Workshops

In late April we organized a successful start-up meeting of the International Advisory Committee (IAC) workshop in Entebbe, Kampala. This was followed by site visits and preparations of the project’s 2008 annual workplan and budget.

In September, PRESA participated in the East and Southern African Katoomba Group meeting in Dar es Salaam and Morogoro. We co-sponsored a training funded by USAID, and facilitated the attendance of eight site-level and national level partners. In addition to the public meeting, the coordination team and partners attended the pre-conference training, where Dr. Brent Swallow gave a lecture on payments for biodiversity services.

During the conference we officially launched PRESA activities in Tanzania and engaged the private sector in dialogue on the links between ecosystem management and business. We also held the second meeting of our International Advisory Committee.

Site level

PRESA collaborators are undertaking baseline syntheses in all the sites. Results from these baseline syntheses are already informing the project’s 2009 annual budget and workplan.

In Kenya, at the Sasumua catchment, the PRESA Coordination Office has partnered with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya Agricultural Productivity Project Secretariat (KS), Kenyatta University and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). Together we are undertaking watershed delineation, land degradation analyses, land tenure mapping, hydrological modelling, water quality assessment and environmental audit to link land use change in upstream areas to the quality and quantity of hydrological services.

Results from these studies will provide baseline information for a catchment management plan that will address sedimentation and water contamination problems experienced at the Sasumua water treatment works. Sasumua Dam supplies 20% of Nairobi’s water demand.

The catchment management plan will have, as an integral component, the design of a reward scheme for hydrological services. This will provide an institutional mechanism and platform for the financing of catchment conservation, regional planning and development. A reward scheme for hydrological services in the Sasumua catchment is seen as providing lessons and experiences for scaling out in other critical watersheds in Kenya as well as across Africa.

PRESA core team has also undertaken an inventory of PES and PES-like mechanisms in the Nyando and Yala River Basins and in Central Highlands of Kenya.

In Tanzania the PRESA coordination office has provided technical support for land cover mapping and production of a watershed service risk map of Kibungo Catchment, Ulugurus Mountains and preliminary scoping study in Lushoto, Western Usambara Mountains.

In the Albertine Rift of Uganda, apart from facilitating baseline syntheses, PRESA team from the coordination office has provided technical support for forest change detection from Landsat images for Bugoma landscape.

Students

In 2008, several graduates are undertaking research that links different project activities. We have 3 students from Michigan State University, 1 from Syracuse University, 2 students from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and 1 from University of East Anglia.

Funding

Funds from USAID have supported the training workshop in Dar es Salaam and the field studies of two of the students from Michigan State University. Capacity building objectives of the PRESA project will in 2009 be enhanced through a newly funded project on “Building Ecosystem Services Research Capacity in Semi-Arid Africa,” funded by the UK Department for International Development.

Next Steps

Currently we are in the process of preparing our 2009 annual workplan and budget and we look forward to working again with the extended PRESA team and our donors: the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the European Union and the Government of Finland.

Thanks to payments from smallholder carbon farming and the sale of traditional crafts made from wetland resources, communities in south-western Uganda can access loans and training, resulting in improved living standards and greater confidence to participate in civil affairs.

Demand for land is putting a strain on the Albertine Rift. PHOTO/V. Meadu

Techniques used to mobilize people into caring for their environment have fostered closer co-operation among community members. Meanwhile, the area’s biodiversity is much safer from the encroachment of disruptive economic activities.

PRESA’s interest in western Uganda arose from these existing projects which are forms of rewards for ecosystem services. PRESA is already engaging with grassroots organizations to enhance the benefits directed at smallholders as part of its “Pro - poor” mandate.

In Western Uganda lies the branch of the East African Rift Valley system which contains Lake Albert, hence giving this region its other name as the ‘Albertine Rift.’ The Albertine Rift rises to more than 5,000 meters at the Rwenzori Mountains. Savanna grassland is found at the Rift valley floor and woodland, montane forest and bamboo are found at higher elevations. The Albertine Rift is a nature paradise with abundant animals, birds and fish.

Rising demand for agricultural produce, land, timber and water is putting pressure on the Albertine Rift, with some plant and animal species already threatened with extinction. Luckily though - and we hope just in time - the concept of carbon offsets is likely to reduce the kind of devastation seen in other parts of Africa.

