Water Resource Users Association for the management of water resources in a river sub-catchment. (Кения)

WRUA are associations of water users and riparian land owners who have associated for the purposes of cooperatively sharing, managing and conserving a common water resource.

Aims / objectives: The overall objective is to facilitate everybody in the river sub-catchment with sufficient and good quality water supply even during dry spells. Further objectives are to conserve the water catchment, to manage the resources properly, to preserve riverine forests and the riparian ecosystem, stop pollution and establish water use rules that are broadly accepted.

Methods: The WRUA is an association of stakeholders who wants to achieve the objectives mentioned above. During the regular meetings each stakeholder can raise his voice, express his needs and vote in a democratic manner. For outsiders and the government it is also an official contact in terms of water resources. The WRUA members arrive at a decision together and thus lead to direct democratic and sustainable development. Together, they accomplish the activities mentioned below.

Stages of implementation: First, a WRUA needs to register at the regional WRMA (Water Resources Management Authority) office, this ensures legal security for the WRUA. The WRMA provides the WRUA with technical and administrative advisory and is part of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. The members of the WRUA conduct a water abstraction survey in the sub-catchment to identify all legal and illegal water abstractions. It is crucial to know the accurate water flows before you can conserve the water resources. The goal is to convince illegal abstractors to apply for a permit to legalise the abstractions. The WRUA
organises meetings, called barazzas, with the local chief and the riparian land users. In these meetings special conservation measures applied in the riparian area are discussed together with land management specialists. The conservation measures are cutting of water guzzling trees, planting of water-friendly indigenous trees, raise public awareness of pollution, rehabilitation of riverbanks and introduction of new technologies like drip
irrigation and rooftop water harvesting. To raise public awareness of the importance of the riparian area, the WRUA members conduct a pegging campaign along the main river of the sub-catchment. The water act 2002 dictates a riparian area of at least 6 metres on either side of the river. This area is being delineated to indicate the location of the protected to the land users. During water shortages (for example a dry spell), the WRUA publishes rules for water abstractions to ensure water supply for all land users.

Role of stakeholders: Furthermore, the WRUA is an important tool for stakeholders for communication and conflict management related to water resources. Due to the immense importance of water for ecosystem services a proper management of this resource is required.