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.

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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.
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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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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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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.
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Cover of the hydrology report from the Sasumua site.

Nairobi city, like other major cities in Africa, relies on distant forested catchments for its water supplies. One of such catchments is the Sasumua watershed, which supplies 15% of Nairobi’s water demand.

Land use changes in upstream areas of the Sasumua watershed have led to increased sedimentation and water contamination. Ensuring proper hydrological functioning of the Sasumua watershed is therefore of critical importance to the future water supply of Nairobi.

Given the importance of the Sasumua watershed and the urgency of the problems affecting it, the World Bank with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and partners undertook a study to identify sources of sediments and pollutants in order to facilitate decision making on targeting interventions.

The study was aimed at laying the foundation for a reward scheme for hydrological services provided by farmers in the watershed. The project’s objective was to assess the nature, extent, severity and impacts of land degradation in the Sasumua watershed, thus providing technical information indispensable to the development of a payment for environmental services (PES) mechanism in the watershed.
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Conserving natural ecosystems is one of the most cost-effective and equitable measures for fighting climate change and ensuring the resilience of rural livelihoods. This was a key message at the “Landscape approaches to mitigation and adaptation” learning event at Forest Day 3 on 13 December 2009. While Forest Day aimed to ensure forests are high on the agenda for future climate outcomes, and making these outcomes work beyond Copenhagen, panelists and participants in this learning event called for a broader, “whole-landscape” approach to ensure carbon, biodiversity, water, food and income benefits.

The learning event, which was co-hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), The Nature Conservancy, and the World Bank, brought together tools and experiences for ecosystem management that can be applied in the context of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD), a hot topic at the Copenhagen climate conference.

Meine van Noordwijk presenting PRESA research at Forest Day 3, Copenhagen, December 2009

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A section of participants at the World Congress on Agroforestry held in Nairobi in August 2009. PHOTO/ICRAF.

Participants to a forum on payments for environmental services have proposed looking at other ecosystem services beyond carbon markets in order to encourage small scale farmers to engage in sustainable land practices.

Various approaches and tools were presented at the technical session to show how a variety of ecosystem services can be bundled, for example REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) combined with forest carbon markets.

Eco-labeling environmentally friendly products was presented as another viable option.

The session titled, “Rewards for the environmental services of Agroforestry” was held during the just concluded World Congress of Agroforestry in Nairobi, Kenya. Over 1,200 people attending the Congress participated in rigorous scientific discussions on up-scaling agroforestry to meet development challenges.

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The Sasumua Stakeholders' Workshop on 26th February 2009. PHOTO/M. Makela

Representatives of local communities, water users and relevant government departments have endorsed the results of PRESA’s research at the Sasumua catchment area.

When asked to respond to specific issues of the research, most participants said the findings, related to water pollution, land tenure, and land use, were an accurate reflection of the situation in the catchment.

PRESA researchers presented the research findings at a stakeholder workshop held at the Njabini Agricultural Training Centre on 26^th February, 2009. Stakeholders engaged in candid and open discussion while raising continuous issues, listening to different perspectives, and showing willingness to work with other stakeholders for mutual benefit.

There were expressions of appreciation of the value of the research studies, especially from the Water Resource Management Authorities, Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company and the farmers’ forum.
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PRESA and its partners at the Sasumua site will discuss the results of a scientific study that explores the negative impacts of water pollution and sedimentation, and land degradation, on Nairobi’s second largest source of fresh water.

John Mwangi (left) from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology with Thomas Yatich of ICRAF (right) during water sampling at Sasumua, October 17, 2008.

A stakeholder workshop on February 26^th, will give farmer associations and private land owners the results of hydrology studies conducted in 2008. Government officials will also be invited to the workshop at the Njabini Farmers Training Centre, located a short distance from the Sasumua reservoir.

PRESA scientist, Thomas Yatich, says that the workshop intends to synthesize key messages for environmental education raised from each of the study components.

“We will also obtain a review of our work by the different stakeholders invited to attend the workshop,” adds Yatich.
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