Flower growing firms’ contribution to community water use management in Naivasha Sub County, Kenya

Abstract

Water is a life necessity and is central to various social, economic and environmental aspects such as sanitation, health, economic growth, species protection, food etc. Companies require water for their production activities and can only thrive where the social, environmental and economic dimensions are well facilitated. Healthy and vibrant communities and environments cannot exist if water management is neglected. In a period of growing environmental concerns, collaborating and working collectively among entities in public sector, private sector and community based organizations to solve environmental problems seems more viable than ever. Naivasha area portrays an interesting case consisting of different formal and informal institutions as it has a long history of formal regulations as well as of self-organized water user groups all aimed at addressing sustainability in the use of water resources. With the observed lax on the authorities end in regulating the utilization of water resources among the diverse users, this study attempted to draw out the role played by flower growing firms in conjunction with the resident communities by examining how their activities affect the water resources available and the counter measures put in place to ensure availability of the resource for both mentioned stakeholders. The study was conducted among four wards in Naivasha Sub-County with the target population and subsequent sample size encompassing both flower growing firms and the residents inhabiting the selected areas. Majority of the residents interviewed confirmed having access to piped water. It was noted that the flower farms relied more on Lake Naivasha and ground water sources in the form of boreholes for their water requirements and made use of constructed wetlands for wastewater disposal and treatment to a larger extent. Waste water disposal systems were however not well developed among the resident communities with unrestricted disposal noted, leading to contamination of the surroundings. Whilst the local authorities confirmed efforts made by the flower growing firms in waste water disposal were efficient, their contribution to local water management efforts was noted to be low with their initiatives barely recognized by the surrounding communities. The study recommended use of low cost techniques among the resident communities in waste water disposal and uptake of well-designed corporate social responsibility codes and standards by the flower growing firms to manage water abstraction while assisting the surrounding communities in their water use management efforts.