- Kenya’s Lake Nakuru is in danger of losing its famous pink shores to environmental degradation and pollution from the surrounding people and industries.
- Deforestation in the Mau for settlements and agriculture are also affecting the biodiversity of Lake Nakuru
- Nakuru town’s population is continually rising; thus, the Lakes basin is increasingly heavily settled, extensively cultivated, and rapidly urbanizing.
By Nuru Ahmed.
There were times when most lakes and rivers in Kenya were flowing with clean water that was sustainably taken for domestic use. But now the case is different. Several factors including the rapid population growth and deforestation around these water bodies are causing a lot of threats to their biodiversity. One of such water bodies, almost on its deathbed, is Lake Nakuru.
“I was born and brought up in Molo (close to Lake Nakuru), we always woke up to chilly drizzling mornings that would go on till the afternoon hours. This now is history, the area is now dusty, windy, and with no water. The forest was cut down in a frenzy for the timber factories all over,” said Brain Kariuki, a resident of Shabab in Nakuru.
Lake Nakuru is home to some of the world’s most majestic wildlife: Lions, Rhinos, Zebras, Hippos, and hundreds of bird species, including Flamingos that famously blush the water pink when they gather in numbers.