The expansion of agricultural land to meet growing demand for food means that a lot of the water we consume flows from farms rather than from natural forest.

Supporting communities that live in watershed areas is therefore critical to ensuring the continued flow of fresh water to cities, farms and industry. Kenya’s water policy is however silent on how users of water can pay or otherwise compensate watershed communities for land use practices that reduce soil erosion while improving the flow of water.

(more…)

Unsustainable land use decisions and agricultural practices by landholders are responsible for watershed degradation. However, landholders have little or no incentive to change their ways by adopting sustainable land use practices.

PRESA researchers at Kapingazi during the survey.

That much is already known.

Little is known about landholder attitudes and preferences related to alternative land management schemes. Which practices do landholders prefer, and why? How much of their land can they set aside in a payments for environmental services (PES) scheme?

A recently published journal paper describes how researchers have adopted market research techniques to answer these questions and more.

(more…)

There is growing interest in payments and rewards for environmental services in ensuring that watersheds continue performing their crucial, life-supporting functions.

A meeting at Sasumua where PRESA met the Sasumua Water Resource User Association and the Water Resources Management Authority.

Nowhere is this interest more apparent than at the Sasumua catchment area in Kenya, which alone is responsible for 20% of the fresh water supplied to the capital city, Nairobi. Water from the catchment collects at the Sasumua reservoir, from where it is piped almost 100 kilometres to Nairobi in the south.

At least half of the Sasumua catchment area is under cultivation, hosting a high population growing at 3.5% annually. The average farm size is 2.86 acres. Polluted runoff from small towns and farms results in high rates of sedimentation, high bacterial count and high water treatment costs. The major pollutants are biological and soil materials from agricultural fields, bacteria from human and animal waste, and metallic content from roads and garages.
(more…)

Payments for environmental services target communities whose economic activities have a direct impact on environmental resources and aims at providing them with incentives for protecting the ecosystem.
(more…)

Policy makers, private sector stakeholders, and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are in Nairobi, Kenya, for two training workshops by PRESA and its partners.

The first workshop, which will be on Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) and Reducing Emissions from Degradation and Deforestation (REDD+), runs from 8 to 9 August 2011. Participants include policy makers, private sector stakeholders and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Cameroon, Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.  The content will focus on providing participants with:
(more…)

Located in the western part of Kenya, the Nyando River flows from the Rift Valley highlands, supplying irrigation water to vast rice fields along the way before emptying into Lake Victoria.

At right, Walter Adongo from the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) contributes to discussions. On the left is Pamella Were from the Moi University.

Severe problems of environmental degradation and poverty can be found throughout the Nyando basin. Soil erosion causes heavy sedimentation in the river, as yawning gulleys eat up farms and separate villages. Flooding destroys homes and farmland whenever it rains, rendering thousands of people destitute. Meanwhile, intense agricultural activity is causing excessive flow of nutrients into the Nyando River, and subsequently, into Lake Victoria.

Dialogue on solving environmental problems across the Nyando basin has been made difficult in recent years by ethnic tension between the inhabitants of the highlands and those of the lowlands.

PRESA sees payments and rewards for environmental services (PES) as a viable means of addressing environmental degradation at the Nyando River basin. However, the Nyando basin is unique in that, while the prospective sellers of environmental services are identified as the local communities, the buyers are not easy to distinguish.
(more…)

By Nyongesa Josephat

504 Kenyan farmers have received 799,724 Kenya Shillings (US$ 8,886) this year from industrialists and conservation groups around Lake Naivasha, for land use practices that ensure adequate flow of clean water into the lake through the Malewa River.

Water Resources Director, Mr John Nyaoro (left) receives a cheque from LANAWRUA chairman Mr. Richard Fox (right) before handing it over to the Upper Turasha WRUA members (seen behind). PHOTO: WWF-Naivasha staff

The payments are the second for an environmental services scheme at the upper catchment area of the Malewa River. The first payment in May 2010 was of US$10,000 from the Lake Naivasha Water Resource Users Association (LANAWRUA) to 470 farmers in the catchment.

LANAWRUA, which represents 23 member commercial farms around Lake Naivasha, is composed of the Lake Naivasha Growers Group (LNGG) and the Lake Naivasha Riparian Association (LNRA).

At this year’s event, LANAWRUA presented two cheques to the Upper Turasha-Kinja and the Wanjohi Water Resource User Associations (WRUAs). The two WRUAs represent the 504 farmers.

Wanjohi WRUA received 438, 815 Kenya Shillings (US$4,903) while Upper Turasha WRUA received 360,909 Kenya Shillings (US$4,033). The upstream WRUAs are located in the Wanjohi  and Turasha sub-catchments of the Malewa River, which flows into Lake Naivasha from the western foothills of the Aberdare Mountains.

Lake Naivasha is crucial for Kenya’s horticulture and flower production, for geothermal power generation and for tourism around the lake and Nakuru town.
(more…)

Can payments for ecosystem services (PES) – including revenues from projects focused on reducing emissions from degradation and deforestation (REDD+) – create new incentives for sustainable land use management in Africa? What are the opportunities? And what risks exist, for whom?

A view of the city of Nairobi.

These questions, and more, will be at the core of a workshop, jointly offered by the World Agroforestry Center and the international Katoomba Group with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The workshop on Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) and Reducing Emissions from Degradation and Deforestation (REDD+) runs from 8 to 9 August 2011. Participants will include policy makers, private sector stakeholders, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Cameroon, Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.  The content will focus on providing participants with an introduction to PES and REDD+, a set of guidelines for selecting the most promising PES and REDD+ sites, and an overview of how PES can be implemented.

The second workshop, scheduled for 10 to 12 August 2011, and also jointly offered by the World Agroforestry Center and the international Katoomba Group, will train project implementers (mainly NGOs) from Kenya and Uganda on social impact assessment in the design and implementation of PES projects.

We will be posting regular updates on the PRESA website as the event draws closer.

UPDATE – 22 August 2011: Presentations from the workshop are now online.

Please click here for presentations from the PES and REDD workshop.

Click here for presentations from the social impact assessment workshop.

#####################################################

(more…)

Over 120 African and Asian government negotiators, land managers, representatives of non-government organizations and climate change scientists are meeting this month at regional workshops in Cameroon and Vietnam to enhance their skills and understanding of the REDD+ implementation process.

Participants at a previous workshop organized by IISD and ASB, held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2009.

The workshops are hosted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Alternatives to Slash and Burn Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins (ASB).

REDD+ after Cancun: moving from negotiation to implementation is the theme of the two-and-a-half day workshops to be held in Douala on May 10 – 12 and Hanoi on May 18 – 20, 2011. They offer a series of expert presentations and in-depth discussions about the REDD+ process.

REDD+ is a climate change mitigation mechanism under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It goes beyond reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) to encompass sustainable management of forests, conservation and enhancement of carbon sinks in developing countries.

The 2010 Cancun agreements emphasized the need for nationally driven plans for effective implementation of REDD+. Given the complexity of the rapidly evolving subject, decision makers and key stakeholders need to be well equipped with the knowledge and skills required to formulate national strategies to ensure success of REDD+.

Click here for more on these workshops.

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.
(more…)