Miti 15

Interview with the Chairman of UTGA A kiln for every need Earth dams for trapping rain water Re-examining forestry education in eastern Africa

Subscription only only Sold by subscription I s s u e N o.1 5 J u l y- Se p t e m b er 2 0 1 2

The other water towers

Dryland hills and low mountains that offer a lifeline in ASAL

Pay as you use

Could payment for environmental services help to conserve nature?

More than just tea

Finlays is one of the biggest private tree-growers in Kenya

An umbrella for all seasons

Acacia tortilis, the tree of the Biblical Ark of the Tabernacle

It’s time to turn green

We need to invest in forests, wetlands, water resources and other natural features

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Editorial

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More than just tea

Our future lies in embracing a Green Economy

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News and views

Finlays is one of the biggest private tree-growers in Kenya

By Jan Vandenabeele

ICRAF and BGF sign an MoU

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An umbrella for all seasons

The tree of the Biblical Ark of the Tarbernacle

By Francis Gachathi

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Interview with the Chairman of UTGA

Bringing together Ugandan commercial tree growers for mutual gain

By Diana Ahebwe

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A kiln for every need

Whether you need charcoal for domestic use or for sale, there is an oven for you

By John Ngatia Mathenge

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Stopping the waste

Earth dams for preserving rainwater

By Jan Vandenabeele

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Pumping water into the future

Solar powered pumps point the way forward

By Eric Nissen-Petersen

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The switch to green

Forests are the heart of an eco-friendly economy

By Niklas Hagelberg

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Natural assets for better lives

A green economy invests in natural resources

By Kenneth Balikoowa

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Creating evergreen agriculture in Africa

Introducing science-based, accessible and affordable solutions to increase productivity

By Dennis Garrity

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Pay as you use

Could payment for environmental services help to conserve the Aberdares ecosystem?

By Joram K. Kagombe

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Achieving a green economy through PES

A working example of payment for environmental services around Lake Naivasha

By Robert Ndetei

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It’s time to reclaim lost ground

Eldoret residents are ready to pay to conserve Moiben River

By Joshua Cheboiwo and David Langat

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The other water towers

Dryland hills and low mountains that offer a lifeline in ASAL

By Francis Gachathi

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All fenced in

The Aberdares fence has brought benefits

By Christian Lambrechts

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Meeting the need for tree seedlings

Nurseries fall short of national requirements Compiled by the Miti Team

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Re-examining forestry education in eastern Africa

Training of future foresters needs to change

By August Temu

On the cover: A lone Acacia tortilis on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana, a beautiful but harsh environment. As a productive and viable ecosystem, Lake Turkana is threatened by the proposed construction of several dams on river Omo for electricity production.

Coupled with a large-scale irrigation project, water levels could fall by 3 - 7m, further putting at risk the livelihoods of the local communities and the survival of a unique habitat.

In a green economy, economic activity is designed and aligned around the long-term functioning of ecosystems, resulting in improved human well-being. It can be a difficult balancing act. (Photo: KEFRI)

Editorial

Our future lies in embracing a Green Economy

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NEP’s Working Definition of a Green Economy is:”A system of economic activities related to the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services that result in improved human well being over the long term, while not exposing future generations to significant environmental risks and ecological scarcities.” We are talking about sustainable development in harmony with what nature offers and the protection and improvement of lives and natural ecosystems through the generation of a green economy.

It is a fascinating evolution and one that is not without dangers as, if not well managed, it can lead to devastating side effects like land grabbing, unregulated new markets and too much corporate control into these new areas, including forestry.

However, we at Miti are followers of the positive school and we believe that agroforestry companies can cope with the complexities of bio-economy. There seems to be no choice if we have the future of the planet in mind.

This issue of Miti brings together a high level pallet of regional and international experts on the above subjects. They all have been involved in the green revolution for many years and have remained convinced of the need to switch to a green economy.

We also want to make a special mention that on May 3rd, Better Globe Forestry Ltd and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). This new partnership will lead to an improved global view on the new agroforestry challenges and their impact in Africa. Dr Dennis Garrity, the former Director General of ICRAF, initiated and supported the positive exchanges that lead to the signing of the MoU. ICRAF consequently joins our other partners, KFS and KEFRI, in being regular contributors to Miti magazine.

