Environment and Conservation - SueStolberger.com

The Great Ruaha River in Wet Season 1996 (top) and December 2005 (bottom).

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND

A Critical Water Management Situation

A Critical Water Management Situation

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Link: RUAHA RIVER FACT FILE 1970 - 2006

Click Here for Recent River Status

The Great Ruaha River in Wet Season 1996 (top) and December 2005 (bottom).

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND

The Great Ruaha River, formally a perennial river, which rises in the hills of the Usangu catchment ceased to flow for the first time in living memory during the dry season of 1993 and this drying-up has continued every year since, with the period of non-flow increasing to several months. As the Great Ruaha River is the life blood of the Ruaha National Park we have witnessed an environmental disaster of monumental proportions unfold over the last 10+ years.

In the years immediately prior to (latter half of the 1980s) and coincident with the continuing drying up of the Great Ruaha River various programmes of so-called "improvement" of smallholder irrigated rice schemes were undertaken in the Usangu catchment. In addition, two new large scale schemes were constructed - Kapunga (1988-1992) and, inexplicably in view of the problems already in evidence, Madibira in 1998.

The amount of water entering the catchment area has not changed to any significant degree. Local people find it incomprehensible that, what to them was an obvious correlation between the building of the "improved" rice irrigation schemes and the Ruaha River ceasing to flow was not immediately recognised and measures taken at an early stage to test the hypothesis and address the problem. Delay in positive "on the ground" action has served only to exacerbate the problem and make it's resolution more difficult as huge numbers of migrant people associated with rice farming and cattle herding have come into the area.

I, and others have been campaigning for years to save this unique ecosystem from total destruction, not only because of its international status of enormous environmental importance and bio-diversity (rapidly degrading) but also for it's huge economic importance to Tanzania.

There has been extensive research (much of it funded by the UK government) into the reasons for the drying up of the Ruaha River, numerous papers written and many workshops conducted into the cause(s) of this state of affairs; but, so far, there has been little implementation of any practical measures 'on the ground' to stop the haemorrhaging of water and aid the restoration of the Ruaha River to it's original status as a 'great' and perennial river. However, RBWO Rufiji-river Basin Water Office) have commenced some practical measures on the Ndembera River near Madibira, , and the RIPARWIN research body are also on the brink of introducing some new practical ways of measuring water flow and off-takes more accurately.

In March 2001, whilst in London at the Rio+10 preparatory meeting the Prime Minister of Tz., Mr. Sumaye, together with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, committed Tanzania to restoring year round flows in the Great Ruaha River by 2010. However,five years on and the river, and thus the entire ecosystem, is in an even more critical state.

THE RESEARCH

1. Sustainable Management of Usangu Wetlands & it's Catchment (SMUWC), now ended, funded by DFID (formally ODA) UK.

2. Raising Irrigation Productivity and Releasing Water for Intersectional Needs (RIPARWIN) also funded by DFID and is based on the work done by SMUWC. While SMUWC studied aspects of natural resource use in Usangu, RIPARWIN is looking more closely at water management, specifically irrigation efficiency.

The extensive research carried out by SMUWC and now by RIPARWIN has identified the problems which led to the drying up of the Great Ruaha River, and the most cost effective approaches in tackling them. The issue is now to translate these ideas into ACTION so that we restore a permanent flow to the Great Ruaha River and its environmental dependants, and provide meaning to the effort that has gone into understanding the problems.

The research found:

1. That there is an undisputed correlation between the so-called "improved" rice irrigation farming and the drying up of the Great Ruaha River.

2. That the so-called "improvement/modernisation" of indigenous traditional smallholder small-holder schemes does not necessarily result in improved water control, greater equity, reduced water user conflict and higher performance. Indeed such programmes may aggravate these and have a negative impact and may result in more problems than they have solved.

3. That by following the research recommendations and preventing an expansion in water abstraction from the catchment during the wet season and the unnecessary abstraction of water during the dry season, it is possible to restore dry season river flow with little impact on rice production.

CURRENT SITUATION

The dry season of 2003 was the most desperate, even elephant could not find water below the dry surface of the Ruaha River bed (as they do below sand rivers in the dry seasons) indicating the extent to which the entire water table has fallen. Scores of hippo, forced to mass together in muddy pools, died - this is not what tourists want to witness! The distribution of some of the mammals has changed markedly as a result of their search for water, leading them into conflicts with the villagers around the Park.

2004-2005

On the 29th October 2005 the 'Great' Ruaha River ceased to flow at the Jongomero end of the Park (western end).

It began flowing last year on the 4th December 2004, having stopped on the 2nd November 2004. This makes a record total for 2004 (for recent times) of only 31 days dry.

