Impact of Short-Term Flooding on Livelihoods in the Kenya Rift Valley Lakes

Abstract

Short term flooding episodes can have devastating impacts on both the natural processes and community livelihoods. The Lakes Baringo, Bogoria, Nakuru and Naivasha lie within the arid and semi-arid northern part of the central rift valley in Kenya and are vulnerable to climatic variability with particular challenges related to water resources. This chapter presents the extent of flooding of four lakes in the central rift valley in Kenya over the period from January 2010 to December 2014. Documentation of the changing spatial extent of the water levels in the four lakes was conducted using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) digital