We are very grateful for the interest and the confidence these reputed organisations have vested in our magazine and for the excellent and consistent work that our contributors deliver issue after issue.

Last, we would like to make an appeal to our readers. Many highly interesting events, conferences and seminars are going on in the East African region. We would like to publicise these in Miti. Please do not hesitate to communicate information on any event of interest to our Managing Editor, Wanjiru Ciira or to our Technical Editor, Jan Vandenabeele. They are the pillars of Miti magazine.

Enjoy the reading.

Jean-Paul Deprins

Published by: TQML LTD No. 4, Tabere Crescent, Kileleshwa P.O. Box 823 – 00606 Nairobi, Kenya Tel: + 254 20 434 3435 Mobile: + 254 722 758 745 Email: kenya@mitiafrica.com

Uganda office: MITI MAGAZINE ® Plot 1908/9, Mitala Rd, Kasanga P.O. Box 22232 Kampala, Uganda Mobile: + 256 414 269 599 Email: diana@mitiafrica.com

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Chairman of the Editorial Board:

Technical Editor

Rino Solberg

Jan Vandenabeele

Editorial Committee

Country Director - Uganda Julie Solberg

Joshua Cheboiwo, Francis Gachathi, Keith Harley, Enock Kanyanya, James Kung’u, Rudolph Makhanu, Fridah Mugo, Jackson Mulatya, Mary Njenga, Alex Oduor, Leakey Sonkoyo, Jean-Paul Deprins, Jan Vandenabeele and Wanjiru Ciira

Country Representative - Uganda Diana Ahebwe

Editor-in-chief

Designer

Jean-Paul Deprins

Daniel N. Kihara

Managing Editor - Kenya

COPYRIGHT © BETTER GLOBE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Wanjiru Ciira

Miti July - September 2012

Complete this form in PRINT and send or E-Mail to Miti Magazine P. O. Box 823-00606 Nairobi, Kenya E-mail: kenya@mitiafrica.com

Miti Magazine P. O. Box 22232 Kampala, Uganda E-mail: diana@mitiafrica.com

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News

Jean-Paul Deprins (right), MD, Better Globe Forestry (BGF) and Prof Erik Tolless, Chairman of the board of The International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), sign an MoU for cooperation between the two organisations. (Photo: BGF)

Tony Simons, the Director of ICRAF (Photo: ICRAF)

ICRAF and Better Globe Forestry sign an MoU On May 3, 2012, the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and Better Globe Forestry (BGF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The strategic objectives of the MoU are: • To promote wide-scale adoption of agroforestry and tree planting through publication of relevant research results • To influence policy and investment in tree research and development.

One of ICRAF’s obligations, as per the MoU is: • To encourage its staff to contribute articles for publication in Miti.

On its part, BGF is obliged, among other things: • To jointly carry out with ICRAF, research on particular tree species of economic and social importance for ASAL. Prof Erik Tolless, Chairman of the board of The International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) and Tony Simons, Director General, ICRAF, signed the MoU on behalf of ICRAF, while Jean-Paul Deprins, MD, Better Globe Forestry, signed for BGF.

Inbox Miti is doing a good job Well done Miti magazine. It’s inspiring to find such a mine of information on growing trees, and specific to Kenya and East Africa.

There is need to encourage tree planting in the region, as well as to stop the destruction of the forested areas. I hope your magazine will reach as many people as possible and inspire them to get planting.

It would be great to see more articles on growing indigenous trees. I really enjoyed the article “Growing a backyard forest” by Willy Knocker, in issue 7 (July – September 2010). Too many people think that indigenous trees are too slow growing, but this is not entirely true and growing indigenous trees encourages native birds and insects back into your shamba.

Articles for small scale growers to get started would be great, encouraging them to start small and move onto bigger projects later.

I look forward to the next issue!

Robyn Boyd Ololua

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The views expressed in Miti magazine are the writers’ and do not necessarily reflect the views of Better Globe or TQML. WRITE TO US We welcome feedback on any article you have read in Miti magazine, or on any issue on tree planting, afforestation and related matters. Please include your name, address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for clarity or space.

We also invite you to send us any interesting photos you might have.

