Re: Observations in Lake Naivasha

Dear Gladys; So sorry to hear of your disappointing visit to Naivasha last weekend, but it is an all too familiar a story now. The effects of an unregulated fishing industry has had a truly disastrous impact on all water birds there, and one really wonders what the future holds for Naivasha.

Our lake of international importance now faces an uncertain future, and it could well become an environmental disaster. Proliferating unplanned settlements and land conversions within the Ramsar site continue to negatively impact the already fragile ecosystem owing to the lack of development planning procedures. Although the law is clear on many issues, an overall lack of enforcement renders existing statutes ineffective. Without any meaningful law enforcement, this ecosystem with its finite resources cannot sustain for much longer the ever-increasing pressures from a population increasing at over 3% per annum.

Given that the government has ear-marked Naivasha District for further development, increased geothermal power and for the establishment of several industrial estates, the question therefore remains: Who in Government is willing to take responsibility and care sufficiently to ensure a co-ordinated effort is implemented that restores the lakes's biodiversity heritage and provides a better environmental platform for sustaining the activities that occur around the lake both now and in the future. Failure to do this could result in not just continued environmental damage, but also a sharp decline in the economic wellbeing of everyone living and working there.