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 The Mara River Basin is a trans-boundary
basin shared between Kenya and Tanzania, and is also part of the larger
Nile Basin that is shared by nine countries. Several rivers and springs
form the Mara River catchment basin, including five principal
tributaries. The Mara River Basin can be divided into four distinct
physical and/or land-use sections, mainly on the basis of location
along the river. The upper catchment comprises two of these sections:
first, the forested Mau Escarpment and second, a section characterized
by large-scale agricultural farms. Some of the large-scale agricultural
farms are irrigated using water from the Mara River. The Mara River
then runs through the third section, which is open savannah grassland
protected by the Masai Mara Reserve on the Kenyan side and the Serengeti
National Park on the Tanzanian side, two important and renowned
protected areas in the region. The flood plains comprise the fourth
section and are located in Tanzania where the Mara River discharges
into Lake Victoria. High human and livestock population densities and
subsistence agriculture characterize this section.
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Stakeholders in the Mara River Basin are
increasingly facing water shortages as well as problems with poor water
quality and environmental degradation. Important threats include loss
of native forest cover in the upper parts of the catchment and along
rivers, unsustainable agricultural expansion and intensification
(including irrigation), human population growth, poorly planned tourist
facilities, and water pollution and abstractions by industries and
urban settlements. The situation is exacerbated by a failure of local,
national and regional legislation and a lack of institutional
structures to address water resource issues. These problems have
resulted in decreasing water supplies, competition for and conflicts
over available water, inappropriate and poorly planned land use, and
ineffective water resource management systems in the two countries.
These problems have direct impacts on local people’s incomes, health, food
security, natural resources and ultimately on the Masai Mara Reserve
and Serengeti National Park conservation areas
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Countries: Kenya & Tanzania
Catchment Area: ~13,750 km2; 65% in Kenya and 35% in Tanzania
Rainfall: 1400 mm/year in the Mau Escarpment to 500-700 mm/year in the dry plains of NW Tanzania
Elevation Range: 3000 m asl to 1300 m asl
Length: ~395 km
Source: Mau forest complex, Kenya
Outlet: Lake Victoria at Musoma, Tanzania
Main Tributaries:
Nyangores River, Amala River,
Sand River,
Talek River,
Borogonja River
Larger Basin: Nile Basin
Land Uses
Forests: Eastern and Southwestern Mau, Ol-pusimoru, Chepalangu, Transmara; Conservation areas:
Masai-Mara National Reserve in Kenya,
Serengeti National Park in Tanzania; Large-scale agriculture: tea, maize, wheat, cotton, sugarcane, rice; Rainfed agriculture: maize, beans, other cereals, root crops, fruit, vegetables, tea, coffee; Livestock: cattle, goat, sheep, poultry; Industrial: logging, tourism, gold mining, urban business and trade ; Aquaculture: tilapia
Districts:
Kenya: Nakuru, Narok, TransMara, Kericho, Bomet; Tanzania: Tarime, Serengeti, Musoma
Cultures: Ogiek, Kipsigis,
Kikuyu, Massai, Wakurya, Wajaluo, Wajita
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