Aid in Action
East Africa Community’s Lake Victoria Basin Commission Adopts USAID’s Approach to Conserving Mara River Basin
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Thursday, July 16, 2009
Photo: USAID/East Africa
A constructed wetland for cleaning up waste waters from the Mara Sopa Lodge in the Maasai Mara, an example of corporate socially and environmentally responsible investment by the ecotourism industry, encouraged by USAID/East Africa's partner World Wildlife Fund, East African Regional Program Office.
In late May, 2009, achievements gained under USAID/East Africa’s Transboundary Water for Biodiversity and Human Health in the Mara River Basin (MRB) activity came under review during the East African Community’s Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) Commission’s Sectoral Council of Ministers’ meeting in Kenya. Achievements that were reviewed included the establishment of governance institutions and structures such as:
- 1) MRB Trans-boundary Water Users Forum and
Technical Advisory Committees established in 2008;
2) 22 water springs, three dams and 26 water catchments protected by 2008;
3) MRB Catchment Committee established in Tanzania in 2007;
4) 26 catchment management groups established in Kenya between 2004 and 2007;
5) 14 Tanzanian Water Users Associations established between 2004-2007; and
6) MRB Kenya Water Users Association Board
established in 2006.
Ministers also reviewed two USAID/EA-supported studies on the MRB: the Mara Biodiversity Action Plan for achieving joint management and conservation of the trans-boundary ecosystem and its biodiversity and an Environmental Flows Assessment.
The Ministers took note of MRB implementation progress and commended USAID/EA’s partner, World Wildlife Fund, East African Regional Program Office in Nairobi, for supporting the LVB Commission through its implementation of MRB activities.
Photo: USAID/East Africa
Mara River Basin Users' Association.
The Ministers concluded this review by adopting the Mara Biodiversity Action Plan and Mara Environmental Flows Report and recommending that these reports be used for planning purposes by all MRB stakeholders.
This is a significant milestone for the Transboundary Water for Biodiversity and Human Health in the Mara River Basin initiative. LVB Commission’s endorsement and adoption of these documents and USAID’s approach to conserving the MRB will elevate the visibility and profile of the MRB and will create a platform for acting on current and future MRB recommendations.
As follow-up, USAID/EA is pursuing discussions with the East African Community’s LVB Commission regarding ways to address biodiversity and natural resource management in the MRB.
The Mara River ecosystem, which straddles the Kenya-Tanzania border, is an important habitat for the wildlife that is the backbone of the tourism industry in both countries. The survival of this ecosystem is dependent on the flow of the Mara River, which has been threatened by growing water scarcity due to greater upstream water abstraction, poor land management and increased waste discharge.