Please send your contributions to: The Editor Miti magazine P.O. Box 823 – 00606 Nairobi, Kenya.

Email: kenya@mitiafrica.com OR Miti magazine P.O. Box 22232 Kampala, Uganda.

Email: diana@mitiafrica.com

www.betterglobeforestry.com Miti Magazine-Africa’s Tree Business Magazine

Miti July - September 2012

Blocks of eucalyptus planted between tea and indigenous forests on the Finlays estate in Kericho.

Protection of water courses is taken into consideration, through conservation of strips of natural vegetation.

(Photo: Finlays)

The switch to green Forests are the heart of an eco-friendly economy that brings human well-being

By NIKLAS HAGELBERG

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s the current issue of Miti went to press, world leaders were gathering in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to agree on moving towards a green economy. In a green economy, economic activity is designed and aligned around the long-term functioning of ecosystems, resulting in improved human wellbeing. Further, a green economy directly reduces social and environmental risks, while delivering products and services for low carbon and low ecological foot print development.

Forests are at the heart of the economy, either by design or default. If forest utilisation continues without improvements in sustainability, the loss of forest ecosystems will have a negative impact on the supply of many services and goods that are crucial for human well-being and development, including energy, water, food and construction materials. These services also directly impact the economic opportunities we have and how we compete in local and international markets.

By acknowledging the role of forests in our

Miti July - September 2012

economy and designing our actions accordingly, forests can provide an immense opportunity for countries like Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs while at the same time get rid of CO2 emissions and making us far more competitive on a global scale.

Water factories In a green economy, the full range of forest ecosystem services and goods are part of the decision-making process. Forests are water factories, which provide pollination, pest control and climate services worth millions of dollars.

In a study on the socio-economic role of forests in the Kenyan economy, launched in June 2012 by UNEP and the Government of Kenya, the economic value of lost ecosystem services, such as water for hydropower generation and irrigation, outweighed, over a period of ten years, the economic returns from deforestation by 4.2 times. And as the cash returns on deforestation, in the form of timber and fuel wood, have a

one-off value, the loss to the Kenyan economy increases each year.

Similar valuation in the Leuser National Park in Indonesia estimated that conservation and sustainable use of the forests would provide higher long-term returns (US$ 9.1 - 9.5 billion) for the region, compared to business-as-usual, including continued deforestation (US$ 7 billion).

Old and new forms of energy If well managed, these same forests can be open for sustainable use, supporting thousands of entrepreneurs, collecting and processing forest goods, being part of the global food, pharmaceutical and timber trade both through value addition and intellectual property rights.

Furthermore, forests provide a culturally accepted energy supply where the producers of the feedstock can also be the owners and consumers of the energy. The operations can then be built up around co-operative models for which there is plenty of experience in East Africa.

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Water hyacinth on Lake Naivasha. Hyacinth is an invasive aquatic plant originating from South America.

(Photo: Peter Prokosch)

The impacts of local energy production, based on sustainably harvested biomass, would have a knock-on effect on the economy through jobs, access to electricity and decreased fossil fuel import expenses.

We have barely scratched the surface of second and third generation bio-fuels, where woody biomass becomes part of the fuel mix. In a green economy, forests will be at the heart of the cradle to cradle production cycle, in which all forest based raw material will morph into new products as it transforms through its life cycle. Forests will also provide more than just renewable raw materials, but a suit of renewable raw ideas and solutions for other sectors seeking zero emission and waste solutions.

“Dye-sensitised solar” is an example of a forest based renewable idea. Based on photosynthesis in leaves, this invention has recently become competitive with conventional solar in terms of efficiency and cost. Dyesensitive solar cells (also called Graetzel cells) work like leaves, catching the sun’s energy with dye, even at shallow angles.

This “forest” innovation can be manufactured without toxins, at low temperatures, and can be flexible or firm in order to be integrated into buildings (e.g. windows). Further, the cell structures found in trees have been used in the design of cars and plastic bottles, improving the strength of the materials and composites, thus decreasing weight and material consumption.