Therefore, according to my records, (1994-2005) for the years of 2004 and 2005 the river has flowed for approximately 5-6 weeks longer than in previous years.

It is my belief that the valuable work that the RBWO (Rufiji-river Basiin Water Office) doing along the Ndembera river has contributed greatly to this increased flow.

The work that they are doing, is simple but effective. They are making sure that from June - Oct all irrigation gates off that river are closed, so that the water may continue down to the Usangu Swamp. However, this is only one of the rivers entering the Basin.

Therefore, I believe, that if this simple operation was replicated on the other major rivers entering the swamp this would be an excellent way to at least start combating the problem of flow during the dry season.

I would like to congratulate the RBWO office for their work.

-Sue Stolberger

THE MOST RECENT UPDATE FROM RIPAWIN 2005

(The authority on research for the Great Ruaha River problem)

RIPAWIN have given invaluable insight to the problem via their extensive research.

They say:-

Our understanding is that most actions are now with the RBWO. They, in support with WWF, are deploying policies that engage with upstream farmers constructively and are having an effect on downstream releases. They are also getting good support from FAO, and we are very impressed with RBWO's efforts given the constraints they face.

Our project is very much in its final stages - dealing with uptake and dissemination of key ideas. Our project is trying to get the key players in Dar to think about revising intakes which will make it easier to release more water downstream, as well as resolve conflicts between them. We've already opened the debate on this, and are having a follow up meeting.

The other thing is to get the river basin game taken up formally as a means of ensuring that river users realize how to share water, and save water and release water. This game goes alongside the intake revision ideas. There is now good interest this tool, and we are demo-ing the game to the two key ministries at each opportunity.

Our team is also about to deliver the Ruaha Basin Decision Aid (RUBDA) which will support the RBWO in taking decisions about water rights, so that they can address the balance between upstream and environmental needs. This training is in December, and is a follow up to initial training held in September.

We have also submitted documents to the RBWO that specify how the river may be kept flowing year round, including the amounts of water needed below the intakes to ensure dry season flow. This is about 5-7 cumces.

We have also been working quite closely with the Ministry of Agriculture so that they revise their irrigation efficiency. We believe it
is important to realize that smallholders are generally efficient, but are facing structural constraints that make it difficult for them to change their activities, but lining canals are not related to these types of problems and will not resolve water losses.

We have also generated several other small documents that pose various questions about water management, and allocation of water between different sectors.

By RIPAWIN
They also say:-

It is interesting that the concept 'that Usangu irrigation is inefficient so that improving irrigation management can help fill the hydropower dams' (not a quote but an interpretation) remains so resilient - this was the rationale for the RBMSIIP project.

The SMUWC project and the RIPARWIN project has long argued that the major water waste in irrigation occurs during the dry season and that these savings are probably only enough to provide extra water during the dry season to keep the wetland topped up and therefore to give some hope to the notion of returning the Ruaha to year-round flow. It is not helpful to argue that the tradeoff exists between irrigation waste and hydropower, though one can argue that a balance exists between irrigation and hydropower - BUT - even that has to be qualified because of the fact that Mtera/Kidatu receive their flows from many other rivers, and that the proportion of water depleted by irrigation is probably in the region of 15 to 35% - and that the manageable and useable waste part of this is an even smaller fraction. It has long been established that the power cuts from Mtera/Kidatu are a result of excessive and relatively inefficient water releases, due in part to a divergence between technical and political objectives for power management.

Much more work can be done in terms of the trade-off between irrigation and the environment, not in terms of large quantitative water releases but in getting this highly valuable dry season water better managed between sectors. I believe that this can be done via better water management. In turn, the question - "how to do this?" remains key.

We need a discussion on this and RIPARWIN has been holding meetings on this with various stakeholders. The idea that lining canals underpins improved water efficiency is far-fetched, and yet this remains common theory within the irrigation profession and can be found frequently mentioned in the literature related to irrigation efficiency in East Africa. Likewise, I keep coming across the notion that 'farmers need training on irrigation management', when in reality they are year-round highly-experienced experimenters and observers of irrigation. A better approach would be help them frame their experience so that they can solve their issues between them, and take more major priorities to service-oriented authorities. This is the big difference between conventional 'farmer training' and the river basin game, a problem-framing tool that the RIPARWIN project designed.

With my 21 years experience in irrigation, I would not have 'found' the RBMSIIP link/rationale between efficiency and high-volume downstream releases because that is not how I conceive of, or measure, irrigation efficiency.

In the final few months of RIPARWIN, I hope that we are able to disseminate our message of what irrigation efficiency consists of, and how best to improve it, and that related to this, some key organisations are able to hear us.

