The Kagera River is one of the largest rivers flowing into Lake Victoria, the largest fresh water body in Africa. The natural resources of the Kagera river basin face increasing pressure as a result of population growth, intensification of agriculture and livestock activities and unsustainable land management practices.

A farm in the Kagera River basin. PHOTO: FAO

The Kagera river basin covers an area of 59,700 square kilometres, distributed between Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. The basin supports some 16.5 million people, the majority in rural areas and depending directly on farming, herding and fishing activities. Most of the inhabitants are very poor and unable to invest in improved resources management.

Refugee movements in recent decades have further increased pressures on resources in the basin, raising actual and potential conflicts between interest groups and across countries.
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Strengthening local institutions is key to ensuring the involvement of smallholder farmers in payments for environmental service (PES) deals. PRESA worked with Nature Harness Initiatives (NAHI) in Uganda to prepare local stakeholders for participation in carbon PES along River Wambabya in the Albertine Rift, and watershed PES at the Rushebeya-Kanyabaha wetland.

A wetland in Uganda. PHOTO: NAHI

The work involved cataloguing the potential sellers, intermediaries and private-sector buyers of environmental services in the two landscapes. Awareness creation was conducted among potential sellers at community level. These included existing groups and networks of land owners, forest owners, people engaged in forest and wetland-based enterprises, parish wetland management committees and other users of forest and wetland resources.

The potential buyers included Kisiizi Hospital Power Company (at Rushebeya-Kanyabaha) and British American Tobacco and McLeod Russel Uganda( at Wambabya). Dialogue on PES was initiated among the potential buyers and government institutions. At the Wambabya riverine forest system, the two private sector companies have contributed greatly to ecosystem conservation in their areas of operation.
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Who said carbon cannot pay for water? PRESA facilitated the expansion of Ecotrust’s work on Trees for Global benefits to enable farmers growing trees in the River Mobuku watershed in Uganda to access carbon payments. Mobuku River watershed lies at the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains.

A woodlot of 'Prunus Africana' trees in the Ecotrust Uganda project area. PHOTO: Ecotrust Uganda

Before a carbon project is implemented, a lot of work goes into linking communities with potential carbon buyers. This article is a summary of activities by Ecotrust Uganda and PRESA, in getting farmers into carbon offsetting.

Farmer mobilisation

Several strategies were employed including home visits by Ecotrust field staff and meetings with local leaders in the areas targeted for the carbon project. Community-based officers from Ecotrust disseminated information about the project to local leaders and farmers and invited them for training meetings.

Farmer sensitisation

There were two induction meetings for farmers from the Ruboni Community Development Organisation in Bugoye sub-country and Mobuku Integrated Farmers’ Association in Maliba sub-county. Farmers from the two organizations were sensitized on the procedures of getting involved in carbon offsets. These meetings are critical because project requirements are explained to all those interested in joining the carbon project.
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Communities engaged in the Trees for Global Benefits carbon project in western Uganda are getting additional income from the medicinal values of a particular tree, but the lucrative benefits are putting the tree in danger, as criminals reap where others have planted.

A debarked Prunus africana tree. PHOTO: Gerald Kairu

The carbon project, implemented by the Environmental Conservation Trust of Uganda (ECOTRUST), uses voluntary carbon standards to link carbon producers (who are farmers and landowners growing trees) with global buyers of carbon credits.

Farmers participating in the Trees for Global Benefits projects are selected using criteria specified in Plan Vivo standards. Plan Vivo is a system for developing community-based payments for environmental service projects and programmes.

If successfully selected, the farmer signs a carbon sales contract and gets paid. However, farmers must draw up a land management plan making use of approved tree species such as Maesopsis eminii, Cordia sp., Khaya sp.and Prunus africana.

The carbon absorption rate (sequestration) of these species is known, making it easier to calculate how much carbon has been sequestered after a given time frame.
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Nature Harness Initiatives (NAHI) is a Ugandan civil society organisation, working with PRESA to enhance ecosystem conservation while improving people’s income.

NAHI hopes to reverse wetland degradation by facilitating collaborative management plans, and developing one or more PES (payment for ecosystem services) schemes to generate financial resources to help pay for wetland management activities.

PES in Uganda is a relatively new practice, and NAHI has much to learn about how the concepts and principles can be applied.

NAHI and PRESA are conducting research that will lead to workable rewards for environmental service agreements in two landscapes: the Rushebeya-Kanyabaha wetland and the Wambabya riverine forests. Both lie in western Uganda, within the Albertine Rift associate site of the PRESA project.
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Over 40 farmers in western Uganda are benefiting from a bee-keeping project supported by PRESA and its partner organization. The project enhanced the production and marketing of ecolabelled honey (eco-honey) as an incentive for greater community involvement in managing the River Mobuku watershed.

A training session on bee keeping at Kasese, Uganda. PHOTO: ECOTRUST Uganda

Eco-honey is certified honey that is harvested using environmentally friendly methods. With an ‘Eco’ label, the honey gets better access to global markets and relatively higher prices compared to non-ecolabelled honey.

The Ugandan eco-honey project titled, “Market-based incentives to promote conservation of natural resources in the Albertine Rift, Uganda,” was implemented by the Environmental Conservation Trust of Uganda (ECOTRUST) in Kasese district within the Albertine Rift.

ECOTRUST is a PRESA partner organization working in this area of great ecological value.
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At a conference in Jinja, Uganda, held in October 2010, the Network for Environmental Services in Africa (NESA) was formed to share experiences from payments for environmental service (PES) projects in Africa.

A section of conference participants are seen in this group photo.

Members include researchers, environmentalists and representatives of relevant government institutions.

NESA is currently hosted at the Victoria Institute for Research on Environment and Development (VIRED), which is located in Kisumu, Kenya.

The Jinja conference, which ran from 20th to 22nd October 2010, attracted 78 participants from across Africa and the rest of the world. It was aimed at addressing the challenges faced in embracing payments for environmental services in Africa.

Proceedings of the conference will be compiled into a book to be disseminated in 2011.

The Albertine Rift in western Uganda rises from an altitude of 700 metres to 5,000 metres at the peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains. It is a nature paradise of trees, plants, animals, birds and fish.

A tree nursery in Uganda. PHOTO: V. Meadu.

Population increase, and the resultant demand for agricultural land and timber, necessitates ensuring that ecological resources are not exploited to depletion. Rewarding communities for environmental services is one way of doing this as it creates incentives for conservation.

However, the development of reward mechanisms requires a thorough understanding of the ecosystem services in question, potential buyers, intermediaries and suppliers, institutional arrangements and the policy environment.

In western Uganda, PRESA has partnered with two local organizations: Ecotrust Uganda and Nature Harness Initiatives (NAHI). Both are helping communities adopt sustainable land use practices and benefit from stronger links to markets for ecosystem services.
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Individuals and institutions working in payments for environmental services are invited to submit papers to the International Conference on Payments for Ecosystem Services in the Eastern and Central Africa Sub-Region.

Ugandan fishermen near the point where the River Nile leaves Lake Victoria at Jinja. PHOTO/ Dan A'Vard/Flickr

The conference, which runs from 20th to 22nd October 2010 in Jinja (Uganda), aims at addressing the challenges faced in embracing payments for environmental services in Africa.

Conference discussions will focus on watershed management, carbon sequestration, and the institutional and policy issues necessary for implementing sustainable Payment for Environmental Services (PES) schemes.

Keynote speakers will discuss current and emerging environmental issues related to the East and Central African landscapes. They will also talk about the opportunities presented by PES schemes to local communities and for environmental conservation.
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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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