PRESA is implemented in conjunction with projects led by two Ugandan organizations: Ecotrust Uganda and Nature Harness Initiatives (NAHI). Both organizations work with communities to adopt more sustainable land use practices and to better negotiate with international markets.

Carbon farmers in Bitekero, Uganda. Photo/V.Meadu

Ecotrust Uganda facilitates the negotiation of carbon payments that encourage farmers to plant trees. Carbon funds are provided by companies wishing to offset their greenhouse gas emissions by funding afforestation and reforestation programmes. NAHI is helping women use wetland resources to weave baskets that are exported overseas. As a result, the women are supplementing family incomes. Ecotrust and NAHI are setting the basis for local people to earn sustainable livelihoods from the ecosystem, which can in turn enhance ecosystem stewardship and reduce pressure on remaining resources.

Growing trees is providing new incomes for households. Not only do trees protect land from erosion but they provide fruits, wood fuel and construction poles. Other benefits include fodder, seeds, windbreak, shade, and manure. Certain tree species such as Prunus Africana have medicinal qualities. An increase in tree cover provides favourable habitat for bees which could enhance the production of honey - an important economic activity here.

Research by Sarah Carter from the Plan Vivo Foundation (a long-term partner of Ecotrust), found a number of associated benefits that result from payments to farmers. Carbon farmers that get their cash payments through Ecotrust must join a local village bank which processes the payments. With time, the bank has begun allowing carbon farmers to apply for loans using their regular payments as security. This presents viable prospects for investment among the area’s population.

NAHI works with existing Community Based Organizations (CBO’s) which are useful in mobilizing members to join training events while providing a forum for participant support. It is much easier to recruit new participants in rewards for environmental services through CBOs because they are seen as contributing towards income generating projects. CBOs have an important role in leadership development and through these organizations, women are getting confident enough to contest positions in local councils.

Ecotrust is currently in the process of establishing a Carbon Community Fund intended to support the expansion of carbon benefits to other communities. The fund will address issues of common concern among the carbon communities.

The Albertine Rift provides an excellent case study of how economic and social incentives can motivate local communities into appreciating and hence protecting endangered forests. This model is providing useful lessons in protecting watersheds that contribute to the mighty river systems, such as the Nile.

PRESA is concerned with the impacts of rewards for environmental services on the poor. Future research work under the PRESA project will support design of suitable payment mechanisms that take into account the interests, needs and cultural values of local inhabitants.

Technical support through the PRESA programme is expected to enhance the benefits that small scale holders get from improved management of their land. Expectations are that future generations of Ugandans - and humanity at large - will inherit a healthier environment.

Wide shot of expansive highland forest in Africa. PHOTO/Presa

But what if highland forest communities don’t actually own the land? Why should they care about sustainable management when they can be asked to move at any time by the state or other land owners? Can an effective rewards for environmental service contract be established when eviction looms?

Existing research has found that giving people greater certainty over land is a crucial part of maintaining essential watershed functions. At a practical level, experience from the RUPES[1] project in Asia found that negotiating security in land tenure for highland communities is an adequate incentive for initiating positive changes in land usage, which results in more consistent river flows and decreased sedimentation.

African governments are under pressure to provide land for agriculture and timber harvesting for the rural poor. On the other hand, there is pressure from urban residents, industrialists and international conservationists to protect Africa’s forests, lakes and wildlife for provision of water and tourism related activities. As a result, policies on settlement around highland forests can change within a few years, creating uncertainties in the actual ownership of land in these areas.

How can governments, or other decision makers, resolve the assumed conflict between ecosystem sustainability and the needs of the rural poor? Researchers with the PRESA project are attempting to reduce these contradictions by focusing on the role that poor people can play in maintaining and improving ecosystems. This is a challenging task when interest-based policies continue to shape conservation in Africa.

The actions of individual farmers are just as important as the governmental policies to promote sound ecosystem management. Farmers are in daily contact with the environment and their daily decisions shape land use directly.

Research done by Swallow et al (2001) as part of the Collective Action and Property Rights programme (CAPRi)[2] has found that lack of secure tenure discourages land husbandry and investment in sustainable practices. Swallow et al (2001) found that collective action for catchment management is more likely to succeed when it appeals to the self-motivation of farmers to improve their fields for the benefit of family welfare.

CAPRi notes that successes in forestry management arise from the benefits individual farmers get from their fields. The three primary motivations for individuals to adopt proper soil and water conservation practices are reduced risk, increased possibility for cash crop production and avoidance of punishment.