Bruce Lankford

The following in reply to the above sums up the situation very well:

A PERSONAL VIEW FROM ROBERT ROBELUS:- WORLD BANK ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALIST -

5 Dec 2005

I agree with you that irrigation has no or only a very slight impact on the filling of the Mtera reservoir (the SMUWC project demonstrated this). The low water level in the reservoir is a combination of reduced rainfall and overdraft for electricity production (reduced rainfall is occurring as well in other parts of East Africa during the last few years).

When the World Bank started the RBMSIIP project: (i) in the beginning we did not have an idea of the project losses and impacts. It was a black box; (ii) when the SMUWC project demonstrated that irrigation doesn't have an impact on hydropower, but did have an impact on the environment, the implications were quickly adopted (e.g., no construction of weirs that enable schemes full dry season abstraction) and closure of irrigation schemes during the dry season to be enforced by the Rufiji Basin Water Office.

Irrigation has a clear impact on the downstream environment (Usangu wetlands), and especially the impact during the dry season on the flow of the Great Ruaha River is significant. Closure of the irrigation systems during the dry season and the use of groundwater for vegetable farming and drinking water would greatly improve the situation in river and likely restore the flow. The water right from the river during the dry season should be zero. These actions need to be further detailed and enforced. Also the need to rehabilitate
existing irrigation schemes and improve water management during the wet season and increase incomes for farmers is clearly a priority.

Robert Robelus

DECEMBER 20TH 2005

Though we did enjoy an extended 5 weeks of flow this year, as I look outside the door of my tent right now the so called 'Great Ruaha River" is no more than a very hot, dry rock bed with a few scummy pools. The animals are drifting about aimlessly in search of water. The remaining pools are covered in green scum, the smell of putrid water is everywhere. The rain is late so there are still some weeks to go before we can hope for 'a river'.

16TH JANUARY 2006

Ruaha and indeed much of southern Tanzania has been suffering a drought the rain is very late. However, thankfully on the evening of the 11th Jan 2006 after wide spread, heavy rain along the Ruaha River the river flowed.

This 'flow' continues, however it is a small ribbon of water approximately 4ft wide, which is similar to the 'flow' a couple of weeks prior to the river drying up.

The river has been dry this season (2005-2006) for a total of 75 days as opposed to last years (2004-2005) all time record of being dry for only 30 days.

The rain continues but only in light showers here and there. It is possible that the river will dry up again soon.

9 March 2006

Since the early hours of the morning, there has been extensive rain to the west of us (Jongomero end of the park). It looked as though Usangu was getting this heavy rain too.

Now at almost 1.00pm there is a"big' river going by, the largest flood this year so far, it has come up some 4 ft and is still rising. The water coming by here is not just form the Jongomero but from from further west ,I hope the Usangu area. I feel sure that some of this water will reach Mtera.

27 March 2006

Last night we had heavy rain, though only 34mm recorded here most of yesterday was grey and stormy, particularly further west of us here at Jongomero.

The Ruaha River is now up about 4ft and is slightly higher than it was on my last update 9th March 06. According to observers on the Lunda section of the river, some +140km from us here, the river rose approximately 2ft after the flood I recorded to you all on the 9th.

The river dropped to its new 2006, low level of constant flow, after a couple of days after the 9th and remained at this level till today.

The rainfall has improved these past weeks.

31 March 2006

Since the 4ft flood on the 27th March 06 the river slowly dropped a little more than 2 feet. Then yesterday 30th March 06, around mid-day, I noticed a small change in the rivers flow. It began to rise a little, very slowly, and now today 31st I believe that we finally have some water coming in from the Ihefu swamp.

The flow is of a different nature to a 'flash flood' and the colour of the water is now not a muddy brown, carrying silt but a light 'tea' coloured water that has very little silt suspended in it. This hopefully means that the river will continue to flow at this level and maybe more...though it is still lower than it was last year 05.

As an indication to the depth of the river I make the following observation:-

I have just watched 6 giraffe wade casually across the river, the general level of the water is no deeper than up to their knees. ( in places it is more but only for a few steps) It poses no threat for them. In contrast to this from 1994 to about 2000, no animal, save the elephant, would risk crossing the river in February or March (or January, depending on the rain) The flow of water was such that it was usually difficult for the elephants to cross easily, and
often times they would walk along the bottom with their trunks up acting like a snorkle, the little babies would hang onto their mothers tail and float along.

I think this gives some visual indication that there has been a serious decline in the wet season flow, which cannot be attributed to low rainfall alone.

Best wishes Sue

5 August, 2006

The river is low, and comparing the photos taken this time last year it is obvious that the level of the river today, 5th August 2006, is similar to how it looked around the beginning of September 2005.

