Marc Baker Safaris

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Baker 2008

Impacts to Lesser Flamingo, as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment for the development of a soda ash plant at Lake Natron.

Norconsult, TZ Ltd.

This environmental impact assessment (EIA) was carried out in order to assess the current status of Lesser Flamingo at Lake Natron and to assess the possible impact to this species in relation to the development of a soda ash facility and its related infrastructure and utilities.

Previous studies, which include specific analysis of the Lesser Flamingo breeding sites (Brown, 1955, Brown & Root, 1971) and environmental impact assessments (Johnson, 1991, Knight, 1993) have in the past been carried out at Lake Natron. All of these studies have confirmed the critical importance of this ecosystem to Lesser Flamingo, especially its globally important breeding sites.

Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor, classified as near threatened, occurs primarily on saline lakes, pans and coastal wetlands throughout sub-Saharan Africa and from the Arabian Peninsula to India (BirdLife International 2000). The current population estimate is between 2.2 – 3.2 million however populations declines have been suggested (Simmons 2000).

The Lesser Flamingo is known to breed successfully in only three locations; Sua pan in southern Africa, Lake Natron in East Africa (Brown and Root, 1971), and the Rann of Kachchh in India (Ali 1974), all of which are threatened and require additional protection (Simmons 2000, Jadhav and Parasharya, 2004). Lake Natron is known to be the most globally significant breeding site for this species (Brown, 1955. Brown and Root, 1971, Baker, 1996, Baker and Baker, 2002). The majority of breeding occurs during October – November although breeding to a lesser degree of success can occur throughout the year.

Considering what is known about Lesser Flamingo and the critical importance of this ecosystem to the breeding and population dynamics of this species, along with thousands of other waterbirds, any form of development which may change the ecology of this ecosystem is clearly not advisable. Any attempt to mitigate against possible construction parameters and changes in the aquatic environment would be untenable based on our current knowledge of Lesser Flamingo at Lake Natron.