Kenya: Water Roadmap Collective Action Project

The challenges in Kenya’s waters

Lake Naivasha is a freshwater basin in Kenya’s Rift Valley. It is known for its surrounding flourishing economy, supplying water for agriculture, horticulture, and floriculture farms, as well as supporting a vibrant tourism sector, nourishing local communities, and housing a rich, diverse ecosystem. But without action, all of this is at risk.

Growing demand for freshwater, paired with declining water quality from agricultural runoff, is putting unsustainable pressure on the lake and the surrounding catchment. As a result, these pressures are degrading the habitats, and water availability is reducing. As water availability declines, producers are abstracting from other natural sources such as groundwater. The region’s economic success is threatening the very waterways it depends on, and without healthy, abundant water, these industries cannot continue as they are.

WRAP is working closely with our delivery partner WWF Kenya, as well as fresh fruit and vegetable producers, to improve water management, protect local habitats, and secure a more sustainable water future for the basin.

What we’re doing to protect water in Kenya

We’re working with local communities, producers, businesses and partners to deliver hands-on solutions that keep water in the landscape, protect soil and improve biodiversity. Together we are:

• Monitoring the health of freshwater ecosystems in Lake Naivasha by developing a Rivers Health Assessment (RHA) framework, as well as equipping and training local Water Resource Users Associations and citizen scientists to conduct the assessments
• Informing local water management organisations of sustainable water practices or potential early warning signs, using the RHA data that is gathered through citizen science water quality monitoring  
• Supporting local farmers and community members to comply with regulations on water use through training, demonstration farms and workshops
• Promoting best practices on agricultural abstraction and wastewater treatment to improve water quality in the surrounding rivers and groundwater. This is achieved through WWF Kenya working with farmers to ensure farhttps://glossarymers obtain abstraction licenses and discharge permits.

Whether your business grows in or sources fresh produce from Kenya, you have a role to play in protecting their water.

You don’t have to go it alone – join the Water Roadmap to access guidance and help support this important project.

Our impact in Kenya so far

The Collective Action Project in Kenya is already driving measurable change. All 12 of the Water Resource Users Associations are actively conducting River Health Assessments using the RHA framework. While we work towards ensuring all 2,000 water abstraction points are compliant across the Lake Naivasha basin, over 329 (up from 220) are now operating within regulation.

There has also been an 89% improvement in compliance to abstraction regulations, owed to the work on-the-ground by WWF Kenya advocating for abstraction compliance. And thanks to the on-the-ground work done by our delivery partner WWF Kenya, over half of food businesses operating in the catchment have now completed an effluent discharge management plan to reduce water pollution, following support from the Water Resources Authority.

Progress has been possible thanks to the support of Water Roadmap members and partners who are helping fund delivery and promoting sustainable water management in their supply chains.

Scaling up: action still needed

Lake Naivasha and surrounding waterways should be thriving lifelines for nature, food production and local communities. Now is the time to help protect and restore them. We need more businesses that source from or work in the region to step up, champion water stewardship across their supply chains, and fund the next phase of this critical work.

By joining the Water Roadmap, your participation will drive:

1. Expansion into the Athi Basin and Upper Ewaso Ng’iro catchments to replenish and restore water for more local communities and food businesses. These areas are also victim to the same challenges that the Lake Naivasha basin faces. The Mt Kenya growing region (a major fresh produce supply area for the UK) is also found within the Upper Ewaso Ng’iro catchment
2. Continued engagement with over 100 smallholder farmers to improve sustainable water management practices and improve financial literacy
3. Ongoing River Health Assessments and strengthened business compliance with abstraction and discharge regulations to boost water quality and availability
4. Learnings and solutions that can be implemented in other current and future Water Roadmap projects.