EWASO NGIRO RIVER

Water helps to restore a more natural flow regime to rivers,creeks and wetlands.Growing demand for river water has seen an overall reduction in the amount of water available to support the food plain habitats.Water for the environment is used for plants or animals by providing the right amount of water for them to feed ,breed and grow,it is critical to support the health of rivers and wetlands and in doing so support the communities that rely on them.

Picture 1 shows the Ewaso Ngiro river at Gotu bridge and the second picture is the same river about 80km downstream at Merti, as you go further north the river dries up due to the persistent drought and uncontrolled human activities upstream .As you drive downstream you encounter women with flocks of donkeys walking for kilometers to fetch water from the river ,this is coupled by emaciated cows walking for over 40kms to access water from the same stressed drying river,you can tell from the faces of herders following these livestock that distress is calling.Looking at your smart phone your temperatures are between 33 and 36 degrees celcius ,goats and sheeps seem to struggle to survive with their conditions deteriorating day by day. Lamented an elder we carried to a meeting in our car that if the situation continues then two months from now they will not have any livestock left,their economy will be dead and poverty will set in.

At Merti scooping of sand from the dry river is evidence where herders struggle applying their skills to ensure their livestock drink water using polythene bags as survival tactic.