Upon arrival in Nairobi you will be met and transferred to your hotel, the Serena. The remainder of your day is at leisure. A car and driver will be available for your use if you wish to explore Nairobi and its environs.
Our water journey truly begins in Nairobi. The word Nairobi is adapted from the Maasai name Ewaso Nyarobi (Place of Cold Water), a reference to the swampy patch of land where the Maasai brought their herds to drink. Originally a humble settlement of rickety shacks in the late 1890s, Nairobi has grown into East Africa’s most prosperous and important economic center. Today, it is home to multinational organizations, diplomatic missions, universities and NGOs, and is also a strategic base for the United Nations.
Overnight Serena Hotel
Set in extensive grounds with a beautiful garden, the Nairobi Serena is a world-class hotel in the centre of Nairobi. One of the city’s top meeting places, it has all the business services expected by modern travelers but retains an African charm in the safari capital of the world. All the rooms have satellite TV, high speed Internet and great views out over the city or garden. The Mandhari Restaurant is one of the best in Nairobi and the poolside bar is a great place to wind down in the evening. 45 minutes from the main airport and twenty minutes from Wilson, the Serena is convenient, efficient and stylish.
Day Two Nairobi
Nairobi is currently home to nearly three million people and represents about a quarter of Kenya’s urban population. A growing economy and swelling population numbers from both in-migration and natural growth are continually increasing the city’s size.
Morning Program: Our Nairobi NGO partner Maji na Ufanisi (Water and Development) will take us on a visit of two small informal settlements (slums) in the morning. We will learn about community participation and the ongoing political and economical challenges to slum upgrading, in particular those issues that revolve around water availability and sanitation.
Maji na Ufanisi (Water and Development) is a Kenyan NGO working in partnership with local communities, government, donor agencies and the private sector to bring innovative water and environmental sanitation solutions to poor and disadvantaged people in Kenya. For the last 10 years, Maji na Ufanisi has been working with marginalized urban and local communities with a view to designing and implementing pro-poor water and environmental sanitation solutions.
Site visits SiKaptagat slum is a fairly small slum, which houses around 7,000 persons. Maji na Ufanisi has implemented a number of projects there involving water and sanitation and drainage as well as youth empowerment. The group has had a series of challenges around land ownership and poor governance. Thanks to the interventions by Maji na Ufanisi, most of these issue have been resolved. However, the issue of land insecurity remains.
Waruku slum has very similar challenges to those found in Kaptagat. Maji na Ufanisi has also made some interventions here, albeit to a lesser extent.
Lunch and Afternoon Program: Welcome lunch and water briefing by Paul Faeth. After lunch, optional visit Nairobi National Park for your first taste of Kenya’s renowned biodiversity and as a basis for discussions around the issues of wildlife needs versus urban sprawl encroachment.
Nairobi National Park
Nairobi National Park is a unique ecosystem--being the only protected area in the world close to a capital city. The park is located only 7 km from Nairobi city centre. The savannah ecosystem is comprised of different vegetation types. Open grass plains with scattered acacia bush are predominant. The western side has a highland dry forest and a permanent river with a riverine forest. To the south are the Athi-Kapiti Plains and Kitengela migration Corridor, important wildlife dispersal areas during the rain season. Man-made dams within the park have added a further habitat, favorable to certain species of birds and other aquatic biome.
Major wildlife attractions are the black rhino, lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, buffaloes, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, elands and diverse birdlife with over 400 species recorded. Other attractions include the ivory burning site monument, Nairobi safari walk, the orphanage and the walking trails at hippo pools.
Evening reception: We will be hosting select international and Kenyan water specialists at our hotel (Serena) for an early evening reception.
Overnight Serena Hotel
We invite you to Carbon Offset your international airfare:
Kenya: Water
Cost: US$ 15,000
Single Supplement: US$ 1,000
Beneficiaries: 5% of the trip cost will be donated to NGO partner organizations in Kenya
If you would like to more fully understand and appreciate the significance of water for human, environmental and economic prosperity, please join Elevate Destinations’ customized 10-day visit to Kenya. We will explore the country’s most pressing water-related challenges and highlight innovative and effective solutions in use.
Kenya has just come out of one of the worst droughts in living memory. Despite the hardships and emergency assistance, Kenya’s government, companies, communities, and citizens have renewed efforts to find innovative water solutions. These include massive reforestation efforts, drip-irrigation, rainwater harvesting, micro-finance schemes for water projects, sanitation and health interventions, and integrated water management.
