KENYA WATER TOWERS AGENCYCoordinated Environmental Protection

POLICY BRIEFMT. ELGON WATER TOWER

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HIGHLIGHTS

• Transboundary Water Tower lying between Kenya and Uganda.

• The Kenyan side of the Water Tower falls within Bungoma and Trans-Nzoia Counties.• Covers 72,874 ha part of which is Gazzetted as a National Park and another part as

a Forest reserve.• The climate varies from moist to moderate dry.• The average annual rainfall is 1,270 mm with early rains occurring between March -

June-August and latter rains August-October.• Catchment area for the drainage systems of Lake Victoria and Turkana in Kenya and

Kyoga in Uganda.• Supports a rich diversity of flora and fauna and is a habitat to 37 globally threatened

faunal species.• Forest cover increased by 1,697 ha from 1990-2016 translating into a gain of 65 ha

per annum.

Location and sizeMt. Elgon Water Tower is among the five major Water Towers in Kenya and a key water catchment for the Rift valley drainage system. The Water Tower lies between Kenya and Uganda and is named after the Elgeyo tribe, who once lived in huge caves on the southern side of the mountain. It covers 72,874 ha part of which is Gazzetted as a National Park, and another part as a Forest Reserve. The Kenyan side of the Water Tower falls within Bungoma and Trans-Nzoia Counties.

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Fig1: Geographical Location of Mt. Elgon

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Climate and hydrologyThe climate in the Water Tower varies from moist to moderate dry. Rainfall amounts change with altitude where the upper slopes receive relatively heavier rainfall compared to low lying areas. The average annual rainfall in the area is about 1,270 mm with early rains occurring between March-June-August and later rains in August-October.

Fig 2: Monthly rainfall distribution in Mt. Elgon water tower

The ecosystem of Mt. Elgon serves as a catchment for the drainage system of three major lakes including L. Victoria and L. Turkana in Kenya and L. Kyoga in Uganda. The key rivers include the Suam River which becomes the Turkwel River downstream and drains into Lake Turkana. Other rivers in the Water Tower �ow into Lake Victoria. The Nzoia river �ows south through 123 sub-locations to Lake Victoria, while Turkwel runs north crossing 25 sub-locations towards Lake Turkana. Malakisi River �ows westwards, providing water to 18 sub-locations in Kenya before entering Uganda.

5Fig 3: River �ow in Little Nzoia water tower

Fig 2: Rivers System of Mt. Elgon

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Fig 4: River �ows in selected rivers within the water tower

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Plant and animal LifeMt. Elgon region is one of the most important biodiversity areas supporting a rich diversityof �ora, occupying altitudinal niches in the moorlands of the crater and the montane forests on its slopes. It is home to endemic tree species, Olea capensis (Elgon teak), valued for carpentry. CIFOR (2015) categorized vegetation of Mt. Elgon into 4 broad classes;

(i) a community of mixed montage forest below 2500 m;(ii) a broad belt of bamboo and and low canopy montane forest between 2500m

and 3000m;(iii) a zone of high montane heath from 3000m to 3500m;(iv) high moorland community above 3500m

Majority of plant species are between 2000 and 3500 meters above sea level and includes several endemic species.

Vegetation cover within the Water Tower

Mt. Elgon Water Tower is home to 37 globally threatened species of which 22 are mammals,2 insects and 13 bird species (Mwaura 2011). These species composition include cave elephants, giant forest hog, oribi, Rothschild gira�e, turacos, red-fronted parrots, leopards, waterbuck, bushbuck duiker, black and white colobus monkey and blue monkey wild animals found in the Water Tower include antelope, monkeys, baboons, wild rabbit, bufaloes, bees, wild pigs, porcupine, water buck, impala, warthog, gazelle, elephant, hyenas, fox, snakes and cheetah. It is an important Bird Area (IBA) with 300 bird species

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including 40 restricted range species. Also, 56 of the 87 Afrotropical highlands biome species are found in the area, notably the Moorland Francolin Moustached Green Tinker bird and Alpine Chat.

Waterbuck, bu�aloes, crested cranes and Rothschild gira�e

Land use and Land cover

LULC results of Mt. Elgon Water Tower showed that the dominant land cover within the Gazzetted forest boundary in 2016 was forestland occupying 72.5% of the Gazzetted area followed by cropland with 12.1%. The dominant land cover within the 5 km bu�er zone was cropland covering an area of 49,588 ha (53%) followed by forest land with 23,391 ha (25%).

