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| The Great Ruaha river, Tanzania |
The Great Ruaha River covers a vast area and harbours an abundance of wildlife. It is a region of distinct contrasts, most notably, in access to and availability of water.
Pressure for water and land
In the wet season large areas are completely immersed in water, but come the dry season, the earth becomes hard and cracked. The people and wildlife living in the area have grown to adapt to these changes. However, growth in the human population, largely through migration into the area, has led to increased pressures on natural resources - land and water - for agriculture, livestock keeping, deforestation, fishing and other forms of economic activities. These pressures have put an enormous strain on the ecological integrity of the river.
Drought
The Great Ruaha River used to flow throughout the year, but since the mid 1990's it has become seasonal, with the amount of water in the river declining increasingly during the dry season leading to low flows or complete drying. The drying of the river has had major impacts on biodiversity and people's lives and livelihoods within the Great Ruaha catchment.
The place
The Great Ruaha River is the chief tributary of the Rufiji River in south-central Tanzania, covering an area of about 84,000 km2 (twice the size of Switzerland).
It rises in the Kipengere Mountains and flows through the Usangu plains, a critically important region in Tanzania for irrigated agriculture (mostly rice), and then into the adjacent Usangu wetland and along the eastern boundary of the Ruaha National Park, eventually reaching the Mtera reservoir, then the Kidatu dam. After Kidatu, the river continues as the Rufiji, southwards, through lowland coastal forests before forming the Rufiji delta floodplains and entering the Indian Ocean.
The people
Over six million people live in the catchment area. They are dependent on the river for drinking water, food (fish and irrigated agriculture) and livelihoods.
The Great Ruaha is sometimes referred to as the bread basket of Tanzania as the region, as its fertile soils, are used for supporting agriculture in two of the four most productive regions in Tanzania. About 90% of the population living in the basin consider farming as their main source of income, growing crops such as paddy, maize, beans, vegetables, groundnuts, fruits, millet and potatoes. About 60% of the farmers cultivate paddy within catchment.
Despite this productivity many of the people living in the catchment are economically poor.
The species
The Great Ruaha catchment is home to a variety of mammals including giraffe, zebra, elephants, hippopotamus, African wild dog, cheetah, leopard, and lion with scattered populations elsewhere in the catchment. The region also has a rich diversity of bird species, in particular in the Usangu wetlands. Overall, the Usangu plains contain some of the highest concentrations of waterfowl in Tanzania - with over 400 bird species recorded, including two species endemic to Tanzania - the Ashy starling and yellow-collared lovebird. In addition, large congregations of wetland birds migrate to the area twice a year.
WWF, delivering results in partnership
In 2006, WWF and its partners measured significant progress towards our vision for the Great Ruaha when a large section of the river flowed throughout the year for the first time in five years. Hydrology data from Nyaruhanga hydrometric station (located below the main rice irrigation area) in the upper catchment indicated that a minimum of one cumec was maintained in the river at the peak of dry season, despite the drought experienced in 2006. Preliminary analysis suggests that further improvements in river flows have been achieved in 2007.
This success is a result of collaborative efforts between WWF, its partners at local, district and national levels to improve management of water and natural resources in the Great Ruaha River catchment, through a variety of measures including:
- facilitating and developing the capacity and participation of the community and district in water resource management - empowering communities to manage their water resources in a more equitable way - through the establishment of 28 Water User Associations; District Facilitation Teams for each of the eight Districts in the catchment; a Catchment Committee which has representation and functions for the entire Great Ruaha River catchment; and by strengthening the Rufiji Basin Water Office;
- reducing withdrawals for irrigation, especially in the dry season;
- controlling the construction of illegal water abstraction infrastructures in the catchment;
- training farmers in more effective water use in rice production by improving agronomic practices;
- supporting the development of alternative livelihoods, away from agriculture, while reducing impacts on water and natural resources (e.g. beekeeping, batik dying, soap making); and
- developing alternative water sources.
This programme receives funding from the European Union. |
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WWF-UK > Research > Places > Africa > Ruaha freshwater – Tanzania
