How community initiative breathed new life into Olbolossat Forest and lake

At Olbolossat Forest in Nyandarua County, which is about about 30 kilometres from Lake Olbolossat, a community is reaping the rewards of a promising forest adaptation programme designed with sustainability in mind.

In Gikingi section of the forest, a vibrant group of 100 farmers is enjoying Kikuyu traditional melodies under the leadership of soloist Faith Wairimu as they plant trees. 

This exercise started at 7am and takes about two hours in the community section of the forest. Afterwards, participants tend to individual plots allocated to them under the same programme.

'Black river'

Approximately 20 metres from the planting site flows River Ruiru, historically known as the ‘black river,’ but now nicknamed ‘Rumaga’, or ‘the river that dries up,’due to its reduction to a seasonal stream. 

This river is one of five that originate from Olbolossat Forest, meandering 30 kilometres to feed Lake Olbolossat. The community’s efforts to rehabilitate and protect the forest have led to a remarkable increase in the lake's water levels, which had plummeted to less than 10 per cent capacity last year.

Now the river is swelling with water, creating picturesque islands adorned with natural vegetation as it flows 10 kilometres from Nyandarua to Laikipia before joining the Ngare-Nyiro River and returning to Nyandarua to nourish Lake Olbolossat. 

Alongside Ruiru, the other four rivers revitalised by this community initiative under the Kenya Forest and Copicad, a Nyandarua-based environmental conservation organisation, are Simba, Kahiga, Ngare-Naro, and Nyakariang’a.

These rivers are giving Lake Olbolossat a new lease of life, especially as its primary sources of water at Aberdare Forest.

“The sustainable approach taken by Copicad and the resulting benefits of environmental conservation have motivated the local community to rehabilitate the forest.

“We previously struggled to access clean water for domestic use and livestock when River Kahiga dried up. However, with our conservation efforts, the river now provides very clean water. During prolonged droughts, we have also initiated irrigation projects,” Ms Wairimu said.

To ensure the forest is protected as the trees mature, Copicad is distributing avocado seedlings to the community as a sustainable income-generating initiative. 

“This way, no one will feel compelled to raid the forest for charcoal, fuel, or timber; when they have alternative sources of income,” she added.

Copicad has adopted 150 hectares of the forest for conservation, earning recognition for its successful initiative. President William Ruto honoured the organisation during the Mashujaa celebrations in Kwale County, awarding director Thomas Macharia the Environment Conservation Award.

Mr Macharia notes that 5,000 community members are actively involved in the forest conservation efforts and are also beneficiaries of the avocado programme targeted for the export market.

“We are collaborating with exporters and we plan to establish an avocado farmers' cooperative society within two years when the fruits are ready for harvest,” he explained.

Launched in 2017, the initiative has seen trees planted over the years flourish, allowing farmers to vacate land once the trees mature. The programme entails allocating farmers specific parcels of land where they receive indigenous tree seedlings to plant and nurture alongside their crops. Once the trees reach a sufficient size, the farmers leave the land to focus on their crops.

More than 500,000 trees have already been planted in the adopted forest area and an additional 450,000 seedlings distributed to farmers and schools for planting this year. 

Mr Macharia explains that the primary objective has already been achieved: increasing the volume of clean water from the source to feed Lake Olbolossat, which serves Nyandarua, Laikipia, Isiolo, Meru and Wajir counties. 

The conservation of the lake is vital for birdlife, generates job opportunities at upcoming hotels around the lake, and supports families that depend on fishing, with more than five million people relying on the lake.

“With this arrangement, the tree survival rate exceeds 90 per cent, which is why the rivers have been rejuvenated,” Mr Macharia adds.

Samuel Muigai, a community team leader and beneficiary of the conservation efforts, explains that it was a challenging journey that began with mobilising local leaders and elders in the area.

“The leaders were identified based on the targeted river catchment areas. The community has embraced the conservation initiative. In addition to avocados and other fruit trees, we are lobbying for an additional 100,000 indigenous tree seedlings for planting in the forest. Schools and other public areas also benefit from the programme through indigenous tree seedlings and avocado plants. We are now looking for more avocado seedlings for schools as the management can harvest the trees once they mature,” said Mr Muigai.

Conservationist Kelvin Wanyika said that while the revival of the five rivers is promising, efforts must be made to stop illegal farming in the Aberdare Forest in order to sustain the large water body - Lake Olbolossat - which covers 43.3 square kilometres.

“We don’t have enough water flowing from the Aberdare Forest. The five rivers revived under the Copicad initiative supply water downstream to Lake Olbolossat. 

"The abstraction - diverting water from a river for use in agriculture- must be halted, and we need a policy change regarding how individuals are licensed to engage in farming in the Aberdare Forest and surrounding catchment areas,” Mr Wanyika sad.

[email protected]