So suffice to say we are approximately one month drier/lower than last year.

The second thing is, my comments made last year in support of the good work the RBWO office is doing that their efforts on the Ndembera

are making a difference, seems to have been misconstrued by some. So I take this opportunity in clarifying the matter:- I am not saying the Ruaha River situation is restored or improving.

What I am saying is that the simple and very good task of ensuring that the irrigation gates along this river are closed from June to end October has increased the length of time that the trickle of water that "flows" in the Ruaha River during the dry season by about 6 weeks.

Before, this operation was started the river would simply get lower and lower by the day and then stop. Now it gets lower and lower by the day but once it reaches its lowest 'trickle' level it manages to maintain this low flow for about an extra 6 weeks before drying up mid October. Therefore, my point is, that if this simple task was replicated along all the other rivers that flow into the Ihefu, I believe that the trickle we see in the dry season would be substantially improved.

The wet season flow however, is another, much more alarming story, this gets lower and lower each year, which is not due to lack of rainfall but from massive over use by irrigation.

22 March, 2006

These pictures were taken from my 'old' camp on January 6th 2007, (I have recently moved from this location near the river). The river rose way over this level for the duration of mid January to mid February. The river now flows at the level shown in the photos (March 22nd 2007)

Ruaha has recieved almost double its normal average in rainfall with almost 900mm so far (with still more to come). We normally get around 500mm per annum.

All springs and water catchment areas within the park ar full and busting over, so this is a most welcome turn of events for the park.

April 2007

As you know Tanzania received very heavy rains this season. Which of course is fantastic news. Mtera Dam went from its lowest level ever, to over-flowing in a matter of a few weeks only!

Thesepictures of the river in April 07, when compared to the ones taken a month earlier, (March 07, see above) show that, despite the good rainfall the river is dropping fast. This indicates that there is a massive off-take of water going on up stream from RNP.

We hope that this constant drop in flow level will ease off soon.

January 2008

I was enormously disappointed to see the depressing state of the Ruaha River. These pictures were taken on 12th January 2008 at the same location in Ruaha National Park as all my previous records spanning the past 14 years.

The water you see in the river is all from local flooding of the Jongomero River and the Itiku. There has been NO water coming in from Usangu at all.

On the 14th of January I travelled to Usangu and Mbeya to see that the rice paddies are all fully flooded, all rivers flowing into the catchment area were full and flowing very well, some of them were very high. Mbeya has apparently received its highest rainfall on record for the past 8 years. So my question is :-WHY IS THERE NO WATER REACHING RUAHA PARK? The answer is quite simple the wet-season off take is far too great.

There is no need for irrigation to stop but there is a need for the irrigation system over the whole area to be properly planned. When will we see this action taking place? It is not an impossible task but it will require hands on expertise and law enforcement. If we all pull together we will succeed.

If we are not careful the Great Ruaha River will stop flowing altogether.

April 17, 2008

The Ruaha River is looking great, a huge improvement since my update in January 08.

After a bad start with obvious massive off-takes in the catchment area, rains have been exceptionally good this year, so the river in Ruaha Park is looking wonderful.

However, please note the stone which is just visible. I have always used this as the level 'marker'. It is about a foot out of the water. Ideally this marker should not be showing. In the early 1990's this rock was always covered from January through to the end of April.

The other important and very excting news is that the Government has been working hard to try to protect this important water source, and as a result the Ruaha National Park has been extended to include the Usangu Wetland, which will hopefully help to keep Ruaha 'flowing' throughout the dry season. The extension has been approved by Parliament however, we are still waiting for the President to sign the documents.

We are thrilled by this very positive move towards conserving a very important National resource.

I have also included a scenic view of the river near Msembe, HQ. (see below) I am sure you will all agree that Ruaha is looking magnificent.

RUAHA RIVER CURRENT STATUS

April 22, 2008

I am delighted to be able to tell you that the Ruaha Park has now been officially extended to include the Usangu Game Reserve plus additional land to the south and west. Ruaha is now the largest park in Africa, covering an area of over 22,000sq.Km.

In recent years the Ruaha River has been drying up during the dry season due to massive off-takes for irrigation purposes.

Usangu Wetland

As you may know, the catchment area for the Great Ruaha River is in the Usangu Plains, which is an extremely
important water resource for Tanzania. It feeds the hydro dams of Mtera and Kidatu, plus being the focal point of Ruaha Park and supporting many lives along its course to the Rufiji Delta. The Tanzanian Government has to be congratulated for taking these difficult, but important steps in conserving its precious water reserves.

However, this is only part of the problem, it is now more important than ever to implement effective measures in curbing the massive over-use of water which has seriously depleted the Ruahas flow during the wet season and which completely destroys the river during the dry season.

