Lake Naivasha is threatened by rampant water usage.

Lake Naivasha, Kenya's second largest lake, is an ecosystem in crisis. The lake level has dropped by three meters from its maximum, the area has shrunk to half its size, and precious wetlands are degraded beyond recognition. At the Fourth World Water Forum, in Mexico City, Earthwatch scientist Dr. David Harper of the University of Leicester presented evidence of three decades of ecological decline at Lake Naivasha and made urgent recommendations for the lake's sustainable future.

'Lake Naivasha was once considered one of the world's top ten sites for birds and a paradise of clear water, with beautiful papyrus and water lily fringes,' said Harper, principal investigator of Earthwatch's Lakes of the Rift Valley project. 'A haven for African wildlife and a major source of water for the lakeside's quickly growing population, the health of Lake Naivasha is critically important.' The ever-smaller lake is becoming an over-enriched muddy pool, which shortly will become unusable through the development of toxic blue-green algae blooms. Its inflowing rivers, formerly sparkling and permanent, are now muddy and unpredictable.'

Naivasha is being sacrificed because we require too much water. Almost everybody in Europe who has eaten Kenyan beans, Kenyan strawberries and gazed at Kenyan roses has bought Naivasha water. Tourists and hotel guests have drunk it, the Ol Karia geothermal power station is run by it, and local people depend on it for their daily lives.

Harper urged the support of three objectives to save Lake Naivasha from ecological collapse. First, an upper limit on basin extraction must be agreed upon and shared equitably and transparently, counteracting the dishonesty of over-use and ignorance of waste. Second, the lake wetlands and riparian vegetation in the basin must be restored to functionality. Finally, an educational campaign must be launched encouraging the principles of ecohydrology and the real value of water to all basin inhabitants.

For more information about the Earthwatch Lakes of the Rift Valley research project, please click here.