“The adoption of these documents marks a new chapter in our WRUA. It is the beginning of proper Governance within the WRUA, transparency, and accountability, as well as working closely with our stakeholders and in particular WRA towards realizing sustainable Water Resource Management and Catchment Protection”.
Ngare Ndare WRUA Chair, Soita Kitonga
The Sub-Catchment Management Plan (SCMP) is a document for managing catchment and water resources at sub-catchment level in an area covering about 150 km2 or more. A SCMP focus on the management and protection of water resources was guided by the Water Act 2016 and WRUA Development Cycle (WDC). They are the tools by which water issues are identified and managed in WRUAs.
Earlier this month, the Mount Kenya Ewaso Water Partnership (MKEWP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the WRA among other partners joined the members of the Ngare Ndare WRUA for a mobilization and sensitization campaign on the SCMP process and to explain how the development of this document would be beneficial to the WRUA, and to its management of water and riparian resources.
Ngare Ndare WRUA is one of the largest in the landscape and covers approximately 275 Km2. The WRUA started as a self-help group to help resolve conflict between various water users. Over time, its membership has grown to comprise of individuals and organizations with diverse water needs, e.g., for trading centers, flower farms, wheat farms, tourism and others. Currently the WRUA has a total of 1210 members from the 28 existing water Projects.
The Ngare Ndare WRUA adopted a new sub-catchment management plan, their new constitution and a memorandum of understanding with the WRA. Members committed to meet and discuss these documents for ten days, which culminated in the adoption of these documents.
The SCMP has sixteen chapters. These chapters help Ngare Ndare to prioritize their challenges and help to understand the relationship between impacts and solutions related to water management challenges.
Issues that guide WRUA management include maintaining water level (s), water quality, water access and use, the riparian environment, livelihoods, and climate change.
We will keep you updated on how these efforts help WRUAs effectively manage their associations and the resources under their mandate.
The implementation of this process was supported by
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