9 Lentic-Lotic Water System Response to Anthropogenic …
209
delay in visible response of lakes to perturbations (ILEC 2007). Reactive conservation and remedial measures are often too little, too late (ILEC 2007). Protection of
the lentic-lotic water systems will not work, therefore, if there is not proper land use
planning and if water users do not fully understand the need for protection of such
resources (cf. Mumma et al. 2011); this also extends to those who depend upon the
lakes for their livelihoods and well-being. The vulnerability of the various aquatic
systems to the cumulative effects of natural climate variability, human activities, land
degradation, and climate change must be assessed and quantified in order to manage
them sustainably.
The current lake management regime (see Table 1) is inadequate to respond to
the multiple threats that have been outlined. The designation of some of the lakes
as Ramsar sites, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, or National Parks/Reserves offers
some protection, but often their catchments are excluded. In the large lake basins
such as Victoria and Turkana, upper catchments which supply most of the water that
flows into the lakes tend to be controlled by different administrative jurisdictions
than are lower catchments. This makes it difficult to manage human activity in upper
basin areas, and thus the consequences for downstream threats/impacts (Negishi and
Nakamura 2006). Indeed, most of the lake basins lack a coordinated management
approach or framework (Table 1).
The country’s lakes and their associated or inter-linked rivers and wetlands, in the
basin context, face major challenges of governance and management, because there
are so many policies at national and county levels, as well as international treaties
ratified by Kenya, which are applicable to their sustainable management. But these
have not been coordinated on the level of specific lake management. Siloed sectoral
approaches characterize most existing management plans, including those listed in
Table 1. Further, conflicting or duplicated policies and strategies or mandates of
institutions, inadequate institutional capacity both in terms of training and resource
support, weak enforcement and implementation of policies, low public and stakeholder participation (including the private sector), inadequate financial resources,
data and information, obsolete and inefficient technologies, emerging risks such as
climate change, and the fact that most lake and many river basins fall within multiple
political and administrative jurisdictions, all come together in a complex convergence that make it very difficult to successfully coordinate the proper sustainable
management of lakes and their basins. Given the complexity of lake basin governance, we propose a pathway for adoption of the Integrated Lake Basin Management Approach (ILBM) in Kenya, fully incorporating Integrated Water Resources
Management (IWRM) and Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) principles
and approaches, to ensure balance between conservation and development.
Policy: Kenya has recently undertaken policy and legislative reforms to align them
with the Constitution of Kenya 2010, which embraces sustainability and participation principles that are critical for successful Integrated Lake Basin Management.
There are several pieces of legislation and strategies that relate to water and environmental management, as well as a large number of applicable county government
laws, programs, international frameworks, and conventions to which the country
subscribes. These should all be carefully considered, including their interlinkages,
209
delay in visible response of lakes to perturbations (ILEC 2007). Reactive conservation and remedial measures are often too little, too late (ILEC 2007). Protection of
the lentic-lotic water systems will not work, therefore, if there is not proper land use
planning and if water users do not fully understand the need for protection of such
resources (cf. Mumma et al. 2011); this also extends to those who depend upon the
lakes for their livelihoods and well-being. The vulnerability of the various aquatic
systems to the cumulative effects of natural climate variability, human activities, land
degradation, and climate change must be assessed and quantified in order to manage
them sustainably.
The current lake management regime (see Table 1) is inadequate to respond to
the multiple threats that have been outlined. The designation of some of the lakes
as Ramsar sites, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, or National Parks/Reserves offers
some protection, but often their catchments are excluded. In the large lake basins
such as Victoria and Turkana, upper catchments which supply most of the water that
flows into the lakes tend to be controlled by different administrative jurisdictions
than are lower catchments. This makes it difficult to manage human activity in upper
basin areas, and thus the consequences for downstream threats/impacts (Negishi and
Nakamura 2006). Indeed, most of the lake basins lack a coordinated management
approach or framework (Table 1).
The country’s lakes and their associated or inter-linked rivers and wetlands, in the
basin context, face major challenges of governance and management, because there
are so many policies at national and county levels, as well as international treaties
ratified by Kenya, which are applicable to their sustainable management. But these
have not been coordinated on the level of specific lake management. Siloed sectoral
approaches characterize most existing management plans, including those listed in
Table 1. Further, conflicting or duplicated policies and strategies or mandates of
institutions, inadequate institutional capacity both in terms of training and resource
support, weak enforcement and implementation of policies, low public and stakeholder participation (including the private sector), inadequate financial resources,
data and information, obsolete and inefficient technologies, emerging risks such as
climate change, and the fact that most lake and many river basins fall within multiple
political and administrative jurisdictions, all come together in a complex convergence that make it very difficult to successfully coordinate the proper sustainable
management of lakes and their basins. Given the complexity of lake basin governance, we propose a pathway for adoption of the Integrated Lake Basin Management Approach (ILBM) in Kenya, fully incorporating Integrated Water Resources
Management (IWRM) and Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) principles
and approaches, to ensure balance between conservation and development.
Policy: Kenya has recently undertaken policy and legislative reforms to align them
with the Constitution of Kenya 2010, which embraces sustainability and participation principles that are critical for successful Integrated Lake Basin Management.
There are several pieces of legislation and strategies that relate to water and environmental management, as well as a large number of applicable county government
laws, programs, international frameworks, and conventions to which the country
subscribes. These should all be carefully considered, including their interlinkages,