$3m to save Mara Basin, vanishing new wonder of the world

Fresh efforts have been launched to save East Africa’s New Wonder of the World — the Mara River Basin ecosystem — from environmental degradation.

A three-year funding agreement between the East African Community and the United States Agency for International Development is expected to ensure that the Mara River Basin is brought under sound management.

The $3 million grant, provided under USAid Africa’s Trans-boundary Water for Biodiversity in the Mara River Basin initiative, will be channelled through the Lake Victoria Basin Commission.
It was signed two weeks ago.

Under the agreement, EAC’s Lake Victoria Basin Commission is expected to implement the Mara River Basin’s 2009 Biodiversity Action Plan adopted recently by EAC ministers.

The plan is aimed at addressing threats to biodiversity hotspots in the Mara River Basin and identifying the best way to manage such habitats.

Being cross-border in nature, the project’s implementation will involve Kenyan and Tanzanian government agencies.

To facilitate cross-boundary management of natural resources in the Mara basin, the programme has brought together forestry, water, wildlife and agricultural sectors for dialogue and action.

With headwaters in the Mau Forest, the Mara basin watershed extends from Kenya to northern Tanzania, encompassing Serengeti National Park and the Masai Mara Game Reserve.

The Mara River Basin also makes up part of the eastern rim of the larger Lake Victoria basin.

Wildlife anchors Kenyan and Tanzanian tourism.

It relies on the healthy functioning of the two countries’ uniquely integrated and rich ecosystem. The survival of this ecosystem depends on the flow of the Mara River.

Experts warn that the Mara River’s diminishing water resources are a major threat to the ecosystem.

With less water flowing in the Mara, there will, certainly, be less to drink for wildlife and pastoral communities.

This has significantly increased the potential for conflict. And it has lowered the economic returns of tourist related activities.

At the signing ceremony, EAC Deputy Secretary-General in charge of Finance and Administration, Julius Rotich, stressed the importance of the Mara River Basin ecosystem.