Sustainable mountain development in East Africa in a changing climate

Programmes and projects National and subnational level

helped to increase crop yields and improve farmers’ capacity for developing irrigation enterprises. In Kenya, the Mt Elgon Integrated Watershed Management Programme was implemented with the aim of improving livelihood conditions and building resilience to the effects of climate change among communities in the Mt Elgon water catchment areas. The project increased awareness of climate change issues and sustainable farming systems, and built community capacity for managing natural resources, water technologies and the protection of water sources. Another project in Rwanda, the Bugesera Agricultural Development Support Project, aimed to irrigate 800 ha of land and train farming communities on integrated watershed management techniques. Despite these notable achievements, there remains

a lot to be done, particularly considering the high level of environmental degradation and population pressure in water catchment areas under changing climatic conditions. Sustainable development and land management A number of projects have been implemented to address issues of sustainable land management in the mountain regions of East Africa. These include the Sustainable Agricultural and Environmental Rehabilitation of Drought Prone Ethiopian Highlands; the Southern Region Agricultural Support Service Project; and the Bale Eco-Region Sustainable Management Programme aimed at addressing deforestation in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia (UNEP, 2014).

At the national level, a number of programmes and projects relating to mountain ecosystems and sustainable community development have been implemented. However, information on subnational level programmes and projects is very limited. This is largely because implementation is normally reflected on the national investment programmes and budget frameworks of respective countries. A number of factors may explain this state of affairs. While information and reports on projects may be available, moreover in more detail than national reports on respective districts, accessing this information remains difficult because of a poor information sharing mechanisms, which is hindered by budgetary constraints and a lack of knowledge management capacity. It is for this reason that subnational level information in this report is limited and why the proposed mountain agenda calls for improved knowledge management systems. The review presented below for projects and programmes in East Africa is organized in four thematic areas: catchment/watershed management, sustainable land management, biodiversity conservation and climate change adaptation. Catchment/watershed management There are a few projects addressing problems at the watershed or catchment level in the mountain regions of East Africa. These include the River Catchments Rehabilitation and Alternative Livelihood Development Project and the Koga Irrigation and Watershed Management Project, both in Ethiopia, which are aimed at improving agricultural production in the catchment areas of the Koga river valley. The project created 77 m³ of water reservoirs to irrigate 6,000 ha of land and

Water tank, Kenya

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