Challenges Facing lake Nakuru National Park

Lake Nakuru in Kenya is home to some of the world’s most majestic wildlife: lions, rhinos,
zebras and hundreds of bird species - including flamingos that famously blush the water pink
when they gather in numbers. It is also home to Lake Nakuru National Park, one of Kenya’s
protected sites that safeguard the flora and fauna and help draw more than a million tourists a
year to the East African country. Nakuru is one of three shallow lakes - the others are Bogoria
and Elementaita - lying in the part of Africa’s Great Rift Valley that cuts a fertile gash through
Kenya’s highlands. The scenery is stunning, from forests of gentle green acacia trees to animals
grazing on the grassy plain or congregating at the shores to drink. The three lakes together are on
UNESCO’s World Heritage list of natural sites, especially prized for their bird life. That
includes, the U.N. body says, “the single most important foraging site for the lesser flamingo
anywhere,” with hundreds of thousands of lesser flamingos moving between the three lakes.
Lake Nakuru, which lies about 170 km (105 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi, is a fragile
ecosystem, vulnerable among other things to the effects of rapid urbanization in the nearby city
of Nakuru. The city is one of the largest in a country whose population more than doubled in the
last 30 years, to around 45 million. The population growth in Nakuru and in Kenya as a whole
has also led to deforestation in the area in recent decades. The contrast in the landscape around
the lake is clearly visible in NASA images taken from space in 1972 and this year, with many
more homes and fewer trees now.
The challenges facing Lake Nakuru National Park are explained in the fishbone diagram below.
 Diminishing number of species

Environmental Impacts of Past and Present Land Use

The land use and land treatments described thus far have serious implications for the
environment of the catchment, the national park and for the lake in particular. Over the years,
Lake Nakuru National Park has become an island of nature surrounded by a sea of humanity.
The potential effects of this insularisation are particularly worrying. Nairobi National Park,
which shares a similar predicament, is forecasted to eventually lose over 80% of its species, and
similarly, the Serengeti is expected to eventually lose about 70% of its species. Some of the
environmental impacts arising from development and massive landscape modifications in the
catchment basin of Lake Nakuru include:
 alterations in the hydrological regime of the catchment resulting in increased seasonality
of stream flow, declining yields from wells and bore holes, and frequent, prolonged dry-
outs of the lake as have occurred in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996
 loss of biological diversity and the capacity for disturbance regulation, as a result of
deforestation in the catchment basin
 accelerated soil erosion, resulting in loss of farm productivity and income, which in turn
leads to over exploitation of the natural resource base – soil loss from farms in the
catchment is estimated to range from 18 to 50 t/ha/annum
  deterioration in the water quality of streams, and exposure of human and livestock
populations to pesticide residues and other potentially dangerous leachates
 contamination of the lake with pesticide residues, heavy metals and possibly PCBs,
dioxins and furans
 contamination of the bottom sediments of Lake Nakuru with lead, copper, mercury, zinc,
cadmium, chromium, nickel, DDT, dieldrin, and gamma BHC, which unfortunately is
expected to increase (other contaminants remain to be assayed)
 nutrient enrichment of the lake, resulting in reduced productivity of the lake’s natural
primary producer (S. platensis), and the frequent occurrence of blooms of toxic blue-
green algae (Microcystis and Anabaena sp.), which has led to the desertion of the lake by
flagship species such as the lesser flamingo
 die-offs involving fish and waterfowl: analysis of fish tissue following a die-off in 1992,
revealed the presence of malathion and elevated levels of lead; the lesser flamingo die-
offs of 1993 and 1995 are being investigated, and a possible toxicosis is suspected
 disappearance of aquatic species such as the clawless otter (Aonyx capensis), last reported
in Lake Nakuru National Park in the 1970s.
Diminishing water volume
The lake has lost half of its water in the last two decades. 1 This is a precarious sign as the lake
has completely dried up before in 1955. The possible causes for water volume are drying up
streams that feed the lake, siltation and rising temperatures. Reduction in the water flowing in the
three major tributaries: Njoro, Makalia and Nderit imply that Lake Nakuru cannot be replenished
adequately. These rivers were permanent in 1982, but have now become sporadic and heavily
laden with silt during rainy seasons.2 Siltation and rivers drying up are caused by over logging
and clearing of forests for agriculture and settlement. Indeed, the rapid population growth in the
basin estimated at 1.5 people has exerted pressure on the surrounding vegetation. 3 Eastern Mau
forest which is a major national watershed, and the source of the feeder streams to Lake Nakuru

