Saving Flamingos breeding site: Nine Villages stand up against new soda ash factory at Lake Natron

Residents of nine villages striding the Lake Natron shores in Longido and Ngorongoro Districts of Arusha have just been irked.

The nearly 7000 villagers have issued a joint declaration against the proposed soda ash mining plant which is being planned at the Wosiwosi village.

The newly announced project, according to the residents will totally destroy the world’s only breeding site for lesser flamingos.

Joshua Muriatoi Mollel, the chairperson of the nine-village consortium, pointed out that the government through the National Development Company (NDC) had earmarked another area for such investments.

“All soda ash projects are now supposed to be established at Engaruka Ward in Monduli District and not in Engaresero near the lake,” pointed out Mollel.

New Project. New Problem

Apparently, a new company known as Ngaresero Valley Company Limited is reportedly planning another Soda Ash mining venture on the shores of Lake Natron, the world only remaining breeding site for the rare Phoeniconaias minor birds, mapped within Longido and Ngorongoro Districts, in Arusha.

But the more than 6770 residents of nine villages surrounding the important lake are up in arms against the proposed project, saying it would destroy both the area’s environment and their livelihood.

The Chairperson of Engaresero Village, James Sapuro Lywangiri points out that, the government itself had ruled that such projects should be undertaken further away in Engaruka Ward of Monduli where Tanzania is conducting a similar venture.

The joint stand was declared during a recently held meeting of local elders and traditional leaders representing the nine villages of Engaresero, Pinyinyi, Gelai Lumbwa, Ichangiti Sapukin, Alaililai, and Wosiwosi in Ngorongoro District as well as Magadini, Loondolwa Esirwa and Gelai Merugoi in Longido District.

The elders stated that this was not the first attempt to extract soda ash from the lake, but even the previous one announced in 2008, was opposed, by not only the local residents but environmentalists around the world.

About 17 years ago, Tata Chemicals of India tried to mine soda ash from Natron but the project was thwarted after the government realized it was of more harm than good and declared that such projects should be undertaken in Engaruka, located 60 kilometers from the Lake.

45,000 hectares of pure destruction

A cultural elder from Wosiwosi village, Daniel Lemomoi said they have learned that the investor demands at least 45,000 hectares of land for the soda ash project comprising pumps, pipes and the ultimate factory.

“We don’t have much land for that, unless they want to evict villagers,” Lemomoi said.

“Plus, the lake is an important ecological feature which provides water for livestock and irrigation farming as well as maintaining the East African flamingo population,” stated the Laigwanan.

As a transboundary ecosystem, Lake Natron is protected under the East African Community (EAC) Transboundary Ecosystem Management Act of 2010.

When contacted for comment, Khalid Abdallah Rashid, is the Managing Director of Ngaresero Company said; “We are waiting for approval from the central government before the project can commence,” adding that the envisaged project will provide employment to the locals.

But the Ngorongoro District Commissioner, Colonel Wilson Sakulo said there would be no such project despite the fact that there were some studies to that effect, conducted around Lake Natron.

Where all flamingos come from

Emmanuel Mgimwa is the Eastern and Southern Africa Coordinator for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Special Survivor Commission (SSC) Flamingo Specialist Group.

“Soda ash mining involves pumping out large amounts of lake water,” stated Mgimwa who is also the Executive Director at Nature Tanzania.

He added that the project also involves diverting scarce freshwater from key rivers, including the transboundary Ewaso Ng’iro, which flows from Kenya to feed the Natron.

“This would cause an irreversible hydrological imbalance and disrupt optimum water levels critical for flamingo breeding and feeding ecology,” Mgimwa pointed out.

Other environmental experts warn that Lake natron’s fragile, hyper-alkaline and physical-chemical balance is extremely vulnerable and susceptible to any form of human activities.

The lake is an international Ramsar Site wetland of worldwide importance.

On the other hand, the Natron wetlands are mapped within the Monduli, Longido and Ngorongoro Districts of Arusha Region.

While the Lake itself is an important breeding area for more than 2.5 million Phoeniconaias minor (lesser flamingos), in East Africa and the site also supports over 100,000 individuals of other waterbird species, including large numbers of migrant species.

Lake Natron accounts for more than 75 percent of the global population of lesser flamingoes

There are 105,730 water birds that rely on the lake, in addition to the special fish species, Oreochromis alcalicus which appears to be endemic to Lake Natron and Kenya’s Lake Magadi.

The lake also supports blue-green algae Spirulina platensis that in turn is an essential source of food for the Phoeniconaias minor population.

Environmentalists say the well-being of Lake Natron Ramsar Site is not just a national concern but also a regional and global responsibility.

The Lesser Flamingos that breed and are raised at Lake Natron serve as a regional asset, feeding in lakes across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

The proposed Soda Ash project intends to extract one million metric tons of brine annually from which the adjacent factory will be producing 660,000 metric tons of refined soda ash per year.

The Tanzanian government, through the National Development Corporation (NDC), is establishing another Soda Ash Project at Engaruka, in Monduli, nearly 60 kilometers from the shores of Lake Natron.

The NDC project in Monduli covers 244.82 square kilometres.

Tanzania paid out over USD 5.8 million (Tsh 14.5 billion) as compensation to 595 households to vacate the area, paving way for the project which envisages to harvest 500,000 metric tons of soda ash annually.