Lake Turkana is a miraculous anomaly of life giving water in a parched and unforgiving land. Lake Turkana is the largest permanent desert lake in the world and is home to a large population of Nile crocodiles, hippos and hundreds of bird and fish species. Today, several indigenous peoples depend on the lake and its ecosystem for their survival.

Invasive species and climate change are also impacting Lake Turkana and its ecosystem. The basin faces highly variable climate and climate change impacts are predicted to increase variability

We are on a journey with BMU leaders to achieve CORDIO’s community-based marine resource management ambitions. This has involved strengthening the BMU institutional and leadership capacity to carry out their mandate, supporting activities to enable good governance, providing learning network forums, and prioritising areas and activities to be carried out and further developed 

The Gibe III dam and associated plantation development will influence the volume and patterns of water entering Lake Turkana from the Omo River, which gives the lake 90% of its water. Ultimately, these changes will impact the survival of Lake Turkana’s fishes and the productivity and composition of the lake’s fishery. Lake Turkana is home to over sixty fish species, ten of which are native to the lake. Nile tilapia and Nile perch are the lake’s most highly valued fishery species and, unlike in some other African lakes, are native to this system.