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…)

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.
(more…)

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.
(more…)

Located at the southern ridges of Kenya’s Aberdare Mountain, Sasumua dam provides the capital city of Nairobi with 20 percent of its fresh water needs. However, human activities around the dam’s catchment are causing sedimentation and contamination by water pollutants.

A technician from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology taking water samples from a river feeding the Sasumua Reservoir. The water samples were later tested to determine pollution levels.

Pollution from small towns and farms results in a high bacterial count in rivers, abnormal acidity levels and a dangerous concentration of toxins. The major pollutants are plant and animal waste, municipal waste, as well as runoff from agricultural and industrial activities along river tributaries.

Water quality and allocation are fundamental issues in the area – these have been the source of discontent and mistrust between Nairobi’s water supplier and local farmers. The implementation of policies that seek to address the conflicting interests of multiple water users is marred with challenges.

Unless, the competing objectives of those living in the watershed and those consuming water in far away towns are simultaneously met, the issues around water will compound and will become more complex.
(more…)

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.
(more…)

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.
(more…)

Agricultural and industrial activities are polluting Lake Victoria with vast amounts of soil and chemicals. Since fishing is a major business in the lake, interventions that mitigate soil erosion and pollution in river basins are necessary to secure the future of the fishing industry and thus, the livelihoods of millions of people.

A deep gulley caused by erosion in the Nyando basin, Kenya.

The PRESA project is focusing on the Nyando and Yala river basins whose catchments are the cause of the problems mentioned above.

By using reward or transfer schemes for environmental services, PRESA partners intend to connect groups that depend on the lake with groups whose activities influence the lake’s health.
(more…)

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.
(more…)