ICRAF’s experience in rewards for environmental services through the RUPES programme in Asia also provides some pointers for action. An important case where property rights are a central issue, is in Sumberjaya in West Lampung, Indonesia. A decade ago there were many conflicts in the area. Forced eviction of farmers were growing coffee caused the relationship between local people and the various layers of government to deteriorate rapidly.

Since RUPES began its work at Sumberjaya in 2004, the government has awarded conditional land tenure contracts to nearly 6,400 farmers. In exchange for enhanced land security, the farmers promised to conserve still existing patches of natural forest and to use good management practices. Now, conditional land tenure permits account for 70 percent of Sumberjaya’s protection forests, compared to 7 percent in 2004.

An impact study conducted with researchers from Michigan State University and the International Food Policy Research Institute found that conditional land tenure in Sumberjaya doubled local land value, reduced corruption, increased incomes by about 30 percent mostly due to reduction of bribes, and gave farmers the incentive to protect the remaining natural forest.

PRESA hopes to build on lessons from RUPES and employ similar approaches in some sites where land tenure is insecure. Researchers are already looking at how farming practices vary with prevailing land tenure systems and what the implications are for PES when eviction remains a threat. Action research will focus on community acceptance, effects of land tenure policies on the poor and how the right policies can attract the private sector into making investments in environmental services.

By finding ways for smallholders to become part of the conservation solution, rather than be perceived as the problem, PRESA is working to ensure that smallholder farmers and residents living in the highlands of East and West Africa can earn sustainable livelihoods and maintain ecosystem services for themselves and other beneficiaries.

[1] RUPES: Rewarding the Upland Poor for Environmental Services they provide. RUPES is an IFAD/ICRAF programme targeting the highlands of Asia. The work of RUPES directly contributed to the setting up of PRESA in Africa.

[2] Capri WORKING PAPER NO., 2001 The Effects Of Scales, Flows and Filters on Property Rights and Collective Action in Watershed Management. Brent M. Swallow, Dennis P. Garrity, and Meine van Noordwijk

Left to right: Rohit Jindal, Mamta Vardhan, Sarah Carter and Janet Fisher

The PRESA students are liaising with development organizations and government departments as they seek to understand the policy context behind rewards for environmental services.

Currently, PRESA has four students working at the Tanzania and Uganda sites.

Rohit Jindal and Mamta Vardhan, from Michigan State University, are doing their PhD research at the Uluguru Mountains. Rohit is studying the willingness of farmers to participate in rewards for environmental services. He intends to find out the levels of payment that match losses made by farmers when they stop destructive activities such as tree felling, slash and burn or cultivating on slopes. 

Mamta is looking at the various types of forestry management in Tanzania. One of the interesting discoveries she has made is that, because of low funding for forest conservation, village management committees get funds by collecting fines from transgressors.

In places that are too far away for illegal logging, villagers complain that, “there isn’t enough crime” to pay for conservation. This is certainly a reverse form of rewards for environmental services by hard-pressed communities.

In Western Uganda, Sarah Carter is carrying out a social and economic assessment on behalf of the Plan Vivo Project at the Bushenyi site. For over two months, Sarah has had interviews with the District Environmental Officer, community based organizations and other stakeholders. She is soon flying back home to the United Kingdom to analyze the data.

Also at Bushenyi is Janet Fisher, another British student. Janet is doing her PhD at the University of East Anglia and she is in Uganda studying the role of European corporations in conserving tropical forests. She will be analyzing the evolution of environmental conservation from ‘conservation for its own sake’ towards the current market-driven thinking. In this regard, Janet is working withthe Uganda Carbon Bureau and its carbon forestry projects.

PRESA offers opportunities for students and their professors to help implement, assess and design its activities. The World Agroforestry Centre is framing research on rewards for environmental services around 13 questions. Please click here for more information.

This month a team from ICRAF and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology was at the Sasumua Dam catchment collecting water samples for evidence of chemical and biological contamination.

Jomo Kenyatta University scientists collecting water samples at Sasumua.

Located about 100 kilometres north of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the lower reaches of the Aberdare Mountain forest provide fresh water to the city. Most of this water is collected from the forest and surrounding farmlands, and held in a series of dams, including the Sasumua, Ruiru and Ndakaini.

