Case Study: Lake Naivasha - the second largest freshwater lake in Kenya
Short description
Lake Naivasha harbors an unique flora and fauna and has been declared a “wetland of international importance” under the Ramsar convention. Horticultural industry represents the main economic activity in the lake area, accompanied by tourism and fishing.
Lake Naivasha is the second largest freshwater lake in Kenya. As horticulture is quite laborintensive and therefore provides employment opportunities, the population of the town of Naivasha and the surrounding area lake hinterland has increased fifty-fold over the past three decades. As most settlements have only rudimentary waste treatment, and the shoreline is routinely used for laundry, the lake is not only polluted by pesticide residues and heavy metals, but also by a broad range of other organic pollutants. However, state-of-the-art chemical monitoring programs are completely absent.