Conservationists have moved to rehabilitate Lake Ol Bolossat from shrinking following the severe decline of the water levels.
The lake is the source of water in the Ewaso Nyiro river that supports the ecosystem in the counties of Laikipia, Isiolo, Samburu and Garissa.
The environmentalists led by Thomas Nderitu through Community Organisation for Positive Impact Care and Development (COPICAD) in the past one year have partnered with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and the community in salvaging the lake through tree planting.
COPICAD has entered with TerraFUNDAfr100 to reclaim it through community engagement, the environmentalists moved to secure the riparian majority that had been turned to horticulture farms by planting indigenous trees.
In the Kahuaga section of the oLBolossat forest in the Aberdares ecosystem suffered destruction through fires, illegal logging and charcoal burning, 100,000 trees have been planted this year. Another 250,000 tree seedlings have been earmarked for next year in efforts to recharge the tributaries draining into the lake.
The lake is now full of water following the April and May heavy rains that pondered around the Ol Bolossat catchment area. A resident Mwangi Nguru said the move to protect the lake from drying was appreciated as the locals have been involved in tree planting among other cores.
Nguru said the birds which were living around the lake disappeared following the increased human activities in the catchment.
“We are grateful that through the community efforts those who were farming around stopped and moved away,” said Nguru, now a trader in Ol Kalou town. OPICAD CEO Mr Nderitu said through the community they will be able to plant trees along the ecosystem in the next five years to save the lake.
He observed that the streams from the five water towers, support habitats downstream thus need spirited efforts from all the stakeholders to enhance conservation. The lake, he said, over the years has experienced reduced water levels as a result of human activity.
“In the last one decade, the lake’s water surface area has gone from about 10,000 hectares to 3,000 hectares, escalating human-wildlife conflict as wild animals, particularly hippos, lose their habitat,” said Nderitu.
Learning institutions in the locality have benefitted with more than 30,000 trees. Gathanje Deputy County Commissioner Ms Beatrice Kang’ethe said the activities of the environmentalists towards the afforestation, conservation, rehabilitation and climate change intervention project was a better approach to protect the lake.
“To protect the lake can only be achieved by rescuing not only its feeder streams and the entire ecosystem but also enhancement of resilience and productivity of those ecosystems,” said the DCC.
Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu said the Ewaso Nyiro river is a major source of water for the residents in Laikipia west appreciating efforts made by the community in Nyandarua to protect the catchment. “The river is a lifeline to the residents in Laikipia and other counties in the Northern part of Kenya thus need for joint efforts to step up conservation of the catchment,” said the Governor.
Charles Njoroge, a leading environmental consultant, said over the years the wetland around the lake had been unprotected apart from other challenges and threats including water abstraction. The local farmers, he added, have benefitted with more than 15,000 trees planted in their farms as part of the incentive on the collaboration.
“Overgrazing, human encroachment, deforestation of catchment areas and siltation are factors that should be controlled through the stakeholder’s approach,” he said.