9 Lentic-Lotic Water System Response to Anthropogenic …
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of the lake basins and their ecosystems. Lake-specific financial plans must also be
instituted as part and parcel of lake basin management plans.
Cooperation and cross-cutting issues: There is no definitive institution responsible for holistic lake and catchment management nor cross-sectoral coordination
at the national level. The proposed institutional framework must guide cooperation
efforts from the local through to the national level. At the regional level, transboundary lake management organizations exist for some lakes, e.g., Lake Victoria,
but not for others, e.g., Lake Turkana. Lake basin management plans must, therefore,
also incorporate such platforms in their design. Cross-cutting issues such as poverty,
environment, gender, inclusivity, human rights, population, health as it relates to
the environment, climate change, and other socio-ecological issues must also be
thoroughly incorporated into lake basin management plans.
5 Conclusion
Kenya’s lentic-lotic water systems are highly sensitive to natural climatic and environmental changes from seasonal to geological timescales. This is compounded by
anthropogenic threats to the water systems, including (1) Water quantity effects:
deforestation, excessive water abstraction from lakes, rivers, wetland systems, and
groundwaters; (2) Water quality effects: pollution from the use of agro- and industrial chemicals, siltation from soil erosion due to poor farming methods, livestock
pressure, and destruction of riparian vegetation; (3) Ecological restructuring related
to increased intensity of human exploitation of the resources such as fisheries and
wetland plants, erosion and sedimentation, and invasive and introduced species.
Thus, human activity in lake basins adversely impacts the ecosystem health and
resource values of the lakes, rivers, and wetlands within them. While the problems
facing each of the basins are multi-faceted, they are similar in terms of drivers (e.g.,
socioeconomic conditions, demography, climate variability and change) and pressures (e.g., nutrient enrichment from agriculture, wetland resource harvesting, water
abstractions), varying only in the relative importance of the drivers/pressures between
basins.
The socio-ecological complexity of the aquatic systems, diverse stakeholder
groups, and uncertainties of factors such as climate change, population growth, and
development trajectories make the management of these systems complex, but not
impossible. Beneficial impacts can be achieved—some in the short-term, others in
the medium-term, and others in the long-term—on aquatic ecosystems and their
biophysical and socio-economic settings. A trans-generational view is, therefore,
important when managing lentic-lotic water systems (lakes, rivers, and wetlands) in
a basin context. The ILBM approach acknowledges that scientific knowledge of the
lentic-lotic water systems in relation to natural climate variation and human influences, and the protection of the biophysical system associated with lakes, rivers,
wetlands, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems, are of prime importance for their
sustainable utilization and management in the long-, medium-,and short-term. The
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of the lake basins and their ecosystems. Lake-specific financial plans must also be
instituted as part and parcel of lake basin management plans.
Cooperation and cross-cutting issues: There is no definitive institution responsible for holistic lake and catchment management nor cross-sectoral coordination
at the national level. The proposed institutional framework must guide cooperation
efforts from the local through to the national level. At the regional level, transboundary lake management organizations exist for some lakes, e.g., Lake Victoria,
but not for others, e.g., Lake Turkana. Lake basin management plans must, therefore,
also incorporate such platforms in their design. Cross-cutting issues such as poverty,
environment, gender, inclusivity, human rights, population, health as it relates to
the environment, climate change, and other socio-ecological issues must also be
thoroughly incorporated into lake basin management plans.
5 Conclusion
Kenya’s lentic-lotic water systems are highly sensitive to natural climatic and environmental changes from seasonal to geological timescales. This is compounded by
anthropogenic threats to the water systems, including (1) Water quantity effects:
deforestation, excessive water abstraction from lakes, rivers, wetland systems, and
groundwaters; (2) Water quality effects: pollution from the use of agro- and industrial chemicals, siltation from soil erosion due to poor farming methods, livestock
pressure, and destruction of riparian vegetation; (3) Ecological restructuring related
to increased intensity of human exploitation of the resources such as fisheries and
wetland plants, erosion and sedimentation, and invasive and introduced species.
Thus, human activity in lake basins adversely impacts the ecosystem health and
resource values of the lakes, rivers, and wetlands within them. While the problems
facing each of the basins are multi-faceted, they are similar in terms of drivers (e.g.,
socioeconomic conditions, demography, climate variability and change) and pressures (e.g., nutrient enrichment from agriculture, wetland resource harvesting, water
abstractions), varying only in the relative importance of the drivers/pressures between
basins.
The socio-ecological complexity of the aquatic systems, diverse stakeholder
groups, and uncertainties of factors such as climate change, population growth, and
development trajectories make the management of these systems complex, but not
impossible. Beneficial impacts can be achieved—some in the short-term, others in
the medium-term, and others in the long-term—on aquatic ecosystems and their
biophysical and socio-economic settings. A trans-generational view is, therefore,
important when managing lentic-lotic water systems (lakes, rivers, and wetlands) in
a basin context. The ILBM approach acknowledges that scientific knowledge of the
lentic-lotic water systems in relation to natural climate variation and human influences, and the protection of the biophysical system associated with lakes, rivers,
wetlands, and groundwater-dependent ecosystems, are of prime importance for their
sustainable utilization and management in the long-, medium-,and short-term. The