October’s water testing activity closely followed a soil sampling exercise in September. A team consisting of ICRAF researcher Tor Gunnar-Vagen and PRESA geo-spatial analyst, Miika Makela was familiarizing with a new soil sampling protocol. The new protocol is expected to become an Africa-wide standard for collecting soil and land use data.

The soil sampling was done by members of the local community in Njabini. Participants performed quite well after they were taught what to do in just a matter of hours. “This is the best way of sensitizing people to our efforts, getting them really hands-on involved in the research,” says Miika.

Main challenges with watersheds in Kenya

Until now, issues of water quality and allocation have been problematic, resulting in discontent and mistrust. There are strong inequities between rural and urban areas. Conflict is frequently related to the changing use of land and other natural resources: deforestation, charcoal burning, creation of new settlements and marijuana cultivation in the Aberdares watershed.

The ‘shamba’ system - which allows agriculture in forests - best reflects the political, social and equity dimensions of Kenya’s unpredictable policy context. The ‘shamba’ system was introduced in the early 1900s to obtain cheap labor from neighbouring communities for forest plantations. However, it eventually became a conduit for allocating forest land to politicians. As a result, farmers deliberately manipulated the performance of planted seedlings, either by de-barking or cutting the roots of saplings to ensure continued tenancy on the land for subsistence crop production.

Run-off from a construction site polluting Nairobi's water supply.

Farmer communities adjacent to water reservoirs neither obtain high quality drinking water nor electricity from the facilities. They are neither recognized nor compensated for the important services their land generates for distant users and therefore see no economic reason to modify their land use decisions. This has implications on the number of people who have access to safe drinking water both in rural communities and within squatter settlements in urban areas.

Thus, current frameworks of policy and legislation have not been successful in resolving the conflicting interests involved. We therefore see pro-poor market based approaches, such as PRESA, as a better option.

Why PRESA selected the Sasumua site

As far as rewards for environmental services are concerned, linking the Sasumua dam with Nairobi’s water supply has significant potential for support because the beneficiaries are easy to identify; they are already organized, already have some payment mechanisms and are receiving well-defined benefits. It is for these factors that the Sasumua catchment was selected as a PRESA site.

The Sasumua Water Treatment Plant near Njabini Township is operated by the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company. This plant, by itself, supplies about 20 percent of Nairobi’s potable water supply. It draws its water from three rivers: the Sasumua River, the Chania River, and the Kiburu River.

Preliminary studies indicate that the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company spends approximately 10million shillings a year (approx US$ 127,000) in removing silt from clogged water intakes and for water purification. The major pollutants are soil, crop residues, animal droppings and runoff from petroleum sale outlets.

Pollution and siltation results in higher bacterial count, abnormal acidity levels in water, dirty water and increase in chemicals from pesticides and fertilizers. Pollution from the small towns of Haraka and Njabini together with surrounding agricultural areas is more important at Sasumua than the effects of forest degradation.

Building a community of practice

The Jomo Kenyatta University and ICRAF team collected samples of water along the Small Sasumua River, the Big Sasumua River, the Chania River outlet into the Sasumua Reservoir and the Chania River as it flows through Njabini Township. More samples of water were collected where the Kiburu River feeds the Sasumua reservoir. The team went to the bed of the near-empty reservoir to collect samples at selected points.

Tor Gunnar-Vagen (left) with farmers in the Sasumua water catchment.

In September, Miika Makela of PRESA and ICRAF researcher Tor Gunnar-Vagen were collecting soil samples from farms within the catchment. The two were practicing a soil sampling protocol developed by Tor and ICRAF soil scientist, Keith Shepherd. This protocol is being implemented in various regions in Africa with the objective of building a soil database.

“The data collected in Sasumua will benefit ICRAF and Jomo Kenyatta University’s efforts in the catchment, but more importantly it will be a part of a growing database which will enable interesting work to be done for years to come,” explains Miika.

With collaboration being a vital component in building a PRESA community of practice, data analysis for the soil and water sampling work has been split between two organizations: ICRAF has employed its equipment in soil sample analysis while Jomo Kenyatta University is scrutinizing water samples at laboratories within its main campus.

Thanks to everyone who attended the launch event, and special thanks to Aichi Kitalyi and Mariam Haule in the ICRAF Tanzania office for helping the event run smoothly!

