Harnessing data to sustain the Katuma River’s ecosystem

In the soft morning light along the Katuma River in western Tanzania, Nasra Nassoro stands knee-deep in the flowing water, calmly directing her team as they lower a flow monitor into place. The device hums gently, recording the river’s speed, depth, and volume.

For Nasra, Water Resources Manager at the Lake Rukwa Basin Water Board (LRBWB), this is more than routine fieldwork. It is a moment of quiet triumph.

“I have worked here as a hydrologist for 15 years,” Nasra reflects. “This area has unique potential in terms of biodiversity richness, but we struggled to manage our water resources across the Katuma catchment and maximise its benefits. The IKI Katuma project has completely transformed our ability to understand and make informed decisions.”

The Katuma River is the beating heart of one of Tanzania’s most ecologically diverse and economically vital regions. Rising in the Mwese and Mpanda Mountains on the Ufipa Plateau, it winds through Katavi National Park, one of the country’s most untouched and wildlife-rich protected areas, before emptying into Lake Rukwa. Seasonal floods recharge ecosystems and sustain habitats while supporting Tanzania’s growing tourism sector.

Beyond the park, over one million people rely on the Katuma for clean drinking water, small-scale irrigation, livestock watering, fisheries, and everyday enterprises. In recent years, the catchment has also become a strategic national food basket, playing a key role in food security and export earnings.

However, the river’s significance has also brought growing pressure. Rapid agricultural expansion, illegal water abstraction, widespread deforestation, informal fishing dams, and artisanal gold mining have disrupted natural flows, increasing sedimentation and degrading water quality and quantity. These pressures have intensified competition among water users and have threatened the park’s wildlife.

For years, the Lake Rukwa Basin Water Board could not effectively perform its river oversight responsibilities due to limited access to reliable data. Monitoring stations were sparse, and sections of the river lacked measurements altogether. Field visits were often time-consuming and occasionally dangerous. Consequently, water permits, allocations, and enforcement decisions were often reactive and based on incomplete information.

A turning point came in 2024 with the launch of the International Climate Initiative (IKI)-funded Katuma project, implemented by SNV in partnership with GIZ, the Lake Rukwa Basin Water Board, and local stakeholders. From the earliest discussions, Nasra and her colleagues helped shape the initiative, ensuring it addressed real on-the-ground needs.

After researching technologies suited to the catchment’s conditions, SNV selected an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), a portable device that delivers accurate discharge data.

Crucially, the project focused on building users’ skills, confidence, and independence. Nasra and her team of more than 10 hydrologists received intensive hands-on training and ongoing mentoring, covering the full data lifecycle: field protocols, collection, storage, analysis, interpretation, reporting, and dissemination.

For the first time, the Board gained access to reliable, real-time hydrological information. Teams can now update rating curves, track seasonal flow patterns, and generate evidence to guide water abstraction permits, flood-risk planning, and infrastructure investments.

Access to improved data also allowed them to anticipate dry-season shortages, reduce conflicts between upstream irrigators and downstream needs, guide farmers toward more sustainable practices, and safeguard environmental flows essential for Katavi National Park’s ecosystem.

Nasra played a pivotal mentoring role throughout. She coordinated monitoring schedules across the catchment, organised field teams, and ensured colleagues were trained in both data handling and communication.

Over time, Nasra’s own leadership grew alongside her technical expertise, leading to her well-earned promotion to Water Resources Manager.

The benefits rippled outward to other community members. Trained gauge readers like Hilary Daudi Kapenegele, a member of the Katuma Water Users Association has this to say:

“I never fully realised how this data would also benefit us directly, at community and individual levels, as farmers and livestock keepers.” She adds, “Now we understand its value, and we discuss findings in village meetings to decide on necessary actions.”

The project is also developing accessible visual tools, such as clear charts, dashboards, and simple graphics, that make complex hydrological information understandable to everyone, including schoolchildren.

These efforts are cultivating a culture of shared stewardship. Communities are increasingly becoming informed partners in managing the catchment rather than passive recipients of regulations.

The Katuma experience was intentionally designed as a replicable model. By investing in local institutions and professionals like Nasra, the IKI Katuma project offers an approach that could be adapted to Tanzania’s nine other water basins. Reliable data, skilled teams, and engaged communities provide a strong foundation for sustainable management anywhere.

Challenges remain. Climate variability, population growth, and increasing demand continue to pressure the river. Hence, Nasra remains realistic:

“Katuma has improved significantly. We are not where we once were, but not yet where we aim to be. More investment is needed, but now we have the evidence and confidence to advocate for it.”

The IKI Katuma project demonstrates the power of targeted, people-centred support. Modern equipment opens possibilities, but it is training, mentoring, and leadership development that turns tools into enduring change.

As Tanzania confronts escalating water challenges, Nasra’s story offers both inspiration and a clear pathway toward integrated, evidence-based water management, fair water allocation, flood and drought resilience, and long-term climate adaptation.