LAKE VICTORIA BASIN

Large-scale irrigation and industrial activities, such as mining along the sprawling Mara Basin, have led to high rates of water extraction. Increased forest clearance and cultivation in the upper catchment of the Mau uplands have progressively led to excessive sedimentation loads and altered the hydrography of the Mara River – the only source of drinking water for migratory wildlife during the dry season in August and September in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem (UNEP 2009). Seasonal floods and droughts have become more frequent and extreme, making the Mara River water flow more unpredictable over the past few years. The Mara River is not large enough to cope with the ever- increasing activities, which will severely degrade the riverine ecosystem and eventually disrupt the ecosystem services that support the local population, livestock and wildlife. This, in turn, will impact on the overall Basin economy. In the worst-case scenario, it could

Blue wildebeest in the Serengeti

lead to the collapse of the wildebeest migration that sustains the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, with devastating consequences for the tourism industry (UNEP 2009).

Great wildebeest migration, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

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