Land use and Land cover trends

In the Gazzetted area, forestland was the dominant land cover between 1990-2016 and occupied 56,662 ha in 1990 which increased by 7% to 60,660 in 2000 followed by 1.4% reduction to 59, 795 ha by 2016. Cropland increased by 3% between1990-1995 from 6,885 to 7,103 ha, followed by a 23% reduction between 1995-2000 indicating intensi�cation of conservation e�ort. However, cropland showed a 23% increase from 2000-2016.

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Fig 5: Landcover changes within the gazetted forest boundary

For the bu�er zone, cropland was the dominant land cover and increased by 6% from 38,331 to 40,743 ha between 1990-2000, followed by gradual decrease of 4.7 and 9.3% between 2000-2010 and 2010-2016 periods respectively. Forestland increased gradually between 1995-2016 by 15.3% from 14,196 ha in 1990 to 16,667 ha in 2016.

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Fig 6: Landcover changes within 5km bu�er of the water tower

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Fig 3: Land Use and Land Cover Trends in Mt. Elgon

Socio-Economic activities and livelihoodsThe Water Tower traverses Trans-Nzoia and Bungoma Counties with a combined total of 30 locations. According to the 2009 Housing and Population Census, Water Tower had a total population of 420,798 persons with Kibingei, Saboi and Machewa having the highest number of persons while Elgon and Namorio locations with the lowest.

The community around Mt Elgon ecosystem was cosmopolitan with major tribes being Luhya, Teso and Sabaots. Other tribes include; Kalenjin, Kikuyu, Turkana, Kisii, Luo, and some immigrants from Uganda.

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The livelihood of local people is mainly subsistence agriculture. Nearly 80% of the residents in the region were directly dependent on land through low-input subsistence agriculture or direct extraction natural resources (RoU 2013). Most households practiced crop farming and livestock rearing. Crops grown include bananas, maize, tea, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, coffee, vegetables, millet, sweet potatoes, sorghum and sugarcane.

Crop cultivation around the Water Tower

Total economic valuationMt. Elgon Water Tower offers a variety of ecosystem goods and services with direct andindirect benefits to the local, regional, national and international communities due to itstransboundary nature.

The estimated annual monetary value of the ecosystem goods and services from the Water Tower was KES 115 billion (USD 1.15 billion). Carbon sequestration as a regulatory service accounted for KES 68 billion while water as a provisioning service was valued at KES 37million and aggregate bequest values at KES 87 million. Regulating services accounted for the highest proportion (95%) of the TEV followed by provisioning services at 4%.

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Fig 4: Proportion of TEV Accounted for by Di�erent Categories of Ecosystem Goods and Services in Mt. Elgon

Threats • Encroachment • Illegal logging of endangered trees species for Timber and charcoal burning• Human Wildlife Con�icts and Delayed Compensation• Political Interference• Limited Financial Resources• Poor Coordination of Relevant Stakeholders In Conservation• Poor Enforcement of Policies• Lack of awareness

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Incidences of illegal logging

Recommendations • Enforcement of Existing laws and regulations• Conservation of critical water catchments areas and wetlands• Promotion of Alternative Livelihood Improvement Programs• Promotion of agro forestry (Farm Forestry)• Awareness creation• Proper demarcation of Water Tower boundaries• Promotion of land adjudication• Introduction and support of viable alternative sources of livelihoods

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Stakeholders

Government Non-Governmental

Kenya Forest Services (KFS) Community Forest Associations (CFAs)

Kenya Forestry research Institute(KEFRI)Water Resource Users Associations (WRUAs)

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) World Vision

National Environmental ManagementAuthority (NEMA)

Kenya Forest Working Group

County Governments of Trans-Nzoia and Bungoma

Nature Kenya

Ministry of internal security andnational coordination

National Museums of Kenya

Water Resource Authority (WRA)

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Kenya Water Towers Agency

15th

Floor, NHIF Building, Ragati RoadP.O.BOX 42903-00100, NAIROBI

Tel: 020-2711437Greenline: 0748 222 222Email: info@kwta.go.ke

Website: www.kwta.go.ke

@WaterTowersKe