Accompanied by water and development specialists, you will visit slum-upgrading projects, explore multi-stakeholder efforts to better manage and protect water resources, and marvel at the natural beauty and often harsh, realities of Kenya.
This trip will give you the opportunity to experience firsthand how closely water and development issues are tied. Through conversations with stakeholders and decision-makers you will get an in-depth knowledge and appreciation for a life-sustaining substance that we in the West often take for granted – water. Your experience in Kenya will not only open your eyes to issues facing the people of this country, but also make you aware of the global importance of managing and protecting our shared water resources.
For a visual and in-depth overview of Kenya, please review UNEP’s “Kenya: Atlas of our Changing Environment” (2009). It can be downloaded free of charge at http://www.unep.org/dewa/africa/kenyaAtlas/
Links to our partners and projects we will visit:
Florida International University/ Global Water for Sustainability Programhttp://globalwaters.net
FIU is the lead organization of the Global Water for Sustainability Program (GLOWS) consortium. FIU is active in the Maasai Mara community.
GWC is a diverse coalition of leading organizations providing creative and sustainable solutions for universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
KickStart’s mission is to help millions of people out of poverty by developing technologies that can be used to establish and run profitable small-scale enterprises.
Lake Victoria Region Local Authorities Cooperationwww.lvrlac.net
LVRLAC is a network organization of 81 Local Authorities in the Basin of Lake Victoria of East Africa that coordinates and strengthens efforts towards sustainability.
Maji na Ufanisi (Water and Development) works in partnership with local communities, government, donor agencies and the private sector on water and sanitation solutions.
WWF is one of the world's largest and most respected independent conservation
organizations. They have been active in eastern Africa since 1962.
Itinerary text sources: UNEP’s “Kenya: Atlas of Our Changing Environment” (2009), DK Eyewitness Travel “Kenya”(2009), UN World Water Development Report 3, our partners and their websites.
Kenya: Water
Day Nine Ol Malo- Maasai Mara
Morning: Flight to the Maasai Mara.
Afternoon: Game drive, Mara River Basin introduction by WWF, visit constructed wetlands
The Maasai Mara is host to the most spectacular array of wildlife. Its1500 square kilometers of open savannah, woodlands and tree-lined rivers creates an eco-system that supports huge numbers of bird and mammal species. The western border of the park is the spectacular Siria Escarpment, and acacia trees dot the plains. Lion are in abundance, as are elephant, giraffe, a variety of gazelle species and zebra. Cheetah, leopard and rhino are also seen. Unique sightings can include: a pride of lion stalking their prey; a solitary leopard retrieving its kill from the high branches of an acacia tree; male wildebeest sparring to attract females into their harem; or even a herd of elephant enjoying a cool bath in the river. The annual wildebeest migration traditionally is present in the Mara from July-September and at this time nature’s dramas unfold before your very eyes at every turn. As well as wildlife, the Maasai Mara is also home to many members of the Maasai tribe.
During our visit to the Maasai Mara National Reserve, we will learn about the critical role the Mara River plays in sustaining a huge density and diversity of wildlife, as well as the livelihoods of nearly one million people, many of whom are rural poor, living in the Mara River Basin. The Mara River Basin is important to the national economies of Kenya and Tanzania especially in terms of foreign exchange earnings. It also supports large-scale cereal farming and gold mining operations.
Local communities and other stakeholders in the Mara River Basin are increasingly facing water shortages as well as problems with poor water quality and environmental degradation. This limits attempts to alleviate poverty and improve healthcare, food security, economic development and protection of the natural resources.
WWF will introduce us to their Mara River Basin Management Initiative. WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. Founded in 1961, WWF now has offices in over 100 countries around the world. Since 2003, WWF has been working with water users, local communities, water managers and decision-makers in Kenya and Tanzania to better manage the Mara River Basin so as to improve adequate water supplies, and to ensure sustainable economic development and conservation of the natural resources in the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem.
We will also have the opportunity to visit a ‘constructed wetland’ built at the Olonana Lodge. Through a series of carefully constructed ponds, this wetland purifies the lodge’s wastewater naturally, while also creating a habitat for a diversity of birds and other species.
Dinner and Overnight at Serian
Serian Camp is on the Mara River overlooking a valley and the Olooloa Escarpment. The main camp with its marquee style tents is set on grass plinths with hardwood decks.
