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Home >
Background >
Problems: Photos
& Examples
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 Severe
flooding can cause death and hardship for the
people and livestock of the Baringo lowlands
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Case
Example: William Ngochila's house and land were ruined by the severe flooding of Salabani Sub-Location in 2003. His newly planted private field was washed away and his house left knee deep in mud after the water finally subsided. Most of his neighbours were also affected and forced to move from their homes. The 2003 flooding in Salabani was caused when the Ndau River broke its banks and changed its course due to flash flooding. The Kenyan Government sent famine relief and mosquito nets to the area in an effort to prevent an outbreak of malaria, but many displaced families suffered from illness as well as losing property and livestock. The main road to Baringo was also washed away and still awaits repair, leaving people stranded on either side of the river during heavy rains.
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 Deep
erosion
gullies are a common feature of the Barigno lowlands
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Severe
Erosion: Severe gullies continue to spread across the flat and degraded lowlands of Baringo. Gullies can reach up to 20 ft., increasing in both depth and length during the rains and high intensity storms. Valuable top soil is washed away every year, with tonnes of silt deposited into Lake Baringo, the most important source of fresh water in the region. Increasing population pressure, deforestation, overgrazing, livestock trampling, and diminished vegetation are all causes of the increasing erosion in Baringo. The affects of erosion are many: trees are up rooted, river banks collapse and rivers change course, severe dust storms are common place, with the environment becoming more and more degraded and less productive or useful.
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 Emaciated
cattle have to travel long distances in search of forage
and water in the dry season
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Emaciated Cattle: The pressure of increased populations and the breakdown of traditional resource management systems have exacerbated the impact of droughts and dry seasons in the Baringo lowlands. Well sustained dry season grazing reserves are becoming scarcer and are increasingly overgrazed in times of climatic stress. During droughts and prolonged dry seasons, emaciated cattle have to travel large distances in search of forage and water. Many cattle die on these long journeys. Loss of livestock, still very much the mainstay of the local economy, has disastrous consequences for individual families and the community as a whole.
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 Overgrazing
of swamps by Lake Baringo is threatening the ecosystem
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Overgrazed
Lakeshore Swamps: The swamps that encircle parts of Lake Baringo are usually rich ecosystems abundant with diverse flora and fauna. Traditionally used for dry season grazing these swamps were regarded by the local people as vital communal grazing reserves in times of drought stress. As resources continue to diminish, the swamps are utilised almost consistently to sustain livestock. In an extended dry season or drought the swamps can be heavily overgrazed and have in places begun to dry up. This over utilisation is not only reducing what remains of a valuable grazing resource, but is also having particularly detrimental effects on the people of the basin and the Lake Baringo ecosystem as a whole.
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