1
KWS, Bankrock station, and Ramsar. 2004 Report on Ecotourism Potential and
Development within Lake Nakuru National Park and Its Catchment.
2
Ibid
3
Raini, Jackson A. "Impact of land use changes on water resources and biodiversity of
Lake Nakuru catchment basin, Kenya."
has lost over 46% of its vegetation and plantations to settlement since 1994 when it was
degazetted. Kenya is a poor nation whose majority of the population entangled in a vicious circle
live below the poverty line. Overpopulation, poverty, ignorance and greed have resulted in
excessive exploitation of forests. Overpopulation and poverty are inseparable in developing
nations, and demonstrates how the vicious circle has ensnared the poverty-stricken.

The poor households in Kenya tend to have more children than the well up families. Therefore,
the poor households cannot afford to educate their children who cannot get employment and
therefore end up as poor as their parents. Chukwuma (1996) indicates that no consensus exists
among the various groups concerning the appropriate approach to population problem, but
outlines the three broad-based approaches: population rate, development and resource
approaches. Population rate approach uses various parameters such as birth rate, which influence
population growth for the projection of future trends. Lowering the birth rate by family planning
using contraceptives is the basis of this approach. On the other hand, development approach
asserts that development per se slows population growth by offering women of child bearing age
alternatives for social wellbeing, satisfaction and security. Resource approach contends that a
population is not overpopulated if it can be sustained without depletion of the resource-base and
without environmental degradation. Kenya adopted population rate approach in the 1980s before
abandoning it. The introduction of compulsory free primary education in 2003, free secondary
education in 2008 and the enactment of the legislation protecting the girl child in 2007 supports
the development approach and could be the solution to Kenya’s population problem in the long
run.
Serious disparities between the rich and the poor also exist in Kenya. It is common to find one
individual owning thousands of acres of land almost the size of a district ‘temporarily’ inhabited
by thousands of landless citizens referred to as squatters. No wonder when the government
degazetted as a forest reserve part of the Eastern Mau forest to settle the Ogiek community,
landless citizens from other parts of Kenya, with some assistance of corrupt government
officials, took advantage and invaded the forest in great numbers. The Ogiek is a small
indigenous forest dwelling tribe dependent for its existence and welfare on forests, but with little
interest in commercial forestry and minimal contact with the commercial society. 4 To date, over
30,000 people from elsewhere have encroached into the Eastern Mau forest cutting down 46% of
its vegetation to pave way for agriculture. Aggressive timber merchants who found an
opportunity to enrich themselves also emerged from among the new residents.
Tree felling went on uncontrollably until the government outlawed it in 1998. Moreover, after
the ban, illegal logging for commercial purposes goes on. Over reliance of traditional biomass by
the rising population at the catchment areas has also accelerated deforestation. Although Kenya
has policies that protect forests from wanton destruction, there are some shortcomings. First, the
administrative capacity and implementation is weak. This is a characteristic of developing
nations with extensive contradictory regulations, which overwhelm the enforcement capabilities
of governments and their agencies, and the resultant effect is skeptical perceptions of laws and
the environmental commitments of governments as well as emergent corruption. 5 For instance,
the Nakuru County Council and
Nakuru Municipal Council give licenses to timber merchants operating timber yards and stores at
various trading centers within their jurisdiction. This has created the impression that timber
ceases to be illegal the moment they are on display at the yard regardless of the source.
Apparently, disconnect between the state and the local governments in formulating and
subsequently implementing policies is real.
Secondly, the forest legislation does not involve the local community in the management of the
forests. For instance, apart from an offer under Section 12 to reward informers, the Forest Act
4
"Governance and Empowerment." Our Forest, Your Ecosystem, Their Timber, 2007.
doi:10.7312/menz13692-010.
5
Chukwuma, Chrysanthus. "Perspectives for a sustainable society." Environmental
Management and Health 7, no. 5 (1996), 5-20. doi:10.1108/09566169610130377.
does not define the role of the public in forestry development in terms of other incentives, and
criminalizes removal of all including the minor forest products by the local community. All
decisions concerning forest management are also made by the government. The minister is
vested with exclusive powers including declaring that a forest area shall cease to be a forest area
and may, under certain conditions, authorize any person to, on his behalf, issue licences for all or
any of the purposes referred to in sub-section 1 of section 8 of the Forest Act (GOK, Forest Act).
While the poor population that has settled in Mau forest are not ignorant of the benefits
indigenous vegetation has for them, they cannot comprehend how its conservation relates to
tourism in Nakuru, the reason being that tourism does not benefit them.
Although tourism is Kenya’s fastest growing economic sector and second largest foreign
exchange earner after tea, it has generally failed to cause positive socioeconomic change of the
locals who continue to languish in poverty. 6 Nevertheless, there exist isolated cases of mild gains
by locals. Zeppel (2006) explains how few communities in Uganda and Kenya have benefited
from conservation.7 The Maasai in Kenya gain wildlife-related income from tourism lease fees,
bed night levies, entry fees, employment as service staff and guides, handicraft sales and other
activities. On the other hand, community campsites at Bwindi and Mgahinga parks in Uganda
provide local benefits from mountain gorilla tourism. Revenue sharing by park agencies with
local communities and income from wildlife-based ecotourism on group land was spent on
schools, health clinics and water. Therefore, there is need for formulation of a working tourism
policy that would increase the local participation in tourism development and one that supports
employment opportunities for locals in order to improve their economic welfare.
Rising toxic levels and diminishing Flamingo food in Lake Nakuru
Industrial discharge, tourism activities, agricultural chemicals and sewage discharge as possible
sources of contamination of Lake Nakuru. This is in agreement with previous findings that
linked the presence of high toxic wastes particularly from the town’s two sewage plants and local