Serian is perfectly situated for game-viewing all year round and for the wildebeest migration for which the Mara is famous. Owner Alex Walker is a professional filmmaker, photographer and guide. It is well worth going for a walk with him through the bush that surrounds the camp. Serian is shaded by large walburgia trees so it never gets too hot, even at midday.
Day Ten Maasai Mara
Morning Program: Visit to Florida International University / Global Water for Sustainability Program (GLOWS) research site on the Mara River on the border of Tanzania. Learn about water flow needs to maintain the ecosystem.
The Kenya Water Act (2002) provides for a reserve to be accounted for in all bodies of water that provides sufficient quantity and quality of water to sustain both basic human need and the aquatic ecosystem. The reserve receives priority among all other water allocations, so when the river falls too low, other abstractions are required by law to cease. In a semi-arid landscape like the Mara River Basin, there are many competing users for the river’s limited resources, making the protection of in-stream flows a critical process.
An Environmental Flow Assessment was conducted in the Mara River in 2007-08 to determine the minimum sustainable flow levels, and to provide water resource managers with the tools they need to manage the river for both people and nature. We’ll meet with scientists currently working in the Mara River to learn about the science behind the assessment, the policy that supports it, and the actions and regulations needed to implement it. We’ll also visit one of the sites of the assessment, on the border between Kenya and Tanzania, to discuss these issues in a trans-boundary context and to participate in ongoing monitoring efforts. There will also be visits from representatives of other projects in the region, who are working to implement sustainable water resources management and improve provision of clean water to local communities.
Global Water for Sustainability Program (GLOWS) is a consortium financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). GLOWS’ mission is to increase social, economic, and environmental benefits to people of the developing world through clean water, healthy aquatic ecosystems and sustainable water resources management.
Amanda Subalusky and Christopher Dutton both work for Florida International University through the GLOWS program. They will be accompanying us on various outings. Amanda is working as the Research Coordinator in the Mara River Basin, conducting ongoing monitoring in the river to refine reserve flow recommendations and liasing with NGOs and government authorities to implement the findings. Chris is the Coordinator for the Trans-boundary Water for Biodiversity and Human Health in the Mara River Basin (TWB-MRB) program, which brings together FIU, WWF, WorldVision and CARE to implement Integrated Water Resources Management in the Mara River Basin.
Afternoon: Game drive, and/or visit to WorldVision project or tree planting initiative.
Dinner and Overnight at Serian.
Day Eleven Maasai Mara- Nairobi-Homeward Bound
Morning: Game drive, followed by lunch.
Afternoon: Flight to Nairobi
Evening: Farewell dinner in Nairobi at the Talisman restaurant. After dinner, transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your international departure flight.
Kenya: Water - Logistics
Payment
We require a deposit of 50% to confirm a booking. The balance is payable 90 days before planned departure date.
Owing to the small size of our trips, payment is non-refundable. We recommend trip insurance to cover any unexpected cancellations.
Cost includes:
Accommodation and meals as described in itinerary
All conservation and park entrance fees.
All transfers and game viewing drives as shown above
Exclusive use of 6-seater landcruisers with English speaking driver/guides
Tea/coffee with meals
Bottled water in vehicles
Soft drinks, mineral water, beers, house wines, and laundry
Private guide
Chartered & scheduled flights
Porterage of 2 pieces of luggage per person
Flying Doctors service for the duration of the trip
Government taxes and levies - but subject to change in case of any taxation/levy increases/changes effected by the government, airlines and or suppliers(ie fuel surcharges etc)
Cost excludes:
International airfare
International airport departure taxes
All expenses of a personal nature such as, telephone calls,
Tips and gratuities for the guide, driver/guide, hotel staff etc
Entry visa fees – currently USD 50 per person per country
Travel and medical insurance
Visas
Kenya Visas are available upon arrival at the airport in Nairobi. Current cost is $25.
Kenya: Water
Day Five Kisumu
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is the world’s second largest fresh water lake with an open surface area of 68,800 km2 and is shared between Kenya (6%), Tanzania (49%) and Uganda (45%). With a population of over 35million inhabitants, the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) is, potentially, the richest region in East Africa. The region is endowed with valuable natural resources including its huge fish producing potential, wildlife diversity, fertile soils and favorable climate. It has a large capacity for industry, hydro-electricity generation, gold and other mineral endowments. The Lake Victoria Basin supports one of the densest and most rapidly expanding populations in the world with an estimated growth rate average of over 3%. This large population continues to exert enormous pressure on the lake environment, especially on the natural resource base, creating an ecologic imbalance of significant proportions.
