Water Resource Use Conflicts And Implications For Sustainable Livelihoods In The Ngare Ndare Catchment, North-Central Kenya

ABSTRACT

Ngare Ndare sub-catchment is located in the Ewaso Ngiro North Basin. The sub-catchment was purposively selected since it is hardest hit by conflicts that have persisted for a long period between diverse water users. The trans-boundary nature of water resource also necessitated the catchment approach as opposed to administrative units. The objectives of this study were to (i) Establish the causes, nature and magnitude of water resource use conflicts in Ngare Ndare sub-catchment, (ii) Establish the impact of these conflicts on community livelihoods, (iii) Assess the effectiveness of the existing mechanisms of resolving water resource use conflicts within the sub-catchment, (iv) Identify and recommend ways of managing water resources sustainably in the sub-catchment. The sub-catchment was divided into upstream, middle stream and downstream zones based on the altitude, agro ecological zones and location on the Ngare Ndare drainage sub-basin. The household was used as the sampling unit and each of these three zones produced a sample of 40 households to make a total sample of 120 households. Key informant interviews were also used. The research employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods as well Geographic Information System (GIS) for spatial analysis using ArcGIS. It also relied on both secondary and primary data sources. Tools used to gather primary data included questionnaire, Key Informant Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, Transect walks and Direct Field Observation (DFO). Results emanating from the study indicates that the enormous demand for the scarce water resource in this multi-stakeholder society is the major cause of conflicts. The conflicts are more intense during the prolonged dry spells and droughts, a situation that has now been exacerbated by the climate change phenomenon. The study also found out that conflicts occur primarily between different categories of stakeholders including the local/project level conflicts, between down and upstream users, between water users and the authorities, and also between humans and wildlife. The most commonly experienced conflicts occur between different water projects as well as between downstream and upstream users. The conflicts magnitude ranges from mere quarrels, tension to full scale armed conflicts that result in the loss of lives and property. The conflicts have had varied impact on local livelihoods. The most common effects of these conflicts according to the residents has been a decline in disposable income, decline in crop production, decline in livestock production and poor physical health in that order. These primary effects normally lead to other undesirable secondary effects, including social and family disintegration, psychological stress and high crime rates including cattle rustling and banditry. To reverse this trend, the study recommends the following remedial measures: (i) Strengthening Ngare Ndare River Water Users Association (RWUA), (ii) capacity building Water Users Associations (WUAs) such as community water projects, (iii) promoting rain water harvesting, (iv) promoting water efficient technologies (v) planting drought tolerant and early maturing crops and (vi) rehabilitating degraded catchment areas and forests.