Govt reveals new plan to save Lake Jipe from extinction

What you need to know:

  • Environment minister January Makamba toured the narrow strip of water Saturday and expressed shock at how it is rapidly drying up. He admitted that the government feared the lake may cease to exist unless steps are taken to stop siltation and rehabilitate its catchment.

Mwanga. The government has announced plans to institute a raft of “stringent measures” in a fresh bid to curb the rapid degradation of Lake Jipe, which for years now, has faced extinction.

Environment minister January Makamba toured the narrow strip of water Saturday and expressed shock at how it is rapidly drying up. He admitted that the government feared the lake may cease to exist unless steps are taken to stop siltation and rehabilitate its catchment.

Mr Makamba said the lake was a key resource, hence the need for short and long-term programmes for its protection. He said the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) would soon declare the lake a sensitive environmental area.

“We will announce the area as a sensitive one, and we will institute conditions about the use of the area,” Mr Makamba noted.

According to the minister, the declaration will also help in the compilation of various project write-ups and sourcing of funds from stakeholders and development partners. There are plans to place the lake under special supervision, he said. “We are going to institute tougher conditions, and action will be taken against those breaching them,” the minister said. At a public meeting with residents of Butu Village, Mr Makamba urged sustainable environmental conservation.