Production of dissolved pulp into viscose, which could replace water, fertiliser and

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pesticide-intensive cotton production, and biodegradable paints and resins and other wood based products, could be readily available for sectors like construction and fashion, which seek to significantly decrease their carbon and ecological footprint. In many countries, networks of small and middle sized enterprises deliver, based on long-term purchase contracts, high quality and specialised timber for the construction, furniture and sports sectors.

The pharmacy Traditional healers from many parts of the world depend on forests for their remedies. In some rural communities in Africa, plants with medicinal properties provide more than half of all remedies available to the people.

Only 5,000 of higher (vascular) species have been explored for their medicinal properties, even though there are hundreds of thousands of plant species, each with dozens or hundreds of unique chemical compounds, that could also prove to be of medicinal or industrial value. Trees from the Vernonia genus, for example, which chimpanzees regularly seek out when sick, have been found to contain chemical compounds that show promise in treating parasites such as pinworm, hookworm and giardia in humans.

Another example is the recent discovery of a new cancer-treating compound called taxol which is found in the Pacific yew, a tree that was previously disregarded as having no commercial value. The trade in medicinal plants,

botanical drug products and raw materials is very rewarding in the international marketplace, with annual sales reaching US$ 75 billion and a continuing annual growth rate of between 5 and 15 per cent.

Green steel As the usage of forest-based raw materials is common and culturally accepted, renewable forest-based materials offer great potential for the substitution of fossil fuel intensive processing.

South America has seen the resurgence of the use of charcoal as a smelting fuel for iron ore and the method is also being investigated in Europe and Australia.

“Green steel” could decrease carbon emissions by 65 per cent for every tonne of pig iron produced and can further be “greenhouse gas neutral” when CO2 emissions are absorbed by successive crops of trees. At the same time, a new generation of plantation management is being implemented, which in addition to timber production, delivers a range of forest ecosystem services and safeguards for the social values that forests present.

A pension plan The plethora of solutions that forest ecosystems provide has been tested over millions of years of natural “research and development”. These green economy solutions need to be tapped now and exponentially in the future for their positive properties such as non-toxicity and renewability.

Miti July - September 2012

Large-scale afforestation project by the Scandinavian company Stora Enso in Brazil. It shows alternation of plantation forestry (clonal eucalypts) with natural rainforest.

(Photo: Stora Enso)

Using a chainsaw in a rain forest.

(UN photo/Eskinder Debebe)

We need to think out of the box. How can we translate these opportunities into nonconventional forest sectors? How about a new investment product where people in rural areas can get access to professional investment services or alternatively, a pension plan. What of an idea where 92 per cent of Africans not currently enrolled in any pension fund would benefit from trees in their “retirement� years?

This investment modality would be through work input, i.e. tree planting and stewardship, instead of traditional cash transfers. And the whole forestry operation, from community involvement to trade in services and goods, could be managed by small and medium-size forest management companies as a service to financial institutions. There may be no better way to create a new customer base and an innovative green economy business while restoring natural capital.

But while the opportunities, examples and new ideas exist, there is still a wide gap between a green economy vision and its implementation.

The transformation towards a green economy will not take place without the right enabling conditions that provide transparency, longevity and credibility (TLC), e.g., in land tenure and law enforcement.

Without these kinds of enabling conditions, the bulk of private individuals and the private sector will be risk averse and invest in either business-as-usual or in other sectors with more TLC. Other examples of enabling conditions, which can facilitate the engagement of private individuals in forest related investments, may include tax holidays for land owners or businesses that invest in reforestation or in up-grading to

Miti July - September 2012

A green pharmacy. The desert date (Balanites aegyptiaca) is not only loved by giraffes, which have shaven off the lower branches of this tree, but the fruit kernel is raw material (diosgenin and yamogenin) for production of steroids.

(Photo: BGF)

more efficient processing technologies. Further, training of extension officers and support for organisations of land owners, processors and collectors would help to scale up operations and achieve economies of scale.

Our education system would also need to prepare the workforce to identify and act upon the multitude of green economy opportunities that forests offer.

The vision and understanding for the role of forests in a green economy and the opportunities for job creation and tax revenue, etcetera, will not however translate easily into enabling conditions.

The current international debate (Rio+20, UNFCCC, CBD, UNCCD, etcetera), provides an enabling climate for policy-makers, financial institutions and others to be open for a green economy. But without an active group of land owners, entrepreneurs, foresters, professors and businesses that believe in these forest

opportunities, things will not change quickly enough.