Our partner organization, the Lake Victoria Region Local Authorities Cooperation (LVRLAC) has helped shape our regional program and a representative will accompany us on our visits.
The Lake Victoria Region Local Authorities Cooperation (LVRLAC), a growing network organization of over 81 local authorities in the Basin of Lake Victoria of East Africa, was founded in 1997 to coordinate and strengthen collaborative efforts by local authorities within the Lake Victoria Basin towards sustainable utilization, management and conservation of the shared natural resources in the Lake Victoria Basin.
Morning Program: Courtesy call to meet the Mayor of Kisumu and a brief discussion with the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC). Visit Maseno University to learn about transboundary water management efforts.
The Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) is a specialized institution of the East African Community (EAC) that is responsible for coordinating the sustainable development agenda of the Lake Victoria basin. Lake Victoria and its basin have been designated as an economic growth zone to be exploited in a coordinated manner.
As pressure on water resources increases, in terms of both the quality and quantity of water needed, water resources systems are being driven to the edge of their natural limits. As a result, consumers have to rely more on water infrastructure and water management – not only to meet daily requirements, but also to provide security against extreme and variable hydrological events including flood and drought.
It used to be argued that water that crosses boundaries would be a source of conflict. However, more recent research has shown that parties that share a water resource actually tend to find ways to cooperate in mutually beneficial ways. It is therefore a fact that transboundary water resources that are cooperatively managed can make a significant contribution to global and regional peace and stability and to sustainable economic growth.
Dinner and Overnight at Kiboko Bay in Kisumu.
Kenya: Water
Day Four Naivasha-Kisumu
Deforestation, water extraction and pollution are key factors threatening Kenya’s delicate ecosystem. Today we will spend time around Lake Naivasha exploring the importance of water for industrial and small-scale farmers and the surrounding environment.
In the afternoon we will fly to Kisumu over the Mau Forest Complex, one of Kenya’s main watersheds. This will give us the opportunity to see the tea plantations bordering the forest, and get an aerial view of the encroachment of the forest by farmers and pastoralists. The Kenyan government is undergoing massive resettlement and reforestation efforts in the Mau Forest Complex, which we can discuss over dinner.
Morning Program: A visit to a rose farm followed by a visit to small-scale farmers using KickStart’s MoneyMaker pumps for irrigation.
Site visits Rose Farm: The Naivasha region is known internationally for its large horticulture sector, the largest in all of Kenya. In fact, over 70% of the roses exported to the EU markets come from Naivasha. The horticultural sector of Naivasha employs over 30,000 people directly, thereby having a very positive impact on the livelihood of fellow Kenyans. However, water over-abstraction and pollution remain critical issues.
After learning about the commercial agriculture sector around Lake Victoria, our partner organization KickStart will accompany us as we visit local small-holder farmers using MoneyMaker pumps.
Kickstart: KickStart is a social enterprise with a mission to get millions out of poverty as quickly and as cost effectively as possible. KickStart does this by developing technologies that would help harness the opportunities that already exist in rural Africa.
The most successful is the MoneyMaker series of human powered micro-irrigation water pumps. As such, KickStart has focused its technological and marketing efforts on the -irrigation water pumps. Farmers, who generally wait for the rains each year, can quickly move to cash crops with basic irrigation. Farmers are able to move to 3 or 4 crop cycles per year instead of one; they increase the land under cultivation, and they dramatically increase their yield. In short, they move from subsistence farming to cash crops, effectively creating small enterprises and moving rural families quickly out of poverty.
It is against the above background that KickStart will organize a field trip for our group in the Naivasha area to visit one or two farmers and a MoneyMaker dealer to witness the kind of impacts that the pump has had on their livelihoods.
Afternoon: By 3pm we will depart on a private charter flight to Kisumu with overview of the Mau Forest Complex.
The Mau Forest Complex The Mau Forest Complex is Kenya’s largest closed canopy forest ecosystem, and the single most important water catchment in the Rift Valley and western Kenya. The Mau Complex forms part of the upper catchments of all but one of the main rivers on the west side of the Rift Valley. These rivers act as arteries carrying the Mau’s waters throughout western Kenya — from Lake Turkana in the north to Lake Natron in the south as well as to Kenya’s most populous rural areas in the Lake Victoria basin.
