Water Catchment Management Strategy Support
The Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA) was established in November 2003 to be the lead agency with respect to water resources management in Kenya. The Water Act 2002 charges the WRMA with the following powers and functions: Water allocation and apportionment; Monitor and assess the national water resources management strategy; Receive and determine water permit applications; Monitor and enforce conditions attached to the permits; Regulation and protection of water resource quality from adverse impacts; Management and protection of water catchments; Determine charges for water resources; Gather and maintain information on water resources and to publish information on the same; Coordination with other bodies for better water resources management; and advising the Minister with respect to water resources management. The Water Act 2002 empowers the WRMA to prepare and have gazetted rules and regulations that give effect to the Water Act 2002. The Water Act mandates WRMA to formulate a Catchment Management Strategy (CMS) for the management, use, development, conservation, protection and control of water resources within each catchment area.
The objectives of this assignment was to support the finalization of Water Resources Management (WRM) Rules and preparation of Catchment Management Strategies (CMS) for the six Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA) catchments with a focus on draft CMSs for Tana and Lake Victoria North.
The purpose of WRM Rules is to give legal basis to the interpretation of water resources use requirements and strengthen regulatory functions of WRMA. Catchment Management Strategies contribute towards catchment protection and other WRM measures as defined in the CMS implemented in the river basins.
The assignment addressed the following identified needs: to limit the burden of administering and enforcing the rules; to ensure an adequate degree of regulatory control is created in respect of protection of water resources, optimal water use and equitable allocation; to make rules and regulations reasonable and practical; to make the rules and regulations clear and understandable to the public; to develop and implement catchment monitoring plans and catchment protection and other WRM measures in the river basins.