Mr. Jabes Okumu, Project Principal Investigator, second from the right flanked by the representative of the Governor and County Forest Conservator, plant ceremonial tree to Make the Day. (photo/EAWLS)

Community Engagement to Protect Lake Ol Bolossat for a Common Future

Posted on Mar 12, 2025

Jabes Okumu and his team at JRS grantee East African Wildlife Society (EAWLS) continue to make solid progress towards achieving milestones for their Unlocking Biodiversity Data to Facilitate Designation of Lake Ol Bolossat as a 7th Ramsar Site in Kenya project. Some of the goals reached in past months include the development of a biodiversity monitoring protocol as well as publishing local biodiversity data records on the GBIF platform and the team kicked off 2025 reaching another planned milestone with a community engagement forum held on 31st January at the shores of Lake Ol Bolossat. The forum was co-organized by EAWLS, Lake Ol Bolossat Community Conservation Group (LOCCOG), and the County Government of Nyandarua, bringing together over 400 participants from the local community, representatives from the County Government, national government institutions, NGOs, and CBOs.

Participants during the walk led by Chief Officer Environment, Water, Natural Resources and Climate Change and Jabes Okumu from EAWLS. (photo/EAWLS)

The event included a three km advocacy walk, a clean-up around the lake, ceremonial tree planting, and a community dialogue session. The event was held as a precursor to World Wetlands Day (WWD) 2025 and ran under the theme “Protecting L. Ol Bolossat for Our Common Future,” in line with the WWD 2025 theme Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future. During the forum, the community presented their proposed strategies to enhance conservation of the lake. EAWLS also shared the project initiatives within the ecosystem and issued a call for action to the county regarding the sustainable management of the lake. Various awareness materials, including T-shirts, pledge boards, and placards for the advocacy campaign, were produced and disseminated.

Group photo after the event partners meeting on 30th January at the county offices in Nyandarua. (photo/EAWLS)

The activities, which were aired on local media station Inooro, concluded with a call for action by EAWLS to the county govenment to enhance the conservation of the lake, requesting:

  • Increased resource allocation for the conservation and sustainable management of the lake
  • Establishment of an inter-county governors caucus (consisting of governors from all the counties that benefit from the lake) to form a framework for resource mobilization for the conservation of the lake.

Read more about the Unlocking Biodiversity Data to Facilitate Designation of Lake Ol Bolossat as a 7th Ramsar Site in Kenya here.