Therefore, a strong and committed partnership will be needed to align knowhow with the right enabling conditions and investments – a partnership made up of the private sector, policy-makers and civil society.

The push for this more sustainable way of moving forward must come from people like us, Miti readers, who believe and are ready to invest in a forest-founded green economy. So, starting today, talk to your government representatives, bank, group range members, colleagues, neighbours, spouse and children about how to create and invest in forest-based green economy opportunities. Are we ready for the next big thing? Are we ready for a green economy? This is the time to make sure you will be part of it.

The writer is a Programme Officer, UNEP/DEPI Email: Niklas.Hagelberg@unep.org

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As green as can be. A detail of Finlays estate in Kericho, Kenya. Tea and pine (Pinus patula) plantations surrounding natural forest at the edge of a lake. This shows conservation of biodiversity alongside commercial production of several commodities. (Photo: Finlays)

Signs of a threatened ecosystem: Kibiri Forest (Vihiga district, Kenya).

The forest cover has been degraded, leaving only bushes, and the water is brown, a sign of soil erosion. (Photo: KFS)

Natural assets for better lives A green economy recognises the value of, and invests in, forests, lakes, wetlands, river basins and other physical resources

By KENNETH BALIKOOWA

A

green economy is a development model based on sustainable development and knowledge of ecological economics. A green economy results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks. In a green economy, growth in income and employment are driven by public and private investments that reduce carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and resource efficiency, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Unlike sustainable development which puts emphasis on upholding the ability of future generations to meet their own needs as we meet our own, a green economy recognises that sustainability should be by way of maintaining, enhancing and, where necessary, rebuilding natural capital as a critical economic asset and as a source of public benefits, especially for poor people whose livelihoods and security depend on nature.

Unfortunately, the concept of a green economy is beset by myths. There is a general belief among critics of the green economy that there is an inescapable trade-off between environmental sustainability and economic progress and that a green economy is a luxury only wealthy countries can afford, or worse, a developed-world imposition to restrain development and perpetuate poverty in developing countries. This article attempts to show

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that greening the economy is not a deterrent to growth but rather a new engine of growth that could lead to decent jobs, and that it is also a vital strategy for the elimination of persistent poverty.

To achieve this, there is need to invest in key sectors that are critical to green the global economy like forestry, fisheries and energy. There is also need to formulate policies that reduce or eliminate environmentally harmful or perverse subsidies, addressing market failures created by externalities or imperfect information. The recent past has seen tremendous improvements in economic growth the world over, benefiting hundreds of millions of people. However, this economic growth has been at the expense of ecological robustness.

Indeed, this is because the economic growth of recent decades has been accomplished mainly through drawing down natural resources, without allowing stocks to regenerate, and through allowing widespread ecosystem degradation and loss. This degradation is shown by a continuing decrease in commercial fish stocks, increasing scarcity of water and reduced soil fertility. Ecological scarcities are therefore seriously affecting economic sectors, which are the bedrock of human food supply (fisheries, agriculture, freshwater, forestry) and a critical source of livelihoods for the poor.

And ecological scarcity and social inequity are definitional signatures of an economy which is very far from being “green”.

But what exactly are the characteristics of a green economy?

A green economy recognises the value of, and invests in, natural capital. Natural assets such as forests, lakes, wetlands and river basins are essential components of natural capital at an ecosystem level.

They are vital as support systems for the water cycle, carbon cycle, soil fertility and its value to crop production, local microclimates for safe habitats, fisheries for proteins, and so on, which are all crucial elements of a green economy.

Thus, a green economy transition not only recognises and demonstrates the value of natural capital – as a provider of human well-being, as a supplier of sustenance for poor households, as a source of new and decent jobs – but it also invests in and builds up this natural capital. The investment could be both direct or by investing in stewardship towards these resources.

Specific interventions under this could include: Reducing deforestation and increasing reforestation by taking advantage of REDD framework Shifting both industrial and subsistence farming towards ecologically sound farming practices such as efficient use of water, extensive use of

Miti July - September 2012

organic and natural soil nutrients, optimal tillage, and integrated pest control, and Policy changes focusing on the reduction and eventual removal of ecologically perverse subsidies that distort the true costs of unsustainable agricultural inputs.