Thabit Masoud (Care-Tz), Brent Swallow and Aichi Kitalyi (ICRAF)

Thomas Yatich chats with Alex Kaaya (DAWASCO) and Juma Mwatima (IFAD)

• PES markets are young and it is our responsibility as architects of PES concepts to build a new language and common understanding of PES
• REDD and carbon markets are not silver bullets, although PES is a silver lining. These markets can work together in a matrix
• Large funds for carbon projects (i.e. from Norway) are key but we need to make sure these initiatives and pilot projects work together
• there has been a shift in how we think about development systems à moving from conditional aid to contracts and deliverables
• there are many regulatory challenges when working in developing countries and a good framework needs to be in place to facilitate PES mechanisms
• good information and data is still lacking à payments are built on information and markets are built on payments. We need to fill in the gaps and our technological capability to do that is good.
• Education: we need to communicate information and data effectively, to a diverse set of audiences
• Equity: there are challenges regarding equitable distribution of payments i.e. carbon take place at the global level, so how to link this to local settings?
• Partnership: for these markets to work you need partnership between public, private and civil society – you cannot have fair and effective payment mechanisms without all three being involved

REDD

• The current UNFCCC definition of REDD is blind to other ecosystem services and the Kyoto Protocol is biased towards reducing industrial emissions. This has left Africa far behind
• Biocarbon from agriculture and land management cannot be ignored
• REDD pilot or demonstration activities, especially involving community forestry, are a priority – these can help shape national REDD policies;
• There needs to be clarity in policies around methodology, accounting and how to channel financial flows in order to ensure positive incentives for communities;
• There need to be clear incentives for the private sector to invest in REDD projects – a ‘nested approach’ involving project level credits and national accounting seems essential;
• More capacity building or training on REDD at all levels, including local government, as well as support for education and research

Participants at the private meeting in Morogoro also had the opportunity to visit the CARE/WWF Equitable Payments for Watershed Services (EPWS) project site under development in the Uluguru Mountains of the Eastern Arc, and a REDD demonstration site being implemented by the Kyoto: ‘Think Global, Act Local’ initiative.

For more details on the field trips and recommendations from the meeting, please see the summary of proceedings, and presentations at http://www.katoombagroup.org/event_details.php?id=18

From 15-20 September, PRESA staff and collaborators were active at the East and Southern Africa Katoomba Meeting, Taking Stock & Charting a Way Forward: Payments for Ecosystem Services in Africa, in Dar es Salaam. The meeting was an excellent opportunity for learning about the latest PES developments in Africa and beyond, catching up with our collaborators, and making new connections with researchers, students and the private sector. We also shared our own research and insightsa at the pre-conference training, during the public meeting and at the private meeting in Morogoro, with the following presentations…

Brent Swallow, Peter Akong Minang and Aichi Kitalyi: Avoided Deforestation with Sustainable Benefits: Challenges for Tanzania (and Everywhere!)

Thomas Yatich: Kitengela Wildlife Lease Programme: is it realistic, conditional, pro-poor and voluntary?

Brent Swallow: Global Overview of Biodiversity Markets, Payments & Offsets

Brent Swallow, Thomas Yatich, Vanessa Meadu: (Rapid) Assessment Tools for Negotiations Support and Rewards for Environmental Service (all available from our website!)

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]]> http://presa.worldagroforestry.org/blog/2008/09/10/home-page-right-column/feed/ http://presa.worldagroforestry.org/blog/2008/09/09/new-website-to-launch-next-week/ http://presa.worldagroforestry.org/blog/2008/09/09/new-website-to-launch-next-week/#comments Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:51:18 +0000 admin http://presa.worldagroforestry.org/?p=48 The PRESA team at ICRAF is excited to be attending the meeting entitled Taking Stock and Charting a Way Forward for Payments for Ecosystem Services in Africa, in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania from September 16-18, 2008.
We will have a booth at the “PES Trade Fair”  where sellers from the region will exhibit the ecosystem services at their sites, and potential buyers will be invited to meet with the sellers and explore potential PES deals. There we’ll be distributing information, tools and resources, and also officially launching this website.

PRESA is working at two sites in Tanzania — in the Ulugurus and Nguru mountains, and the West Usambaras — and we will be using the Katoomba meeting to officially launch the project in Tanzania. If you’re going to the meeting please come and say hello.

Lastly, we plan to blog live from the meeting, posting about our experiences and insights during this event. Please keep your eye on this blog — or subscribe to our RSS feed to recieve blog updates directly!