I understand that there are plans in place to address this problem. I wish the Government and the Stakeholders every success in this important issue.

Best wishes Sue

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The Great Ruaha River, formally a perennial river, which rises in the hills of the Usangu catchment ceased to flow for the first time in living memory during the dry season of 1993 and this drying-up has continued every year since, with the period of non-flow increasing to several months. As the Great Ruaha River is the life blood of the Ruaha National Park we have witnessed an environmental disaster of monumental proportions unfold over the last 10+ years.

In the years immediately prior to (latter half of the 1980s) and coincident with the continuing drying up of the Great Ruaha River various programmes of so-called "improvement" of smallholder irrigated rice schemes were undertaken in the Usangu catchment. In addition, two new large scale schemes were constructed - Kapunga (1988-1992) and, inexplicably in view of the problems already in evidence, Madibira in 1998.

The amount of water entering the catchment area has not changed to any significant degree. Local people find it incomprehensible that, what to them was an obvious correlation between the building of the "improved" rice irrigation schemes and the Ruaha River ceasing to flow was not immediately recognised and measures taken at an early stage to test the hypothesis and address the problem. Delay in positive "on the ground" action has served only to exacerbate the problem and make it's resolution more difficult as huge numbers of migrant people associated with rice farming and cattle herding have come into the area.

I, and others have been campaigning for years to save this unique ecosystem from total destruction, not only because of its international status of enormous environmental importance and bio-diversity (rapidly degrading) but also for it's huge economic importance to Tanzania.

There has been extensive research (much of it funded by the UK government) into the reasons for the drying up of the Ruaha River, numerous papers written and many workshops conducted into the cause(s) of this state of affairs; but, so far, there has been little implementation of any practical measures 'on the ground' to stop the haemorrhaging of water and aid the restoration of the Ruaha River to it's original status as a 'great' and perennial river. However, RBWO Rufiji-river Basin Water Office) have commenced some practical measures on the Ndembera River near Madibira, , and the RIPARWIN research body are also on the brink of introducing some new practical ways of measuring water flow and off-takes more accurately.

In March 2001, whilst in London at the Rio+10 preparatory meeting the Prime Minister of Tz., Mr. Sumaye, together with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, committed Tanzania to restoring year round flows in the Great Ruaha River by 2010. However,five years on and the river, and thus the entire ecosystem, is in an even more critical state.

THE RESEARCH

1. Sustainable Management of Usangu Wetlands & it's Catchment (SMUWC), now ended, funded by DFID (formally ODA) UK.

2. Raising Irrigation Productivity and Releasing Water for Intersectional Needs (RIPARWIN) also funded by DFID and is based on the work done by SMUWC. While SMUWC studied aspects of natural resource use in Usangu, RIPARWIN is looking more closely at water management, specifically irrigation efficiency.

The extensive research carried out by SMUWC and now by RIPARWIN has identified the problems which led to the drying up of the Great Ruaha River, and the most cost effective approaches in tackling them. The issue is now to translate these ideas into ACTION so that we restore a permanent flow to the Great Ruaha River and its environmental dependants, and provide meaning to the effort that has gone into understanding the problems.

The research found:

1. That there is an undisputed correlation between the so-called "improved" rice irrigation farming and the drying up of the Great Ruaha River.

2. That the so-called "improvement/modernisation" of indigenous traditional smallholder small-holder schemes does not necessarily result in improved water control, greater equity, reduced water user conflict and higher performance. Indeed such programmes may aggravate these and have a negative impact and may result in more problems than they have solved.

3. That by following the research recommendations and preventing an expansion in water abstraction from the catchment during the wet season and the unnecessary abstraction of water during the dry season, it is possible to restore dry season river flow with little impact on rice production.

CURRENT SITUATION

The dry season of 2003 was the most desperate, even elephant could not find water below the dry surface of the Ruaha River bed (as they do below sand rivers in the dry seasons) indicating the extent to which the entire water table has fallen. Scores of hippo, forced to mass together in muddy pools, died - this is not what tourists want to witness! The distribution of some of the mammals has changed markedly as a result of their search for water, leading them into conflicts with the villagers around the Park.

2004-2005

On the 29th October 2005 the 'Great' Ruaha River ceased to flow at the Jongomero end of the Park (western end).

It began flowing last year on the 4th December 2004, having stopped on the 2nd November 2004. This makes a record total for 2004 (for recent times) of only 31 days dry.

Therefore, according to my records, (1994-2005) for the years of 2004 and 2005 the river has flowed for approximately 5-6 weeks longer than in previous years.