A green economy prioritises poverty alleviation Chronic poverty denies people the means to act in their own long term interest. Poverty is the most visible form of social inequity, related as it is to unequal access to education, healthcare, credit availability, income opportunity and secure property rights. A key feature of a green economy is that it seeks to provide diverse opportunities for economic development and poverty alleviation without liquidating or eroding a country’s natural assets.

This is particularly necessary in lowincome countries, where ecosystem goods and services are a large component of the livelihoods of poor rural communities and ecosystems and their services provide a safety net against natural disasters and economic shocks. Greening agriculture in developing countries, concentrating on smallholders, can reduce poverty while investing in the natural capital on which the poor depend.

The move towards a green economy

involves increasing access to services and infrastructure as a means of alleviating poverty and improving overall quality of life, and addressing energy poverty is a very important part of this transition. A green economy substitutes renewable energy and low-carbon technologies for fossil fuels. Increasing energy supply from renewable sources reduces the risks from rising and volatile prices for fossil fuels in addition to delivering mitigation benefits.

Greening the energy sector requires substituting investments in carbon-intensive energy sources with investments in clean energy as well as efficiency improvements.

A green economy delivers more sustainable urban living and low-carbon mobility.

A green economy ensures increased energy efficiency and productivity, reduces emissions in buildings as well as waste, and promotes access to key services through innovative, low-carbon transportation modalities – saving money while enhancing productivity and social inclusion. This is especially important now that an increasing proportion of the population resides in urban centres, which are responsible for most of the environmental sustainability.

The writer is an Assistant Lecturer, School of Forestry, Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Makerere University Email: balikoowa@forest.mak.ac.ug

An East African link between sustainable green energy, and funding of tree planting. The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) proudly inaugurates a wind-mill park on top of Ngong Hills gazetted forest, leased out to a power producing company. (Photo: KFS)

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By DENNIS GARRITY

EverGreen Agriculture is now emerging as an affordable and accessible science-based solution to regenerate the land on small-scale farms, and to increase family food production and cash income. EverGreen Agriculture is intensive farming that integrates trees into crop and livestock production systems at the field, farm and landscape scales. The vision is sustaining a green cover on the land throughout the year.

EverGreen farming systems feature both perennial and annual species (trees and food crops). The overall indicator of their effectiveness is building by farmers, and they the build successfully onsituations healthy soilmanaged and environment, while increasing resilience of the farm enterprise to a variety of shocks.

The systems may deliver extended on proven indigenous farming technologies. growing seasons, increased crop yields, better water utilisation efficiency, andSome drought ofresilience. the most promising results are coming from the Millions of farmers in Zambia, Malawi, Niger, Burkina Faso, and other integration of fertilizer trees into cropping systems. The countries are already practicing EverGreen Agriculture. They are successfully trees improve soil soils fertility by drawing nitrogen from the restoring their exhausted with richer sources of organic nutrients, and dramatically increasing theiritcrop yieldssoil andthrough incomes. their leaf litter air and transferring to the The integration of appropriate fertiliser trees into agriculture is a and roots. Scientists have been evaluating various species promising, but under-appreciated, approach. EverGreen Agriculture of fertilizer trees for soil many years, includingItCaliandra, contributes to integrated fertility management. emphasises the application of, sound, tree-based management systems, andFaidherbia the knowledge Sesbania Gliricidia and Tephrosia . Currently, to adapt these to local conditions, in order to optimise fertiliser and organic albida is showing particular promise as a cornerstone of Evergreen Agriculture. This indigenous African acacia is 10

already a natural component of farming on millions of farms across the continent. Unlike most other trees,

crop production occurs under a full canopy ofevidence trees.�

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- Dr. Dennis Garrity The principles of EverGreen Agriculture have already been widely applied UNCCD Drylands Ambassador in Africa, where complexity is a common feature of the agricultural system.

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EverGreen Agriculture – a solution

resource-use efficiency for greater crop productivity.

It is also compatible with reduced tillage, increased residue retention on the soil surface, and other principles of conservation agriculture, in situations where these practices are feasible and appropriate.