6
Akama, John S., and Damiannah Kieti. "Tourism and Socio-economic Development in
Developing Countries: A Case Study of Mombasa Resort in Kenya." Journal of
Sustainable Tourism 15, no. 6 (2007), 735-748. doi:10.2167/jost543.0.
7
Zeppel, H. D. "Sustainable development and management of indigenous ecotourism."
Indigenous ecotourism: sustainable development and management (n.d.), 278-293.
doi:10.1079/9781845931247.0278.
factories to the massive deaths of flamingos. The lesser flamingos that died at the sewage
treatment ponds in Nakuru in late 1996 exhibited the same symptoms as those that died at the
lake. They also indicate that there has been a general increase in the level of heavy metals and
agrochemicals from farms in the lake over time. Apart from producing acute and chronic
toxicities in birds, presence of pollutants in the lake has resulted in an imbalance in the
ecosystem that has caused a food shortage for the flamingos. Therefore, the study attributed the
declining level of algae in the lake to water pollution. The diminishing flamingo food could also
be the result of the 1959 and 1982 introduction of tilapia (Tilapia grahami) that led to
competition for the planktonic blue-green alga, (Spirulina platensis) fed on by the flamingos.
This could be a possible cause for migration of flamingos to other lakes including Lake Simbi
Nyaima in Western Kenya.

