basin Background In 2005, the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada funded a project of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), entitled Making the Linkages Conservation as a Core Asset for Livelihood Security and Sustainable Development in East Africa. The purpose of the project was to ensure that sustainable natural resource management (or conservation) is recognized and integrated as a key component of livelihood security and development strategies in East Africa. Several different sets of activities are being conducted to address this objective, including: undertaking technical studies, formulating regional position papers, and convening meetings and study tours for awareness-raising and exchange of experience and lessons. In 2005, IUCN organized the first Tour for Members of Parliament from East Africa to Mt. Elgon, a shared ecosystem between Kenya and Uganda to raise awareness on the importance of natural resources to local livelihoods and the threats to these resources. This year a similar tour has been organized to Pangani Basin in Tanzania with a focus on raising awareness about the status of water resources in the region and efforts that are underway to ensure a sustainable water future. Objectives of the Tour Why Pangani Basin? Specifically, the tour has the following The Pangani Basin is one of Tanzania's nine (river or lake) basins objectives: and includes the Pangani River Basin and several other smaller basins. The Pangani River Basin is about 43,650 km2 (with about 1) Share information, experiences and 5% of this area in Kenya). It has an estimated population of 3.8 understanding on the state of water resources million people, most of whom rely either directly or indirectly on in the region and the threats to these agriculture for their livelihoods. resources, especially climate change; 2) Share information, experiences and The Pangani River System is about 500 km long, originating from understanding on integrated water resources Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,985m) and Mt. Meru (4,566m) which give rise to management (IWRM) and best practices to the Ruvu and Kikuletwa Rivers, respectively. These two rivers join address the threats to our water resources; at Nyumba ya Mungu Dam, which is drained by the Pangani River which passes through the arid Masai Steppe, draining the Pare and 3) Discuss the needs of MPs in promoting a Usambara mountain ranges before reaching the estuary and Indian sustainable water future in East Africa. Ocean at the coastal town of Pangani. Pangani Basin is one of the most productive areas of Mt. Kilimanjaro is a World Heritage Site and its declining Tanzania with nationally important

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