Water Resources Users Associations in the Mara Basin, Kenya: Pitfalls and Opportunities for Community Based Natural Resources Management

Nathalie Richards,Dorothy Syallow

doi:10.3389/fenvs.2018.00138

Abstract

Water Resources Users Associations (WRUAs) in the Mara Basin, Kenya, are community-based natural resources management institutions set-up following the Integrated Water Resources Management framework. They are the most local participatory governance structure currently in place managing the tributaries of the Mara river. WRUAs are the link between environmental services from the river and livelihoods of local communities. Opportunities and pitfalls for the undertaking of their roles are assessed through the analysis of four WRUAs. Recognition of local knowledge, procedural considerations in the setting-up and carrying out of activities, as well as distributional aspects of the WRUA undertakings are evaluated in the paper. The authors argue that typical issues identified in critical community management literature appear in this case study: elite capture, dependency on donor support, lack of meaningful participation, and difficulties for scaling up initiatives. However, WRUAs have positively impacted environmental services in a localized and indirect manner, opening opportunities in terms of awareness, scaling water conservation initiatives, and conflict resolution. Future development of WRUAs can improve environmental flows particularly if a targeted follow-up is maintained by encouraging leadership and monitoring the relationship between donors, elites, and marginalized community members.

Highlights

The wide embrace and support for participatory, decentralized, and devolved approaches to natural resource management (Community Based Natural Resources Management) is due to the alternative it provides to traditional top-down centralized approaches; it aims to ensure equitable distribution of benefits emanating from natural resources, and the sustainable development of local communities
This paper presents research conducted over 8 years— between 2009 and 2017—with local Water Resources Users Associations (WRUAs) in the Mara basin, responsible for preserving ecosystem services stemming from environmental flows
The impact WRUAs have over environmental flows and livelihoods of local communities within the Mara basin must be thought about in indirect and localized terms, as opposed to generalized to the catchment

Summary

Introduction

The wide embrace and support for participatory, decentralized, and devolved approaches to natural resource management (Community Based Natural Resources Management) is due to the alternative it provides to traditional top-down centralized approaches; it aims to ensure equitable distribution of benefits emanating from natural resources, and the sustainable development of local communities (see Hulme and Murphree, 1999; Kapoor, 2001; Treisman, 2007; Kumasi et al, 2010). The concept of reserve flows offers a holistic view of aquatic ecosystem services and their allocation for various uses; this is done by recognizing their social aspects, such as providing food, water, medicines, building material, support for grazing, as well as resources for cultural and religious activities (King et al, 2000). This vision goes beyond the instrumental view of water as an economic good. In this paper the term “environmental flows” only is used

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