Mature Faidherbia albida parkland with millet production, Senegal.

EverGreen Agriculture broadens the principle of crop rotations to Credit: Gray Tappan encompass the role of fertiliser trees and other cash-crop trees to provide needed biological and income diversity in the farm system. In this respect, the types of intercropped trees may include species whose primary purpose “EverGreen us toreplenishment glimpse is to provide products Agriculture or benefits other allows than soil fertility alone, such as fodder, fruits, timber, and fuel wood.

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frican agriculture must be transformed in the coming decades.

With a population growing to 1.8 billion people, at least twice as much food must be produced by 2050 to avoid widespread starvation. However, in Africa, food production per capita has been declining since the 1960s, and cereal crop yields have remained stagnant (see figure 1). In the face of this dire situation, observers are pointing to a perfect storm of future challenges.

Resting or fallowing exhausted cropland for several years has always been the means by which African farmers restored the fertility of their soils. But as rural populations grew, the land frontier closed in most countries. Farm sizes are now declining rapidly. Fallowing can no longer be practised, and the majority of farmers are forced to have crops in their fields continuously. Farm-yard manure supplies are declining in many areas, since livestock numbers cannot be sustained as the area of grazing land declines.

Chemical fertilisers are an important means of restoring soil fertility, but fertiliser prices are rising, putting fertiliser use further out of the reach of most farmers. The risks of devastating droughts are also increasing because of climate change. These conditions prevent more than three out of four farmers from using chemical fertilisers to increase their crop yields.

Surveys are finding that farmers are becoming overwhelmingly concerned about how to reverse their declining soil fertility. How can productivity be doubled in the presence of such constraints? It is time for fresh, out-of-the-box approaches to be given serious consideration as a basis for advancing African agriculture.

3 2 1 0 2008 With Faidherbia

2009

2010

Without Faidherbia

(see Figure 2). Similar results have emerged from Malawi,

Mitifertilizer July - September where maize yields on farms with trees are 2012 typically 2.5 times higher than without them. The Malawi

Six-year-old Faiderbia albida with hand-tilled maize during harvest in Zambia.

(Photo: Maimbo Malesu, ICRAF)

managed by farmers, and they build successfully

A stand of Melia volkensii under crop management in Kibwezi. Superficial ox ploughing has taken place to prepare for sowing of a cover crop, mostly green grams (Vigna radiata) or cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata). (Photo: BGF)

Figure 2: Faidherbia trial results in Zambia showing Maize yields

Each of the countries where the principles have been applied features a increased household and national food security, and are amongst the lowest with zero fertilizers. (Average of 40 locations. Differences highly significant) diversity of situations managed by farmers, and6 they build successfully on in cost, least risky, and most easily diffused agricultural practices accessible he most promising results are coming the to small scale farmers. Governments across Africa are now deepening their proven indigenous farming from techniques.

5 situations managed by farmers, and they build successfully Figure 2: Faidherbia trial results in Zambia showing Maize yields n of fertilizer trees intoofcropping systems.

The results are4 being recorded from the support for the expansion of these EverGreen Agriculture systems.

Some the most promising on proven indigenous farming technologies. with zero fertilizers. (Average of 40 locations. Differences highly significant) 6 integration of fertiliser trees into cropping systems.

The trees improve rove soil fertility by drawing nitrogen from the 3 Some of the most promising results are coming from the soil fertility by drawing nitrogen from the air and transferring it5 to the soil Community of EverGreen Nations ansferring it to the soil through their leaf litter 2 integration of fertilizer trees into cropping systems. The 4 through their leaf litter and roots.

Scientists have been evaluating various The experiences of Zambia, Malawi, Niger and Burkina Faso indicate that Scientists have been evaluating various species 1 trees improve soil fertility by drawing nitrogen from the species of fertiliser trees for many years, including Calliandra,3 Sesbania, the principles of EverGreen Agriculture are applicable to a broad range er trees for many years, including Caliandra, air and transferring it to the soil through their leaf0 litter 2009 2010 Gliricidia and Tephrosia.

