Serge Ngendakumana of ICRAF (standing at left) making a presentation on pro poor reward mechanisms for ecosystem services in Africa. Serge is the PRESA site co-ordinator at the Fouta Djallon highlands.

The Fouta Djallon highlands are a core site of PRESA. Critical environmental services offered by the Fouta Djallon ecosystem are water quality and quantity for more than eight countries, biodiversity conservation and trees for carbon sequestration.

For the past two years, ICRAF has been involved with other key stakeholders in advocating policy related issues in the sub region. Working with the ICRAF office in Guinea, PRESA organized a multi-stakeholder meeting to analyse payments for environmental service issues and develop a road map for future developments in the areas of ecosystems.
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Boundary agents straddle the multiple and varied boundaries between stakeholders, facilitating linkages between knowledge and action. PHOTO/V. Meadu

There is a wealth of scientific knowledge regarding environmental services that needs to be linked with the knowledge and actions of policy makers and resource users.

Under real life circumstances, knowledge does not flow as easily as it should and policy makers make crucial decisions affecting vast populations without the benefit of accurate data. It is therefore important to bring the right knowledge to the right people for purposes of informed policy making.

A new policy brief published by PRESA demonstrates the usefulness of boundary organizations in bridging the gap between knowledge and action. Boundary organizations provide both training and “safe spaces” where politically or scientifically sensitive matters are pursued.

Successful boundary work is often attributed to boundary agents who straddle the multiple and varied boundaries between stakeholders: translating, communicating and facilitating linkages between knowledge and action.

The policy brief is titled, “Key activities and guiding principles for linking science and policy for PRESA.” You can download and read it through the link below (527KB):

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…)