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.

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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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Mount Kenya forest contributes almost 49% of the water in the Tana, the country’s biggest river. In turn, Tana River generates half of Kenya’s electricity through a series of state-owned hydro electric power stations built along its course.

The peaks of Mount Kenya. PHOTO: M. & M. Smit

At the same time, the Tana supports irrigated agriculture, fisheries, livestock production and biodiversity conservation especially in the lower, drier parts of its basin. This makes the Tana a critical natural capital in Kenya’s economic development.

Initial results from studies conducted by PRESA partners are alarming; the Tana River is steadily losing its life supporting functions due to ecosystem degradation caused by human activities at the upper and middle catchment areas.

The potential sellers of environmental services at the Upper Tana basin are land owners and farmers in the upper and middle catchment areas. Potential buyers include the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), and irrigation projects at the lower Tana River.
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The work of the PRESA project could form the basis of a larger programme by partners in Mount Kenya East who aim at conserving the entire Tana River catchment in central Kenya.

Left to right: Peter Ngubu (Water Resources Management Authority - Kenya), Bernadette Neves (IFAD reviewer), Boro Gathuo (Green Water Credits) and Delia Catacutan (World Agroforestry Centre) during a stopover at the Thiba River catchment.

A reviewer from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was in Kenya late July to find out exactly how payments for watershed services could work in such a programme.

Ms Bernadette Neves held exploratory discussions with the PRESA and Green Water Credits teams in Nairobi. She also met officers of the Mount Kenya East Pilot Programme for Natural Resource Management (MKEPP) in Embu.

During her trip, Ms Neves met Kenya government officials and visited local communities in various parts of the Upper Tana catchment.
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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.
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This picture of the Kapingazi taken in June 2009 shows water flowing despite the 2008 - 2009 drought in Kenya.

This story describes how a river that had dried up was revived through an integrated intervention approach by four government ministries. The river basin can now support the people living in it.

The concept employed is the bottom-up approach. The community analyzed the problem through a participatory rural appraisal exercise and the Government of Kenya intervened immediately afterwards with the support of Mount Kenya East Pilot Project on Natural Resources Management (MKEPP-NRM). The programme is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

The Kapingazi river basin is in Kenya and draws its water from one of the country’s most important water towers – Mt. Kenya. The Kapingazi basin is divided into three zones: the upmost area being forest zone, followed by the tea zone then the coffee zone which is part of the municipality. Each zone had a different type of intervention which MKEPP-NRM employed to counteract the basin degradation as recommended by the appraisal document.
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