Threats to the Nyando Wetland.
All over the world, wetlands are hot spots of biodiversity and as a result they supply a plethora of goods and services to people living within them and in their adjoining areas. As a consequence, increased human pressure pose the greatest challenge to the well-being of wetlands, with Climate Change and nutrient pollution becoming increasingly important. Globally, the processes that impact on wetlands fall into five main categories that include the loss of wetland area, changes to the water regime, changes in water quality, overexploitation of wetland resources and introductions of alien species. Overall, the underlying threat to wetlands is lack of recognition of the importance of wetlands and the roles they play in national economies and indigenous peoples’ livelihoods. Wetlands form a significant component of the land area; covering around 6% of the land area. However, many of the wetlands have been degraded because of a combination of socioeconomic factors and lack of awareness compounded by lack of frameworks and guidelines for wetland conservation and management. In the Nyando Wetland, major threats include encroachment by people and animals for agriculture, settlement and grazing, overharvesting of papyrus, droughts, fire (burning), soil erosion in the uplands that cause siltation in the wetlands, invasion by alien species such as Mimosa pudica and water hyacinth Eichornia crassipes, and resource use conflicts. These threats in the Nyando Wetland are a result of many past and ongoing human activities, both within and outside the wetland area, especially in the upper catchments of streams and rivers draining into the wetland. Many activities are also planned in the basins of rivers that supply water into the wetland, including the Magwagwa Dam on the Sondu-Miriu River for the supply of water for irrigation and a dam planned for on the Nyando River to control floods. These projects are a threat to the well being of the wetland and should be planned while taking care of the negative impacts they may pose to the wetland and other fragile ecosystems in the region.
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Book Section biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Kenya Disaster Concern & VIRED International & UNDP
2012
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| Subjects: | Wetlands, Climatic changes, Introduced species, Soil erosion, Eichornia crassipes, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1834/7415 |
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| Summary: | All over the world, wetlands are hot spots of biodiversity and as a result they supply a plethora of goods and services to people living within them and in their adjoining areas. As a consequence, increased human pressure pose the greatest challenge to the well-being of wetlands, with Climate Change and nutrient pollution becoming increasingly important. Globally, the processes that impact on wetlands fall into five main categories that include the loss of wetland area, changes to the water regime, changes in water quality, overexploitation of wetland resources and introductions of alien species. Overall, the underlying threat to wetlands is lack of recognition of the importance of wetlands and the roles they play in national economies and indigenous peoples’ livelihoods. Wetlands form a significant component of the land area; covering around 6% of the land area. However, many of the wetlands have been degraded because of a combination of socioeconomic factors and lack of awareness compounded by lack of frameworks and guidelines for wetland conservation and management. In the Nyando Wetland, major threats include encroachment by people and animals for agriculture, settlement and grazing, overharvesting of papyrus, droughts, fire (burning), soil erosion in the uplands that cause siltation in the wetlands, invasion by alien species such as Mimosa pudica and water hyacinth Eichornia crassipes, and resource use conflicts. These threats in the Nyando Wetland are a result of many past and ongoing human activities, both within and outside the wetland area, especially in the upper catchments of streams and rivers draining into the wetland. Many activities are also planned in the basins of rivers that supply water into the wetland, including the Magwagwa Dam on the Sondu-Miriu River for the supply of water for irrigation and a dam planned for on the Nyando River to control floods. These projects are a threat to the well being of the wetland and should be planned while taking care of the negative impacts they may pose to the wetland and other fragile ecosystems in the region. |
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