It is my belief that the valuable work that the RBWO (Rufiji-river Basiin Water Office) doing along the Ndembera river has contributed greatly to this increased flow.

The work that they are doing, is simple but effective. They are making sure that from June - Oct all irrigation gates off that river are closed, so that the water may continue down to the Usangu Swamp. However, this is only one of the rivers entering the Basin.

Therefore, I believe, that if this simple operation was replicated on the other major rivers entering the swamp this would be an excellent way to at least start combating the problem of flow during the dry season.

I would like to congratulate the RBWO office for their work.

-Sue Stolberger

THE MOST RECENT UPDATE FROM RIPAWIN 2005

(The authority on research for the Great Ruaha River problem)

RIPAWIN have given invaluable insight to the problem via their extensive research.

They say:-

Our understanding is that most actions are now with the RBWO. They, in support with WWF, are deploying policies that engage with upstream farmers constructively and are having an effect on downstream releases. They are also getting good support from FAO, and we are very impressed with RBWO's efforts given the constraints they face.

Our project is very much in its final stages - dealing with uptake and dissemination of key ideas. Our project is trying to get the key players in Dar to think about revising intakes which will make it easier to release more water downstream, as well as resolve conflicts between them. We've already opened the debate on this, and are having a follow up meeting.

The other thing is to get the river basin game taken up formally as a means of ensuring that river users realize how to share water, and save water and release water. This game goes alongside the intake revision ideas. There is now good interest this tool, and we are demo-ing the game to the two key ministries at each opportunity.

Our team is also about to deliver the Ruaha Basin Decision Aid (RUBDA) which will support the RBWO in taking decisions about water rights, so that they can address the balance between upstream and environmental needs. This training is in December, and is a follow up to initial training held in September.

We have also submitted documents to the RBWO that specify how the river may be kept flowing year round, including the amounts of water needed below the intakes to ensure dry season flow. This is about 5-7 cumces.

We have also been working quite closely with the Ministry of Agriculture so that they revise their irrigation efficiency. We believe it
is important to realize that smallholders are generally efficient, but are facing structural constraints that make it difficult for them to change their activities, but lining canals are not related to these types of problems and will not resolve water losses.

We have also generated several other small documents that pose various questions about water management, and allocation of water between different sectors.

By RIPAWIN
They also say:-

It is interesting that the concept 'that Usangu irrigation is inefficient so that improving irrigation management can help fill the hydropower dams' (not a quote but an interpretation) remains so resilient - this was the rationale for the RBMSIIP project.

The SMUWC project and the RIPARWIN project has long argued that the major water waste in irrigation occurs during the dry season and that these savings are probably only enough to provide extra water during the dry season to keep the wetland topped up and therefore to give some hope to the notion of returning the Ruaha to year-round flow. It is not helpful to argue that the tradeoff exists between irrigation waste and hydropower, though one can argue that a balance exists between irrigation and hydropower - BUT - even that has to be qualified because of the fact that Mtera/Kidatu receive their flows from many other rivers, and that the proportion of water depleted by irrigation is probably in the region of 15 to 35% - and that the manageable and useable waste part of this is an even smaller fraction. It has long been established that the power cuts from Mtera/Kidatu are a result of excessive and relatively inefficient water releases, due in part to a divergence between technical and political objectives for power management.

Much more work can be done in terms of the trade-off between irrigation and the environment, not in terms of large quantitative water releases but in getting this highly valuable dry season water better managed between sectors. I believe that this can be done via better water management. In turn, the question - "how to do this?" remains key.

We need a discussion on this and RIPARWIN has been holding meetings on this with various stakeholders. The idea that lining canals underpins improved water efficiency is far-fetched, and yet this remains common theory within the irrigation profession and can be found frequently mentioned in the literature related to irrigation efficiency in East Africa. Likewise, I keep coming across the notion that 'farmers need training on irrigation management', when in reality they are year-round highly-experienced experimenters and observers of irrigation. A better approach would be help them frame their experience so that they can solve their issues between them, and take more major priorities to service-oriented authorities. This is the big difference between conventional 'farmer training' and the river basin game, a problem-framing tool that the RIPARWIN project designed.

With my 21 years experience in irrigation, I would not have 'found' the RBMSIIP link/rationale between efficiency and high-volume downstream releases because that is not how I conceive of, or measure, irrigation efficiency.

In the final few months of RIPARWIN, I hope that we are able to disseminate our message of what irrigation efficiency consists of, and how best to improve it, and that related to this, some key organisations are able to hear us.

