Transboundary Water for Biodiversity and Human Health in the Mara River Basin (TWB-MRB)

The TWB-MRB project was a collaborative effort between Florida International University (FIU), WWF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Programme Office (WWF-ESARPO), World Vision International, CARE Tanzania, and the Mara River Water Resource Users Association (MRWUA) to support numerous governmental and local partners in the development and implementation of a basin-scale integrated water resources management plan in the trans-boundary Mara River Basin of Kenya and Tanzania. The project began in October of 2005 and extended through September of 2012.

The overall project goal was to support sustainable water supply, sanitation, and hygiene services to improve health and increase economic resiliency of the rural poor while also conserving biodiversity within a trans-boundary integrated water resource management framework.

To achieve this overarching goal, a project was developed that worked within a coordinated approach to implement sustainable and equitable improvements in access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene services, while conserving the unique biodiversity of the Mara River Basin, through improved transboundary management of the basin’s water resources. These activities were integrated within the larger vision for the Mara River Basin developed by USAID/EA and USAID/Kenya, in which the Mau Forest is conserved and the recommendations of the Environmental Flow Assessment and Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan are implemented through the Lake Victoria Basin Commission.

Related: Priority Rated Optimization Model for multisector water resources managment (PROM)