Effects of deforestation on water resources: Integrating science and community perspectives in the Sondu-Miriu River Basin, Kenya

Abstract

Rivers play a major role as sources of water for both domestic and industrial use in many parts around the world. In developing countries, where infrastructure for water supply has not been fully developed, rivers provide a direct source of water for domestic use with minimal or no treatment at all. For water scarce countries, including Kenya (WRI, 2007), this means that water catchment areas should be managed properly so as to retain their capacity to supply good quality water all year round. Thus, understanding the possible consequences of land use and land cover changes on water resources is a requisite for better water resources management. However, this is not to be as many river catchments are undergoing rapid change mediated by human encroachment. Africa boosts over 4 million first-order streams that were originally in forested catchments. However, loss of indigenous forests and their subsequent conversion to agricultural use in East Africa, for example, is one of the major threats to surface water quality (FAO, 2010). Major water catchment areas in Kenya have lost their forest cover over the years with the closed canopy forest cover currently standing at a paltry 2.0%(The World Bank, 2007). Most of these forests are montane forests and they constitute the nation’s water towers. The Mau Forest Complex, the most important of them, is the source of many rivers draining the Kenyan side of the Lake Victoria basin, with other rivers draining into Lakes Nakuru, Baringo and Natron. The Mau Forest Complex has witnessed considerable land use and land cover changes.