Bruce Lankford

The following in reply to the above sums up the situation very well:

A PERSONAL VIEW FROM ROBERT ROBELUS:- WORLD BANK ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALIST -

5 Dec 2005

I agree with you that irrigation has no or only a very slight impact on the filling of the Mtera reservoir (the SMUWC project demonstrated this). The low water level in the reservoir is a combination of reduced rainfall and overdraft for electricity production (reduced rainfall is occurring as well in other parts of East Africa during the last few years).

When the World Bank started the RBMSIIP project: (i) in the beginning we did not have an idea of the project losses and impacts. It was a black box; (ii) when the SMUWC project demonstrated that irrigation doesn't have an impact on hydropower, but did have an impact on the environment, the implications were quickly adopted (e.g., no construction of weirs that enable schemes full dry season abstraction) and closure of irrigation schemes during the dry season to be enforced by the Rufiji Basin Water Office.

Irrigation has a clear impact on the downstream environment (Usangu wetlands), and especially the impact during the dry season on the flow of the Great Ruaha River is significant. Closure of the irrigation systems during the dry season and the use of groundwater for vegetable farming and drinking water would greatly improve the situation in river and likely restore the flow. The water right from the river during the dry season should be zero. These actions need to be further detailed and enforced. Also the need to rehabilitate
existing irrigation schemes and improve water management during the wet season and increase incomes for farmers is clearly a priority.

Robert Robelus

DECEMBER 20TH 2005

Though we did enjoy an extended 5 weeks of flow this year, as I look outside the door of my tent right now the so called 'Great Ruaha River" is no more than a very hot, dry rock bed with a few scummy pools. The animals are drifting about aimlessly in search of water. The remaining pools are covered in green scum, the smell of putrid water is everywhere. The rain is late so there are still some weeks to go before we can hope for 'a river'.

16TH JANUARY 2006

Ruaha and indeed much of southern Tanzania has been suffering a drought the rain is very late. However, thankfully on the evening of the 11th Jan 2006 after wide spread, heavy rain along the Ruaha River the river flowed.

This 'flow' continues, however it is a small ribbon of water approximately 4ft wide, which is similar to the 'flow' a couple of weeks prior to the river drying up.

The river has been dry this season (2005-2006) for a total of 75 days as opposed to last years (2004-2005) all time record of being dry for only 30 days.

The rain continues but only in light showers here and there. It is possible that the river will dry up again soon.

9 March 2006

Since the early hours of the morning, there has been extensive rain to the west of us (Jongomero end of the park). It looked as though Usangu was getting this heavy rain too.

Now at almost 1.00pm there is a"big' river going by, the largest flood this year so far, it has come up some 4 ft and is still rising. The water coming by here is not just form the Jongomero but from from further west ,I hope the Usangu area. I feel sure that some of this water will reach Mtera.

27 March 2006

Last night we had heavy rain, though only 34mm recorded here most of yesterday was grey and stormy, particularly further west of us here at Jongomero.

The Ruaha River is now up about 4ft and is slightly higher than it was on my last update 9th March 06. According to observers on the Lunda section of the river, some +140km from us here, the river rose approximately 2ft after the flood I recorded to you all on the 9th.

The river dropped to its new 2006, low level of constant flow, after a couple of days after the 9th and remained at this level till today.

The rainfall has improved these past weeks.

31 March 2006

Since the 4ft flood on the 27th March 06 the river slowly dropped a little more than 2 feet. Then yesterday 30th March 06, around mid-day, I noticed a small change in the rivers flow. It began to rise a little, very slowly, and now today 31st I believe that we finally have some water coming in from the Ihefu swamp.

The flow is of a different nature to a 'flash flood' and the colour of the water is now not a muddy brown, carrying silt but a light 'tea' coloured water that has very little silt suspended in it. This hopefully means that the river will continue to flow at this level and maybe more...though it is still lower than it was last year 05.

As an indication to the depth of the river I make the following observation:-

I have just watched 6 giraffe wade casually across the river, the general level of the water is no deeper than up to their knees. ( in places it is more but only for a few steps) It poses no threat for them. In contrast to this from 1994 to about 2000, no animal, save the elephant, would risk crossing the river in February or March (or January, depending on the rain) The flow of water was such that it was usually difficult for the elephants to cross easily, and
often times they would walk along the bottom with their trunks up acting like a snorkle, the little babies would hang onto their mothers tail and float along.

I think this gives some visual indication that there has been a serious decline in the wet season flow, which cannot be attributed to low rainfall alone.

Best wishes Sue

5 August, 2006

The river is low, and comparing the photos taken this time last year it is obvious that the level of the river today, 5th August 2006, is similar to how it looked around the beginning of September 2005.

So suffice to say we are approximately one month drier/lower than last year.