Covering over 400,000 hectares, the Mau Complex is the largest of the five “water towers” of Kenya. Its montane forests are an important part of water-flow regulation, flood mitigation, water storage, groundwater recharge, water purification, micro-climate regulation, and reduced soil erosion and siltation. The forests also provide other major environmental services, including nutrient cycling and soil formation. In addition, their role in storing carbon makes the Mau Forest globally important for mitigating climate change.
Dinner and Overnight, Kiboko Bay Resort
Kiboko Bay Resort is adjacent to Dunga Fishing village and is situated on an old quarry on the shores of Lake Victoria. It is 10 minutes drive from the Kisumu city centre and 20minutes drive from the airport. Kiboko Bay Resort was founded by Nirmal and Beelay Darbar and officially opened to the public in December, 2004.
Kenya: Water
Day Six Kisumu-Ol Malo
Morning Program: Project visits with LVRLAC Project Officer.
Site Visit Visit select OSIENALA projects. On our way we will stop to visit a traditional fishing operation along the beach.
OSIENALA (Friends of Lake Victoria) is a home-grown national NGO established in 1992 with its head office in Kisumu. It started as a membership organization by local communities who live and drive their livelihoods from the resources of Lake Victoria and its environs. OSIENALA’s role was to create awareness locally and internationally about the problems facing Lake Victoria while at the same time creating structures that would support local communities to become responsible custodians of their environment and the lake. OSIENALA endeavors to strengthen capacities within the communities for sound management, optimization of resource utilization and improvement of the social and economic status in the region.
OSIENALA’s strategies include: building capacity of the local communities around Lake Victoria in order for them to become custodians of the own environment; promotion of sustainable livelihoods for the communities to eradicate poverty; environmental education and awareness; micro financing; research and monitoring; lobbying and advocating for strategic environmental management policies.
Afternoon: After lunch we will pay a visit to the Lake Basin Development Authorities, a government body charged with ensuring that key development issues, such as livelihoods and agriculture, are addressed and properly implemented.
Following this visit, we will fly to Ol Malo in Samburuland for an evening introduction to the Samuburu people and culture.
Evening: Depending on what time we arrive in the afternoon, our first evening will be spent meeting members of this nomadic tribe. The Samburu have invited us to see where and how they live, a window into their lives and an introduction to their culture.
Dinner and Overnight at Ol Malo
The home of Colin and Rocky Francombe, and its two guest cottages, are in Northern Laikipia, on the edge of the Northern Frontier District. Elephant and giraffe browse on the thorn trees below as snowy Mount Kenya surveys the scene.
Ol Malo has all the little things you expect in a private house – a great library, hot water bottles on cold nights and roaring log fires… and on the finest ‘pools with a view’ in Kenya.
Day Seven Ol Malo
Ol Malo Trust is a charitable trust set up in response to the great hardships caused by the droughts that ravaged Kenya. Whole regions are devastated by the climate disasters occurring in Kenya these days, but none more so than the dry, desert wilderness of Samburuland, where the Samburu lost most of their cattle and therefore the major part of their livelihood. Born and brought up in the neighbouring area of Laikipia, Colin and Rocky’s daughter Julia Francombe found herself caught up in the situation, and soon Ol Malo Designs and Ol Malo Trust were formed.
Julia’s close association with the Samburu has enabled the Trust to make a continuous and accurate assessment of the needs of the people, the wildlife and the environment, and its programs have been extended and adapted to meet these needs. Programs include medical initiatives, employment generation, education, and water and environmental projects.
Morning Program: Rise with the sun and enjoy an early morning walk to the manyatta. Today we will spend the early hours in the morning at the manyatta and join the women in one of the most important chores for the day: collecting water for the family.
Evening: A walk down to the Ewaso Nyiro River, which jumped its banks in a ferocious flood the first week of March 2010, will give the group the opportunity to the fragile ecosystem surrounding one of the most important sources of water for Northern Kenya.
Dinner and Overnight at Ol Malo
Day Eight Ol Malo Water and Education Project
Morning Program: Join the Lchekuti children at the Ol Malo school - plant trees and understand the importance of children for the future of water conservation.
