Climate Variability and Water Resources Degradation in Kenya: Improving Water Resources Development and Management

Abstract

“(Kenya’s) storage capacity is gradually being reduced by siltation and destructive natural calamities, such as the heavy floods of the El Nino rains, as well as inadequate application of conservation measures. Considering all the factors governing the availability and accessibility of water resources, it is clear that improvement in the management of water resources is a top priority in our country”. Although several studies have been conducted in recent years on Kenyan water resources development and management, none has specifically focused on the economic implications of water resource management or mismanagement. This report attempts to fill that gap for two of the most important water-related issues facing the country – the effects of climate variability and the steady degradation of the nation’s water resources. The study reported here concluded that the El Nino-La Nina episode from 1997-2000 cost the country Ksh 290 billion (about 14 percent of GDP during that period)....