Healthy.

Anyiko wetlands is a permanent riverine wetland located in Anyiko sub-location North East Ugenya Location, and is the largest wetland at the easternmost section of Mid-Lower Nzoia River, Siaya District and is longish shaped with an average length of 10Km and width of roughly 700 meter wide at the widest point. The wetland is barely explored and researched into area and despite being expected to be an important habitat for natural creatures. However, it can be deduced from several close-by wetlands, especially from Yala swamp and Dunga swamp, that among the birds you may find in Anyiko wetlands are Papyrus Yellow Warbler (Chloropeta gracilirostris), Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum) and Papyrus Gonolek (Laniarius mufumbiri). All three species have kept on encountering severe threats and hence are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Other species that are more likely to be spotted include White Winged Warbler (Bradypterus carpalis), Papyrus Canary (Serinus koliensis) and Carruthers’s Cisticola (Cisticola carruther).

Transformed.

Apart from bird life, the African endemic wetland plant Papyrus (Cyperus Papyrus) immensely contributes to both uniqueness and importance of wetlands as it features one-of-a-kind living habitats for living creatures. Anyiko wetland therefore plays very crucial roles as habitat for wildlife species and in providing various ecological services to the surrounding communities and the Nzoia River ecosystem. However, Anyiko faces myriad of environmental challenges from anthropogenic activities and climatic conditions. Land fragmentation, change of land use, over grazing, pollution and climate change owing to the Ecosystem services it provides. These services are under threat as there is more pressure from the community due to perception and negative attitude of wetlands as “wastelands” leading to a disregard of the ecological and socio-economic benefits.

Controlled Harvest zone.

The projects main goal is to work with local communities in fostering restoration and conservation of the wetlands including gazzettment in Kenya as an Important Bird Area due to its active ecological roles in the ecosystem and thereby enhanced functioning. Monitoring of the ecosystem services will be conducted through permanent transect while trained wetland community mobilizers will lead the inventory development for the wetland wildlife species. The project also aims at building local community capacity on roles of wetlands and sustainable utilization of wetland resources hence changing their attitude and perception towards the wetlands conservation, establishment of papyrus harvesting zones/no go-zones, installation of wetlands information boards along the trail and formation of wetlands conservation mobilizers committee.