Lesser Flamingoes Threatened

Lake Natron, the only breeding site of Lesser Flamingoes in East Africa, may become the site of a soda ash extraction plant.

Lesser Flamingoes are the smallest and most numerous of the five flamingo species, with an estimated world population of about two million birds. Though this sounds like a healthy population, the species is classified as "near threatened" on the IUCN Red List. This is probably partly due to the fact that 75% of the birds breed at one site in East Africa—Lake Natron in Tanzania.

Lake Natron is a seemingly inhospitable site: a caustic lake, it is rendered highly alkaline by volcanic ash from Africa’s Great Rift Valley. Hot springs also make the water very hot at times. Lake Natron supports little life, but a few species thrive there: Lesser Flamingoes visit the lake to feed on the blue-green algae that thrive in the water, and to breed on the muddy shore.

The breeding season of Lesser Flamingoes is easily disrupted—they are sensitive to changes in water levels and water chemistry, and human disturbance. The disruption of breeding in 75% of the global population of Lesser Flamingoes would inevitably have a devastating effect on this already "near-threatened" species.

Recently, Lake Natron has attracted industrial interest: Lake Natron Resources Ltd. wants to build a soda ash extraction plant that would pump 530 cubic meters of water out of the lake every hour to extract sodium carbonate. A thermal power facility may also be built. The results of an environmental assessment are anxiously awaited.

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