Details of PRESA activities scheduled for 2010 are now available on our website.

There is information about activities that cut across the PRESA project, including specific details about site-level work. With each of the current seven sites having its own page of activities, stakeholders will get a clear view of what work is planned  for their site. To visit the page, please click on the menu item labeled ‘Activities’ as shown in the picture above.

The Mountain Forum network presents “Payments for Environmental Services (PES) in Mountain Areas” as the focus of its latest bulletin.

“PES has emerged as a mechanism for financing conservation from various movements: those concerned with sustainable natural resource management, donors and policy makers, and development practitioners concerned with climate change and shrinking availability of environmental resources,” says Frans Neuman, Executive Secretary of Mountain Forum.

Featured articles and case studies have been contributed by the Mountain Forum network and those of partner organizations such as the World Bank, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the German Development Cooperation (GTZ), the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), Wetlands International, the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Conservation International (CI), the Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

Case studies are grouped according to regions: Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Africa.

Visit http://www.mtnforum.org/rs/bul.cfm to download the Bulletin.

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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By Mildred Atukunda

Poor communities rely on ecosystems for safe drinking water, nourishment and for earning a living. In Rushebeya – Kanyabaha, the ecosystem includes wetland streams, rivers, open water bodies and the beautiful, hilly scenery. However, there is no judicious sharing of benefits between sellers and buyers of environmental services.

A wetland in western Uganda. PHOTO/Nature Harness Initiatives

The Rushebeya – Kanyabaha, wetland not only benefits human beings but also acts as a habitat for animals and birds. The most common animal is popularly known as Ejobe (Sitatunga or Marshbuck). As you move around the area, you cannot fail to notice Uganda’s most beautiful and elegant bird – the Crested Crane.

Seven parishes share this wetland and all benefit in one way or the other. People carry out beekeeping as well as growing Irish potatoes, cabbages, sorghum and apples in the cool climate. The wetland provides raw material for basketry, mat weaving and thatching of roofs. The wetland is a blessing in such away that people collect local herbs to cure and treat illnesses like malaria. It is a source of water for animals in the area. Many people have benefited from its fish ponds and wells.
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Over 20 PRESA site partners and ICRAF staff took part in a workshop on Outcome Mapping in March 2010. The workshop helped partner organizations get involved in making the 2010 PRESA budget and work plan.

The Outcome Mapping workshop took place from 1st to 6th March at the Brackenhurst Conference Centre in Limuru, Kenya. It coincided with a meeting of PRESA’s International Advisory Committee on March 4 where the 2010 budget and programme of activities were discussed.

The workshop lasted four days and was led by Julius Nyangaga, an Outcome Planning leader for East Africa. Julius also works with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

Below are pictures taken during the workshop. Please click on a photo to view a larger version and its caption.

Click here to view the photos>

A carbon project in Malawi where participating farmers get cash for growing trees is the subject of a radio script by Farm Radio Weekly. The script can be used by broadcasters to create a radio programme.

Registering for reverse auction at Ntchisi in September 2008. The reverse auction was aimed at finding out what price to pay farmers in the tree carbon project. PHOTO/V. Meadu

Farm Radio Weekly (FRW) was interested in a story on some of the ways smallholder farmers benefit from PRESA. The PRESA coordinating office in Nairobi drew their attention to the tree planting project in Malawi being implemented by ICRAF and the Malawi government.

Though Malawi is not yet a PRESA site, the cash-for-trees payments offer interesting lessons that could be used for other payments for environmental service schemes in the rest of Africa. FRW conducted interviews with farmers involved in the project as well as project managers. All of them expressed positive views about the project. The interviews took place in early 2009.
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The IFAD climate change fact sheet.

The RUPES and PRESA projects have been cited among IFAD-funded programmes that can help poor, rural people cope with and mitigate the impact of climate change.

The sister programmes are discussed in a fact sheet titled, “Climate Change: a development challenge.”

IFAD, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, released the fact sheet to describe its work on climate change mitigation and adaptation.
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This week, PRESA is training over 20 site partners and ICRAF staff on outcome mapping. The training will help each site partner to define goals at their sites while empowering them to contribute to the PRESA workplan and budget for 2010.

Outcome mapping training for PRESA staff and partners is underway in Limuru, Kenya. At right is lead facilitator, Julius Nyangaga, from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

The training in outcome mapping began on Monday, 1st March, 2010 at the Brackenhurst Conference Centre in Limuru, Kenya. It will run until Saturday the 6th of March. The training coincides with the annual meeting of the PRESA International Advisory Committee, scheduled for Thursday, March 4.

“We thought that the making of the 2010 PRESA workplan and budget should be a participatory process,” says Thomas Yatich of ICRAF, “that is why we are training our partners in outcome mapping.”

Is outcome mapping a new buzz word among development workers? What exactly does it mean?
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The Advisory Committee of the Pro-poor Rewards for Environmental Services in Africa project (PRESA) will hold its fourth meeting on 4th March 2010 at the Brackenhurst Conference Centre, just outside Nairobi, Kenya.

Scene from the 2009 PRESA IAC meeting. Front row, left to right: Biryahwaho Byamukama (Uganda), Ilaria Firmian (IFAD representative) and Thomas Yatich (ICRAF).

At the meeting, the International Advisory Committee will review PRESA’s achievements in 2009. Committee members will discuss and refine PRESA strategies for 2010 as the project gets into the second half of its four year life.

The PRESA International Advisory Committee advises and provides strategic direction in the planning, implementation, communication and evaluation of the project. The committee consists of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), ICRAF, representatives of landscape and national contact organizations, representatives of the private sector, key donor agencies and other international organizations involved in the project.
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It is now possible for PRESA site partners to have profile pages within the PRESA website. Apart from describing partner organizations, the profile pages will make it easier for visitors to find out specific activities that each partner is implementing at PRESA sites.

The profile pages will contain the details of each partner, the people behind the organization and the activities they are carrying out. Research work emanating from site activities will be a useful feature in the profile pages. The work can be posted either in part or in whole, depending on the preferences of each author.

The PRESA website gets over 1,000 visitors a month and some of these could visit the websites of site partners through links that will be provided in their profile pages.

In order to build the partner profiles, it will be necessary for link persons in each organization to send us details that they feel will boost their presence on the PRESA website. The PRESA communications team can assist partners in building their profile pages using the information that they submit.

Having profile pages will certainly boost partner organizations’ visibility.