Lake Turkana

About Lake Turkana:

• Location: It is located in the remote northern region of Kenya.
• It lies in the Eastern Rift Valley with its far northern end extending to Ethiopia.
• Three rivers, including Omo, Turkwel and Kerio flow into the lake, but only the Omo River is perennial, contributing 90 per cent of the inflow of water each year.
• It stands as Africa’s fourth-largest lake and the largest permanent desert lake in the world.
• It is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is renowned for its unique biodiversity and cultural significance.
• It is lying in a hot, arid, and remote region and provides resources for communities on the lakeshore and surrounding areas.
• The estimated population of the Turkana region is approximately 1 million people, whose livelihoods are based on pastoralism, fishing, and, to a lesser extent, crop farming.
• Issues: Its semi-saline waters, driven by high evaporation rates and fluctuating lake levels of up to 8 meters per decade, have historically hindered sustainable development initiatives.
• Several past attempts to commercialize the fishery have largely failed, mainly due to a lack of understanding of the volatile conditions of this capricious lake.