Afternoon Program: Follow with a visit to one of the open water reservoirs, where you will meet with the Ol Malo Trust council of elders. In the shade of an Acacia tree, you will have a rare opportunity to discuss water issues and talk to senior Samburu clan elders, local chiefs and locally elected Samburu councillors. The Samburu Council is the 'key' to the Ol Malo Trust’s work - the decisions must be made and supported by the tribal elders. This is the essence of community-based conservation.
Silango Water Projects Samburuland has experienced severe droughts followed by most unusual amounts of rain. Within days gulleys are created by rainwater erosion, but no water is left for the people to drink or wash in. The steep banks of the Ewaso Nyiro collapse, washing excessive amounts of soil downstream, which in turn is causing the Lorian swamp in the north to dry up, and the nomads living in that area to push south in search of water. Daily the women have to walk for an hour or more to collect water. The recent change in rainfall patterns – drought followed by heavy rains - has confirmed to the Ol Malo Trust that building a network of Open Water Reservoirs (OWRs) is the right thing to do.
The program aims to provide a clean water supply within a 30-minute walk of every Samburu homestead. Each Open Water Reservoir will measure 80m x 50m x 10m and contain 40 million liters of water. The OWRs will be built where they will naturally collect rain / flood water, thus preventing erosion; provide wildlife and livestock access to the water; create a micro-environment for local flaura and fauna, birds and insects by planting a variety of indigenous fruit and nut-bearing trees around every water source; educate the children on the wildlife and environment in which they live; develop pre-existing water sources, such as freshwater springs.
Dinner and Overnight at Ol Malo
Kenya: Water
Day Three Nairobi-Naivasha
Morning Program: Visit Kibera with Maji Na Ufanisi. Focus on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues and slum upgrading efforts.
Site visit
Maji na Ufanisi has been working in the informal settlement of Kibera for the last 10 years and will give us an introduction to the work they have been doing there. In the village of Soweto East, Maji na Ufanisi has been implementing part of the so called KENSUP program – which is a partnership between the Government of Kenya (Housing Ministry) and UN Habitat. You will see water, sanitation, solid waste and drainage works that Maji na Ufanisi has been implementing. Access to safe water and adequate sanitation services has proven to be one of the most efficient ways of improving human health. Maji na Ufanisi is also assisting with the construction of a tarmac road and a resource centre.. The road will literally traverse the Kibera slum while the resource center will address the special needs of the thousands of unemployed youths. This is particularly important, as the youths have felt neglected by the government and were very vocal during the post-election riots. KENSUP suggests that one solution is to equip this resource center with computers and health facilities.
Afternoon: Drive to Lake Naivasha (approximately 1h 45 minutes)
Lake Naivasha
This near-circular and shallow freshwater lake has a beautiful Rift Valley setting, with the distinctive volcanic outline of Mount Longonot rising to the south. The name Naivasha is a corruption of the Maasai ‘enaiposha’ (restless water), in possible reference to the rough waves that often sweep its surface in the afternoon. The Gilgil and Malewa Rivers flow into Naivasha’s swampy northern shore, but there is no known outlet and the water most probably stays fresh due to a subterranean outlet that emerges at Lake Magadi.Naivasha has a history of fluctuating depths and surface area due to its shallow depth and rainfall variability in its catchment. It is a valuable freshwater resource for human uses and for a diverse population of water birds and large mammals, including hippopotamuses. The lake supports a range of economic activities including commercial flower growing, fishing, and a geothermal power plant.
In recent years, pressure on the Lake has increased as population and human activities have intensified through its catchment.
Designated a RAMSAR Wetland of international importance, efforts are being made to sustainably manage the lake. Nevertheless, water abstraction for agriculture, watershed deforestation, diversion of inflow from Malewa and Gilgil Rivers; nutrient, sediment, and chemical runoff into the lake; and invasive species are just some of the many concerns bearing on Naivasha’s future.
Dinner and Overnight in Naivasha at Chui Lodge
Chui Lodge is on a private sanctuary overlooking Lake Naivasha, which hosts white rhino, leopard, buffalo, giraffe, cheetah, Grevy's zebra, oryx and a large number of plains game. The lodge and swimming pool overlook a well-frequented waterhole where guests can see a wide range of wildlife.
Naivasha is the vegetable and flower-growing capital of Kenya and Oserian, which set up the Sanctuary, was one of the first in the business. The lodge takes full advantage of this, serving up delicious meals with produce grown on the farm.