Climate change
Rising temperatures are being felt globally, and is responsible for increasing the evaporation rate
at the lake. Rising atmospheric temperatures (global warming) is the result of climate change
caused by concentration of Green House Gases. GHGs are brought about by deforestation,
burning of fossil fuel and pollution. The impacts of climate change in Nakuru are obvious. The
environs of the lake now receives less rains, experience erratic rainfall patterns, intense and
frequent drought and floods. Like many other developing nations, Kenya is not a major emitter
of the GHGs. However, Kenya has destroyed most of the forests. With just 1.7% remaining
forest cover, man-made CO2 is not effectively ‘sank’ from the atmosphere (GTZ and ESD,
2007). Ongoing deforestation at the catchment of Nakuru also causes a release of
carbon to the atmosphere through decay of trees, exposed soil and burning of charcoal,
consequently increasing the concentration of GHGs, which in turn bring about rising
temperatures. Accordingly, the high temperature results in higher evaporation rate and altering of
the water temperatures that could destroy or introduce some organisms in the lake, which could
cause some imbalance in the ecosystem. Like coral bleaching in Fiji caused by climate change,
diminishing algae in Lake Nakuru could actually be the negative effects of climate change.
Therefore, the diminishing flamingo food in Lake Nakuru would eventually make the destination
less attractive to tourists as the flamingos could continue fleeing. Consequently, fewer tourists
would visit the park, leading to significant decline in revenues and loss of employment
opportunities by the host community who depend on tourism for their livelihoods.
Possible Solutions
It is therefore necessary that the government reviews the laws meant to protect forests, and come
up with implementable policies. Formulation of such policies should bring in the views all
stakeholders including the local governments, local community and the business community.
Such participative approach facilitates inclusion of diverse interests in the policy-making.

Although the Government has considered forceful eviction, the ultimate solution to the lake’s
problem is adoption of integrated catchment approach that would involve the people at the
catchment in planning and management of Lake Nakuru resources. The community has the
potential to help maintain the balance between tourism activity, social and environmental
concerns, and therefore provide fundamental framework within which sustainable tourism
development can be delivered.8 Indeed, the Government could adopt the Gandhian principles of
headwater management which advocates for ‘uplift of all’. Projects under this principle aim at
aiding local communities to build self-sustaining local systems for the management of their own
livelihoods and environment including the services their lands provide to outside communities.
This might help eliminate perception among communities residing at the catchment area that
exploitation of tourism resources downstream only benefits outsiders.
Tourism in Nakuru partly depends on the existence of the lake and the ‘grazing’ flamingos. The
cause-effect model for the diminishing number of flamingoes in Lake Nakuru supplies a working
8
Robson, Jane, and Ian Robson. "From shareholders to stakeholders: critical issues for
tourism marketers." Tourism Management 17, no. 7 (1996), 533-540.
doi:10.1016/s0261-5177(96)00070-2.
framework for future studies employing experimental designs to establish the true causes of
flamingo deaths. It is also paramount to carry out further research on the impacts of deforestation
and climate change on the lake’s ecosystem. This way, tourism planners and other stakeholders
in the area would make informed decisions concerning development and conservation of Lake
Nakuru.
Bibliography
Governance and Empowerment." Our Forest, Your Ecosystem, Their Timber, 2007.
doi:10.7312/menz13692-010.
Akama, John S., and Damiannah Kieti. "Tourism and Socio-economic Development in
Developing Countries: A Case Study of Mombasa Resort in Kenya." Journal of
Sustainable Tourism 15, no. 6 (2007), 735-748. doi:10.2167/jost543.0.
Chukwuma, Chrysanthus. "Perspectives for a sustainable society." Environmental Management
and Health 7, no. 5 (1996), 5-20. doi:10.1108/09566169610130377.
KWS, Bankrock station, and Ramsar. 2004 Report on Ecotourism Potential and Development
within Lake Nakuru National Park and Its Catchment. Nairobi: KWS, 2004.
Raini, Jackson A. "Impact of land use changes on water resources and biodiversity of Lake
Nakuru catchment basin, Kenya." African Journal of Ecology 47 (2009), 39-45.
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.2008.01048.x.
"Reviewer Summary for Lakes & Reservoirs: Research and Management." Lakes & Reservoirs:
Research & Management 22, no. 4 (2017), 416-416. doi:10.1111/lre.12198.
Robson, Jane, and Ian Robson. "From shareholders to stakeholders: critical issues for tourism
marketers." Tourism Management 17, no. 7 (1996), 533-540. doi:10.1016/s0261-
5177(96)00070-2.
Zeppel, H. D. "Sustainable development and management of indigenous ecotourism."
Indigenous ecotourism: sustainable development and management (n.d.), 278-293.
doi:10.1079/9781845931247.0278.