OJWANG: Conserving watersheds everyone’s business

Water has for a long time been confounded to be coming from the tap. Well it does, but only once it's piped to your house, from elsewhere.

In many cities and towns across the world where citizens enjoy piped water, there is a popular misconception among residents that water comes from the tap and nothing less. The flip-side is that the commodity they so sacredly depend on comes several distances away from some far-flung forest, mountain, swamp or even a spring tucked somewhere in the upcountry.

It is also worth noting that even as government policymakers moot ambitious plans of providing piped water to every household­ – which is a very brilliant idea – very little is said about where this water is going to come from or whether or not the water to be piped indeed exists.

Unplanned and or unsustainable human activities in the past have had negative impacts on our water sources. So bad is the situation that, should it stay business as usual, Kenya may not realise the national vision 2030 and most of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including goal 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation.

Anthropogenic-related pressure such as deforestation and degradation of land continue to pose untold threats to our watershed. Hence, quick collective actions are needed to swiftly address increasing water stress and risks to people, investments and nature.

Compounded by climate change, water scarcity in Kenya is a big challenge that is growing worse by the day. Currently, Kenya is considered a water-stressed country with a declining freshwater availability per capita of only 493 cubic metres. This basically means that there is barely enough water in the country for everyone, hence, the urgent need to conserve and protect the few watersheds to boost water production and availability.

Conserving our water sources, which include swamps and forests, will ensure there is a constant flow of water and maintenance of base flows in our rivers during droughts. There is urgent need to strengthen Integrated Water Resources Management–Water Access, Sanitation and Hygiene nexus and reduce pollution as we turn the spotlight on ambient or surface water quality, which nearly 15 per cent of the 50 million Kenyans still depend on.

This is why we urge Kenyans to make small sacrifices such as adopting a river or a watershed near them, planting indigenous trees or less water-thirsty plants and embracing sustainable land use practices such as terracing to reduce siltation through soil erosion and soil testing to reduce use of excess fertilisers.

They can also adopt integrated pest management to reduce use of pesticides, and where necessary use drip irrigation as best water use practice. This will discourage the desire to shift or to avoid expansion of farming into key water source areas, including riparian areas.

This year, World Wide Fund for Nature Kenya (WWF-Kenya), a leading conservation organisation in the country, kicked off a national campaign dubbed the #JourneyofWater.

The first leg of the campaign was held in Naivasha in May and it rallied all the stakeholders in the water sector from local communities to government agencies and the private sector to champion the conservation of River Malewa, which supplies 90 per cent of the water in Lake Naivasha, the country's horticultural hub.

For three days during the event, the campaign caravan trailed the river from its source on the slopes of Aberdare to its mouth at the shores of Lake Naivasha with the mission of identifying threats the river is facing and to help water users to appreciate the long journey the water has to travel before reaching their taps.

The campaign will be replicated in other key rivers to promote catchment management for enhanced access to water of good quality to all Kenyans—IWRM for WASH approach.

A quick look at our important watersheds no doubt paints a grim picture of utter neglect, which in turn significantly impacts water availability. Yet as climate change intensifies, water is bound to become even more scarce, further worsening the situation, especially in towns that are already struggling with increasing populations and have outstripped existing sewerage facilities.  

This is why conservation of our rivers and water towers must never be left on the shoulders of water resource users associations, a government agency or an individual. It is everyone’s business.

Freshwater thematic lead at WWF-Kenya