Flamingos in Lake Nakuru
By: Brenda Holo
With rise of population in Nakuru, flora and fauna in Lake Nakuru, a protected wetland and A UNESCO World Heritage Site may soon begin to perish or migrate because of increasing levels of pollution from untreated sewage and industrial waste. Already thousands of flamingos have migrated to other areas.
The Lake Nakuru is classified as UNESCO’s World Heritage national sites and is especially prized for its birdlife. This is highlighted by the United Nations body, which denotes the lake as, “the single most important foraging site for the lesser Flamingo anywhere,” with hundreds of thousands of lesser Flamingos moving in it.
Lake Nakuru was the first site in Kenya to become protected under the RAMSAR Convention. The lake has been named and protected over the years by a variety of conservation acts. It was named a bird sanctuary in 1960, a national park in 1967, a Rhino Sanctuary in 1978, the first Kenyan RAMSAR site in 1999, a critical bird area in 1999, a world-class national park in 2005, and an international bird sanctuary in 2009.
The lake is famous for its flocks of Flamingo, which literally turns its shores pink. The elegant birds are the main attraction for tourists visiting the surrounding Lake Nakuru National Game Park. But the site, which provides tourists with one of Kenya’s best-known images, is on the epicenter of death.
The lake is on the verge of disappearing due to sewage from Nakuru Town and residential areas that is not effectively recycled, hence effluent flowing into the Lake. This could explain the diminishing numbers of flamingos that once dotted the shoverimba lines.
Hence, Lake Nakuru is in danger of losing its famous pink shores to environmental degradation and pollution from the surrounding people and industries
The situation is dire and needs to be addressed before the lake, which is also a birds haven becomes a mere central park.
With increasing population is increased water use. Essentially so much waste water getting flashed down the toilets is getting into the lake, whether treated or not. This calls for concerted efforts to safeguard Lake Nakuru.
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