Ecology and Management of Lake Naivasha, Kenya, in Relation to Climatic Change, Alien Species' Introductions, and Agricultural Development

Abstract

Lake Naivasha, a shallow freshwater lake in the Eastern Rift Valley chain of Kenya (Fig. 1), is situated at an altitude of around 1,890 m approximately 100 km north-west of Nairobi. It has always been an important ecological site to Kenya, because of the diversity of flora and fauna in the range of vegetation-zones associated with the Lake and its hinterland, which is greater than that of other Rift Valley lakes (Lincer et al., 1981). This importance has been maintained even though the Lake has no statutory protection or reserve status.