Wetland Conservation and Development: The Lake Nakuru Case Study. | Strategies For Wise Use Of Wetlands: Best Practices In Participatory Management . Proceedings of a Workshop held at the 2nd International Conference on Wetlands and Development, November 1998, Dakar, Senegal.
2002
Thampy, R.J. | Gawler, M.
Lake Nakuru, designated as Kenya’s first Ramsar site in 1991, is a shallow hyper-eutrophic saline-alkaline lake on the floor of the Rift Valley, and is well known for its spectacular concentrations of Lesser Flamingos. The lake lies at the bottom of a catchment basin that has witnessed a relentless intensification of land use over the last three decades. The major threats to the lake originate from human activity in the catchment, resulting in alterations in the water balance and water quality. There is growing evidence that these changes in land use are linked to the frequent and prolonged dry outs of the lake, resulting in alterations in the primary producers and the morbidity and mortality of endemic bird and fish populations. The key to the conservation of Lake Nakuru hinges on the management of human activity within the watershed. A balance must be struck between conservation and meeting the needs and aspirations of the resident human populations. This paper focuses on four areas: (1) Lake Nakuru National Park, a unique and richly endowed wetland ecosystem under stress; (2) the recent history of human activity in the catchment basin, which has resulted in the park’s present predicament; (3) the nature and scope of past and present conservation measures in the catchment area, and (4) ecosystem health, a unifying paradigm to bring about improved understanding of, and countermeasures for, a wide range of negative impacts of human societies on ecosystems.
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