The second thing is, my comments made last year in support of the good work the RBWO office is doing that their efforts on the Ndembera

are making a difference, seems to have been misconstrued by some. So I take this opportunity in clarifying the matter:- I am not saying the Ruaha River situation is restored or improving.

What I am saying is that the simple and very good task of ensuring that the irrigation gates along this river are closed from June to end October has increased the length of time that the trickle of water that "flows" in the Ruaha River during the dry season by about 6 weeks.

Before, this operation was started the river would simply get lower and lower by the day and then stop. Now it gets lower and lower by the day but once it reaches its lowest 'trickle' level it manages to maintain this low flow for about an extra 6 weeks before drying up mid October. Therefore, my point is, that if this simple task was replicated along all the other rivers that flow into the Ihefu, I believe that the trickle we see in the dry season would be substantially improved.

The wet season flow however, is another, much more alarming story, this gets lower and lower each year, which is not due to lack of rainfall but from massive over use by irrigation.

22 March, 2006

These pictures were taken from my 'old' camp on January 6th 2007, (I have recently moved from this location near the river). The river rose way over this level for the duration of mid January to mid February. The river now flows at the level shown in the photos (March 22nd 2007)

Ruaha has recieved almost double its normal average in rainfall with almost 900mm so far (with still more to come). We normally get around 500mm per annum.

All springs and water catchment areas within the park ar full and busting over, so this is a most welcome turn of events for the park.

April 2007

As you know Tanzania received very heavy rains this season. Which of course is fantastic news. Mtera Dam went from its lowest level ever, to over-flowing in a matter of a few weeks only!

Thesepictures of the river in April 07, when compared to the ones taken a month earlier, (March 07, see above) show that, despite the good rainfall the river is dropping fast. This indicates that there is a massive off-take of water going on up stream from RNP.

We hope that this constant drop in flow level will ease off soon.

January 2008

I was enormously disappointed to see the depressing state of the Ruaha River. These pictures were taken on 12th January 2008 at the same location in Ruaha National Park as all my previous records spanning the past 14 years.

The water you see in the river is all from local flooding of the Jongomero River and the Itiku. There has been NO water coming in from Usangu at all.

On the 14th of January I travelled to Usangu and Mbeya to see that the rice paddies are all fully flooded, all rivers flowing into the catchment area were full and flowing very well, some of them were very high. Mbeya has apparently received its highest rainfall on record for the past 8 years. So my question is :-WHY IS THERE NO WATER REACHING RUAHA PARK? The answer is quite simple the wet-season off take is far too great.

There is no need for irrigation to stop but there is a need for the irrigation system over the whole area to be properly planned. When will we see this action taking place? It is not an impossible task but it will require hands on expertise and law enforcement. If we all pull together we will succeed.

If we are not careful the Great Ruaha River will stop flowing altogether.

April 17, 2008

The Ruaha River is looking great, a huge improvement since my update in January 08.

After a bad start with obvious massive off-takes in the catchment area, rains have been exceptionally good this year, so the river in Ruaha Park is looking wonderful.

However, please note the stone which is just visible. I have always used this as the level 'marker'. It is about a foot out of the water. Ideally this marker should not be showing. In the early 1990's this rock was always covered from January through to the end of April.

The other important and very excting news is that the Government has been working hard to try to protect this important water source, and as a result the Ruaha National Park has been extended to include the Usangu Wetland, which will hopefully help to keep Ruaha 'flowing' throughout the dry season. The extension has been approved by Parliament however, we are still waiting for the President to sign the documents.

We are thrilled by this very positive move towards conserving a very important National resource.

I have also included a scenic view of the river near Msembe, HQ. (see below) I am sure you will all agree that Ruaha is looking magnificent.

RUAHA RIVER CURRENT STATUS

April 22, 2008

I am delighted to be able to tell you that the Ruaha Park has now been officially extended to include the Usangu Game Reserve plus additional land to the south and west. Ruaha is now the largest park in Africa, covering an area of over 22,000sq.Km.

In recent years the Ruaha River has been drying up during the dry season due to massive off-takes for irrigation purposes.

Usangu Wetland

As you may know, the catchment area for the Great Ruaha River is in the Usangu Plains, which is an extremely
important water resource for Tanzania. It feeds the hydro dams of Mtera and Kidatu, plus being the focal point of Ruaha Park and supporting many lives along its course to the Rufiji Delta. The Tanzanian Government has to be congratulated for taking these difficult, but important steps in conserving its precious water reserves.

However, this is only part of the problem, it is now more important than ever to implement effective measures in curbing the massive over-use of water which has seriously depleted the Ruahas flow during the wet season and which completely destroys the river during the dry season.

I understand that there are plans in place to address this problem. I wish the Government and the Stakeholders every success in this important issue.

Best wishes Sue

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