Lake Natron

Lake Natron Tanzania was awarded a Blue Globe award for preventing an earlier plan to build a soda ash plant at Lake Natron, but it seems that the Tanzanian Government is now pushing forward with a new plan under pressure to extract minerals. The development and infrastructure will undoubtedly damage the unique habitat, and activity will disrupt the breeding population of lesser flamingos, 75% of the world’s breeding population. WWN is extremely concerned about this development, and hopes that the government can still be persuaded that the lake is more valuable for its wildlife and associated tourism, than its industrial capacity.

Letter to the Tanzanian President (experted)

Dear President Kikwete, Re: Development plans at Lake Natron We were alarmed to hear that plans for a soda ash plant at Lake Natron have been revived. The Director General of NEMC Mr Bonaventure received the World Wetland Network’s Blue Globe Award for Africa on behalf of the Government of Tanzania. This was one of only 6 such awards worldwide, for good management of the Lake, and Mr Bonaventure was very positive about the Lake’s future under the Tanzanian Government’s care.

Lake Natron is a unique site with most of the world’s breeding population of lesser flamingos, a species classified as ‘near threatened’ in the IUCN Red Data book. We are extremely concerned that the proposed development would detrimentally affect this critical breeding site and could have a serious impact on the lesser flamingo breeding population. We urge you to continue to conserve this site.

We naturally appreciate the importance of economic development for the people of Tanzania.

However, Lake Natron is not only a national asset but also an internationally important designated Figure 1 Lesser Flamingoes in Flight Ramsar site. Retaining this site in good ecological condition, with minimal disturbance, is not only important for the lesser flamingo and for delivering Ramsar site management commitments, but also important to many local communities, and to the ecotourism industry in Tanzania. We commend the Tanzanian government’s decision to halt plans for the plant in 2008 following worldwide concerns over its environmental impact both from the extraction of soda ash and its associated infrastructure. We are convinced that things have not changed since then, and that the development would be equally damaging and unpopular this time. We hope you will reconsider, and offer our full support for a positive outcome for Lake Natron and its flamingos.

World Wetlands Day (WWD) celebrations was successfully held on February 2nd with calls to develop specific wetlands management plans to ensure sustainable use. The event which was held at Lake Nakuru National Park sounded an alarm because of threat posed to various wetlands. During the

celebrations experts said poor policies were to blame for little protection of wetlands.

The WWD accords us the opportunity to sensitize and educate the public on the importance of wetlands (rivers, lakes, swamps, marshes, intertidal marine wetlands such as mangrove swamps, seagrass beds and coral reef ecosystems). The WWD is also celebrated to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention) in Ramsar, Iran, on 2 February 1971.

According to wikipedia; GGLake Natron is a salt lake located in northern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border, in the eastern branch of Africa's Great Rift Valley. The lake is fed by the Ewaso Ng'iro River but also by mineral-rich hot springs and is quite shallow, less than three meters (10 feet) deep, and varies in width depending on its water level, which changes due to high levels of evaporation, leaving high levels of salt and other minerals. The surrounding country is dry and receives irregular rainfall. Temperatures in the lake can reach 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit), and depending on rainfall, the alkalinity can reach a pH of 9 to 10.5 (almost as alkaline as ammonia).

The high temperature (up to 41째C) and the high and very variable salt content of the lake does not support most wildlife. However it is an important habitat for flamingos and is home to endemic algae, invertebrates and even fish that can survive in the salty water.

The lake is the only regular breeding area in East Africa for the 2.5 million endangered Lesser Flamingoes. As salinity increases, so do the number of cyanobacteria, and the lake can support more nests. These flamingoes, the largest flock in East Africa, gather along saline lakes in the region, where they feed on Spirulina (a blue-green algae with red pigments). Lake Natron is a safe breeding location for Lesser Flamingoes, because its caustic environment is a barrier against predators trying to reach their nests. Greater Flamingo also breed on the mud flats.

Threats and Preservation The area around the salt lake is not inhabited but there is some herding and some seasonal cultivation.

Threats to the salinity balance from increased fresh water influxes will come from more projected logging in Natron watersheds and a planned hydroelectric power plant on the Ewaso Ng'iro across the border in Kenya. Although development plans include construction of a dike at the north end of the lake to contain the fresh water, the threat of dilution to this breeding ground may still be serious. There is no formal protection.

A new threat to Lake Natron is the proposed development of a soda ash plant on its shore. The plant would pump water from the lake and extract the sodium carbonate to convert to washing powder for export. Accompanying the plant would be housing for over 1000 workers, and a coal fired power station to provide energy for the plant complex. In addition, there is a possibility the developers may introduce a hybrid brine shrimp to increase the efficiency of extraction.

According to Chris Magin, the RSPB's international officer for Africa, "The chance of the lesser flamingoes continuing to breed in the face of such mayhem are next to zero. This development will leave lesser

flamingoes in East Africa facing extinction". Currently a group of more than 50 East African conservation and environmental institutions are running a world wide campaign to stop the planned construction of the soda ash factory by Tata Chemicals Ltd of Mumbai, India and National Development Corporation of Tanzania.

Just last month Bird Watch reports that "Tanzania's Director of Environment has affirmed that there will be no soda ash mining at Lake Natron without addressing the concerns of conservationists"

The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos 2008 Produced by DisneyNature Discover one of nature's last great mysteries in The Crimson Wing, a miraculous story of love, courage and survival from Disneynature, the studio that brought you EARTH. In a place like no other on the planet, the dramatic and desolate Lake Natron in northern Tanzania, you'll witness a spectacle unlike anything you've seen before: a million crimson-winged flamingos arrive to continue the circle of life. Focusing on the adventures of a single chick set against a backdrop of never-before-filmed landscapes, The Crimson Wing is a visually stunning journey into the life and struggles of the mysterious and inspiring flamingo.