Esther Mbugua (right), a researcher at the Kapingazi survey, interviews a farming couple in October 2009. PHOTO/M. Makela

PRESA is currently evaluating data from the Kapingazi River Basin, following a socio-economic survey done in October 2009.

The survey will contribute to the design of a river care programme that will enhance watershed services from the upper Tana River basin. The Tana, Kenya’s largest river, powers a series of hydro electric power stations as well as supplying towns and farms with fresh water.

“From the survey, PRESA and partners will facilitate a negotiation support mechanism between sellers and buyers of environmental services and help them reach a compromise,” says Thomas Yatich of ICRAF.

PRESA sees its role as that of an intermediary, linking land holders in the Upper Tana (providers of watershed services) with buyers (electricity companies, municipalities and irrigation projects).

“We are looking at the preferences of farmers in providing environmental services,” explains Dr Bedru Balana of the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, “for example, what type of land use change they can implement, what types of interventions are needed and whether they prefer long or short term commitments.”

Based in Scotland, the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute has been collaborating with PRESA in 2009.

About the Kapingazi Basin

The Kapingazi river basin in Kenya draws its water from one of the country’s most important water towers – Mt. Kenya. Riparian areas of Kapingazi River have been degraded over the years due to land use change in the face of population increases. This has led to increased sediment flows into the river and water contamination. Consequently downstream hydropower reservoirs on the Tana River are silted. This has interfered with hydropower production, resulting in power rationing especially during drought periods.

ICRAF and its partners – through the project for fostering fair, workable rewards mechanisms for environmental services – are working towards designing a RiverCare Prototype mechanism to arrest the situation. This will reduce sedimentation and water pollution and, in the long run, ensure sustained flows for hydropower production.

Socio-economic, conjoint analyses and contingent valuation surveys will provide solid scientific evidence to shape such a mechanism design.

How the survey was done

The entire exercise lasted close to two weeks, running from 5^th to 19^th October. The first week consisted of interviews and training sessions with community leaders to explain the purpose and methodology of the survey. There were focus group discussions with farmer representatives and government officers on the causes of environmental problems. For instance, why do farmers engage in activities that are harmful to their environment? These sessions were useful as the community made suggestions on how the survey could be done.

The second week was devoted to data collection. Apart from two Masters students working with PRESA, the rest of the enumerators were selected from the local community. The training they received in preparation for the survey will help build their capacity for environmental matters and instill an appreciation of the multi-functionality of landscapes across different scales.

Several land use scenarios were presented to farmers to detect their preferences (conjoint analysis). Before the survey, scientists at ICRAF came up with 108 possible options that farmers were likely to choose. This implied that 108 households were to be picked for sampling out of the 2,600 found in the target area.

The scenarios were categorized as follows:

• Percentage of land a farmer could dedicate to rewards for environmental service (PES) activities on his/her farm.
• The type of measure that will determine how much farmers should get. Should rewards be based on land lease rates, on water rates or should they be pegged on the costs of extension services?
• Length of commitment: long term or short term.
• How much labour is the farmer willing to contribute each month?

To avoid bias in selecting households, the target area was subdivided into blocks of 500 square metres. Interviewers then went into a single household within each block. In the end, 125 households were sampled.

Another objective of the survey was contingent valuation. If the respondent chose a combination of land management practices, how much compensation would be acceptable?

Next steps

PRESA and its partners, including the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), are analyzing data from the October 2009 survey. The results will be presented to farmers and other stakeholders so as to discuss a river-care programme for the Kapingazi basin.

Another PRESA partner, the Mount Kenya East Pilot Project for Natural Resources Management (MKEPP-NRM) has indicated willingness to invest in implementing the river care programme.

Lots of useful experience was gained during the survey and PRESA is eager to extend the methodology to anybody else implementing rewards for environmental services in Africa.

Location map

View Kapingazi river catchment in a larger map