A section of the crowd that attended a payments for environmental services auction held at Ntchisi in September 2008. PHOTO/V. Meadu.
A pilot programme in Malawi where farmers receive cash payments for growing trees could provide useful lessons for other environmental service projects elsewhere in Africa. The study examines different approaches to setting prices and allocating environmental service contracts when the budget for participation is limited.
This project is running in the central Malawi district of Ntchisi. “We selected central Malawi because it balances the population pressure of the south, where there is no spare land for growing trees, with the already forested North, where farmers would not need to be paid since they’re already growing trees,” says Kelsey Jack, a Harvard-based researcher.
Farmers enrolled in this project are paid 12,000 Kwacha (US$ 80) over a period of three years to plant indigenous trees on half an acre of their farms.
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The Sasumua Stakeholders' Workshop on 26th February 2009. PHOTO/M. Makela
Representatives of local communities, water users and relevant government departments have endorsed the results of PRESA’s research at the Sasumua catchment area.
When asked to respond to specific issues of the research, most participants said the findings, related to water pollution, land tenure, and land use, were an accurate reflection of the situation in the catchment.
PRESA researchers presented the research findings at a stakeholder workshop held at the Njabini Agricultural Training Centre on 26th February, 2009. Stakeholders engaged in candid and open discussion while raising continuous issues, listening to different perspectives, and showing willingness to work with other stakeholders for mutual benefit.
There were expressions of appreciation of the value of the research studies, especially from the Water Resource Management Authorities, Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company and the farmers’ forum.
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PRESA aims to facilitate rewards to encourage the people of Africa’s highlands to maintain ecosystem services, for example by adopting conservation agriculture techniques to prevent land degradation.
Wide shot of expansive highland forest in Africa. PHOTO/Presa
But what if highland forest communities don’t actually own the land? Why should they care about sustainable management when they can be asked to move at any time by the state or other land owners? Can an effective rewards for environmental service contract be established when eviction looms?
Existing research has found that giving people greater certainty over land is a crucial part of maintaining essential watershed functions. At a practical level, experience from the RUPES[1] project in Asia found that negotiating security in land tenure for highland communities is an adequate incentive for initiating positive changes in land usage, which results in more consistent river flows and decreased sedimentation. (more…)