USAid funds conservation of Mara and Lake Victoria

The East African Community has received a $3 million grant to save the Mara and Lake Victoria Basin regions from environmental degradation.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAid) grant will be used for ecosystem conservation which is dependent on the flow of the Mara River.

Livelihoods in Kenya and Tanzania will be affected severely unless East Africans put in place structures and measures that will manage their watershed ecosystems, said Larry Meserve, USAid’s acting African regional director.

The current drought in the country has seen most tributaries to the Mara River drying up thus affecting the basin’s ecosystem.

The low water levels at the river is now threatening the major source of water for wild animals in the Mara and the legendary annual wild beast migration that attracts major tourism to Kenya and Tanzania.

During the signing of the three-year funding agreement signed by the East African Community, Julius Rotich, EAC deputy secretary-general said the grant was timely as climate change was affecting many in the region.

The funding agreement was geared towards strengthening African regional organisations in addressing global development challenges.

The programme has brought together forestry, water, wildlife and agricultural sectors to seek ways of cushioning the region against effects of climate change. The project will be facilitated by the Lake Victoria Basin Commission.