Nature Harness Initiatives (NAHI) is a Ugandan civil society organisation, working with PRESA to enhance ecosystem conservation while improving people’s income.

NAHI hopes to reverse wetland degradation by facilitating collaborative management plans, and developing one or more PES (payment for ecosystem services) schemes to generate financial resources to help pay for wetland management activities.

PES in Uganda is a relatively new practice, and NAHI has much to learn about how the concepts and principles can be applied.

NAHI and PRESA are conducting research that will lead to workable rewards for environmental service agreements in two landscapes: the Rushebeya-Kanyabaha wetland and the Wambabya riverine forests. Both lie in western Uganda, within the Albertine Rift associate site of the PRESA project.
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The last two months have been a busy time for PRESA at our site in Sasumua (central Kenya), as we discuss with stakeholders, including the local community, on how a payments for environmental services scheme should work.

At right, the Chairman of the Sasumua Water Resources User Association (WRUA), Isaac Muraguri, talks about the WRUA's history during a meeting with PRESA on 16 February, 2011. On the left of the picture is another WRUA member, Samson Njuguna.

A series of meetings and site visits have been held to talk about farmers’ interests, government policy and private sector concerns. This has helped PRESA understand the issues that are important to each stakeholder.

The main realization from these discussions is that farmers and water sector regulators generally have a positive view on establishing a payments scheme for watershed services at Sasumua. On the other hand, the main buyer of watershed services, which in this case is the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, has reservations though it remains committed to catchment conservation.
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PRESA’s mapping specialist, Miika Mäkelä, went to the Coyah site in Guinea in November 2010 to assess the potential for watershed payments for environmental services (PES).

During the visit, he collected geographical data and visited the Coyah water treatment plant and the Coyah Water Bottling Company. From his subsequent discussions with the local PRESA team and site leader Serge Ngendakumana, there is potential for developing watershed environmental services payments in the site.

PRESA is currently examining mapping data and conducting land use change analysis. Other objectives of the trip included finalising research design, agreeing on a research methodology and training enumerators on data collection tools.
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Humans are more dependent upon ecosystem services and biodiversity than ever before, according to researchers.

Nature provides ecosystem services that benefit economic development. PHOTO: V. Meadu

A new study has demonstrated that human well-being derived from three major ecosystem services has been increasing, particularly in countries considered to be biodiversity hotspots. The ecosystem services are water provision, biodiversity and carbon storage.

This study aimed to answer the question, ‘are humans still so dependent on ecosystems?’ The researchers analysed three indicators of human well-being provided by ecosystems:

(i.) production of wood;

(ii.) production of hydroelectricity, which depends on river flow; and

(iii.) investment in tourism, which depends on the cultural and aesthetic value of an area.
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Photo by PRESA.

Human pressures on freshwater resources have seriously reduced the security of water for people and river biodiversity across the world, according to a recent study. Almost 80 per cent of the world’s population is at high risk from threats to water security and 65 per cent of river habitats are under threat.

Freshwater systems are endangered by the activities of a rapidly growing global population and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. Not only is water essential to life, but aquatic biodiversity provides important ecosystem services, including supporting the livelihoods of many of the world’s poorest people.

This study investigated 23 individual environmental stressors caused by human activities that are affecting the health of rivers. All stressors were grouped under four themes:

1). water resource development (e.g. building dams),

2). pollution (e.g. mercury deposition),

3). catchment or watershed disturbances (e.g. converting forests to agricultural land), and

4). biotic factors (e.g. the introduction of invasive alien species).
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PRESA is carrying out a study on the drivers of land use change in the Upper Tana catchment, specifically, the Kapingazi River. Knowledge of the forces driving land use change will help inform policy interventions needed to enhance ecosystem services in the Upper Tana River catchment.
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Over 200 households in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, were interviewed in a survey by PRESA, to find out whether consumers of water in the city are willing to pay for watershed conservation.

Left to right: Bedru Balana from the Macaulay Institute for Land Use Research reviews a survey questionnaire with Mwangi Gathenya and John Kimani Mwangi, both from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology in Kenya.

The survey, held from 19 – 26 October is part of PRESA activities of linking communities living in the catchment area of Sasumua Dam with water users in Nairobi. Sasumua Dam supplies the city with about 20% of its fresh water needs.

The one-week survey was done in six sub-locations in central and Northwestern parts of the city: Ruthimitu, Loresho, Mountain View, Gatina, Maziwa, and Upper-Parklands. According to the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC), these are some of the areas that receive water from Sasumua Dam.

There were also two focus group discussions held at the World Agroforestry Centre offices. The Centre’s staff living in the targeted areas were invited to participate. The discussions brought up issues of water availability and quality of service from Nairobi’s water company.
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A total of 137 out of 1,215 farmers in Kibungo Juu ward, in Morogoro region, have benefited from a water conservation project in Uluguru Mountain under the Equitable Payment for Watershed Services (EPWS) programme. They have also planted about 170,000 trees.

Speaking to ‘The Guardian’ newspaper recently in Morogoro, one of the residents, Rehema Chuma, said the project had helped them increase crop production after they started applying modern agricultural technologies.

She said at least 137 farmers had been awarded by EPWS after they had shown agricultural improvement and conservation of water sources. She noted that the programme aimed at ensuring water conservation and enabling farmers to improve their livelihoods through agriculture.

She explained that previously they were getting fewer crops due to lack of agricultural education and modern seeds.

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The Uluguru Mountains are a chain of cool, wet, highland forests in central Tanzania that have attracted human settlement for hundreds of years.

A meeting with a local community at the Uluguru Mountains. PHOTO: M. Mäkelä

The mountains are the source of the Ruvu River, which sustains 2.8 million people in Tanzania’s capital city, Dar es Salaam.

With the Uluguru population currently standing at over 100,000 people, pressure from farming and logging activities has significantly reduced forest cover. This has negatively affected water quantity and quality of River Ruvu.

In recent years, several conservation projects have been initiated that aim to restore the natural resource base of the Ulugurus. However, not all have been equally successful.

Therefore, the focus has shifted from subsidy-based approaches for conservation activities to more direct payments for environmental services under which farmers receive economic incentives for providing watershed services through their conservation efforts.
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On Thursday, May 20, 2010, environmental service sellers and buyers signed one of the very first environmental service contracts in Kenya. The aim is to secure livelihoods and habitats for biodiversity and economic development in the Lake Naivasha catchment.

Members of the Wanjohi Water Resource Users Association (left and centre) receive a cheque from Mr. Eugene Reeksting (right), Vice Chairman of the Lake Naivasha Water Users Association. PHOTO/Mukele Nyongesa Josephat

With support from the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and CARE- Kenya, the contract was signed after a careful process of stakeholder analysis and dialogue followed by identification of environmental service sellers and buyers, trust building, development of a memorandum of understanding and fine tuning seller – buyer negotiations.

The Lake Naivasha environmental services contract is part of a joint WWF and CARE- Kenya scheme known as Equitable Payment for Watershed Services (EPWS). This environmental services scheme is geared towards providing downstream water users with quality water as the environmental service. The water is needed for agriculture, horticulture, ecotourism, fisheries, geothermal power generation and for the timber industry.
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