Currently, Faidherbia albida is2008 showing2 particular of food crop systems in Africa, if accompanied by adequate testing and Gliricidia andand Tephrosia . Currently, roots. Scientists haveFaidherbia evaluating various species 1 Without Faidherbia promise as a cornerstonebeen of EverGreen Agriculture. With Faidherbia farmer engagement. The farming practices embodying the principles of 0 of fertilizer trees many years, including Caliandra, howing particular promise asfor a cornerstone ofis already This indigenous African acacia a natural component of farming 2008 2009 Agriculture 2010 EverGreen (see Figure 2). Similar results have emerged from Malawi, are unique to each country, but they exhibit important Sesbania , Gliricidia and Tephrosia .

Currently, Faidherbia Agriculture.on This indigenous is With Faidherbia Without Faidherbia millions of farmsAfrican acrossacacia the continent.

Unlike most other trees, Faidherbia similarities. where maize yields on farms with fertilizer trees are albida isofshowing promise as a cornerstone natural component farmingparticular on millions of the early rainyofseason, making it highly sheds its nitrogen-rich leaves during Tanzania and Kenya recently developed national strategies and (see Figure 2). Similar results have emerged from have Malawi, Evergreen Agriculture. This indigenous African acacia 2.5 is times higher than without them. The Malawi typically compatible crops because it does not compete with the crops oss the continent.

Unlikewith mostfood other trees, to support where maize yields on work-plans farms with fertilizer trees the are extension of EverGreen Agriculture. National already a natural component of farming on Agroforestry millions of Food Security Programme is integrating for light, nutrients moisture.

In Niger, Faidherbia-dominated agro-forests a sheds its nitrogen-rich leavesor during the early scaling-up programmes areMalawi being launched in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Senegal, typically 2.5 times higher than without them. The farms across the continent. Unlike most other trees, fodder, fruit, fuel wood, and timber tree fertilizer, have recently spread through farmer-to-farmer diffusion, to over 5 million and aProgramme number ofisother countries, building on the successful scaling-up in Agroforestry Food Security integrating on, making it highly compatible with food crops Faidherbia sheds its nitrogen-rich leaves during the early hectares.

In Mali, such parklands have production recently spread to over 450,000 with fertilizer, food crops on small farms atZambia, aand national and tree Niger (see map). fodder, fruit, Malawi, fuel wood, timber does not compete with the cropsitfor light, rainy season, making highly compatible with food crops hectares. They are increasing food security by enhancing millet, sorghum, scale. It has reached 200,000 farm families during its first Seventeen African production with food crops on small farms at acountries national are now either implementing or developing or moisture. because it does not compete with the crops for light, and livestock fodder production, with up to 160 trees per hectare. national EverGreen Agriculture scaling-up initiatives, along with India and 5 years.

Farmers’ maize yields increased from 1.3families to 3.1 during scale.

It has reached 200,000 farm its first nutrients, or moisture.

In Zambia, more than 160,000 farmers have extended their conservation Faidherbia-dominated agroforests have recently Sri Lanka in South Asia.

The African Union, World Bank, IFAD, GEF, FAO, 5 years.

Farmers’ maize yields increased from 1.3 to 3.1 tons per hectare. farming to-dominated increase yield of have their recently maize cropstons by intercropping In Niger,practices Faidherbia agroforests ough farmer-to-farmer diffusion, to over 5the UNEP, UNCCD and other international and regional organisations have per hectare.

Inover each there is evidence that the with Faidherbia trees (see figure 2). Similar results havecases, emerged from spread through farmer-to-farmer diffusion, to 5 of these endorsed and are supporting these efforts. Many NGOs are now engaged in ectares. In Mali, such parklands have recently In each of these cases, there is evidence that the Malawi, where maize yields farms with fertiliser trees are typically 2.5 million hectares.

In Mali, such on parklands have recently EverGreen practices have increased household andthis work on the ground. implementing over 450,000 hectares. They are increasing food EverGreen practices have increased household and times without them.

The Agroforestry Foodand Security spread higher to over than 450,000 hectares.

They are Malawi increasing food national food security, are amongst the lowest cost, y enhancing millet, sorghum, and livestock national food security, and are amongst the lowest cost, Programme is integrating fertiliser, fodder, fruit, fuel and wood, andeasily timberdiffused tree agricultural practices security by enhancing millet, sorghum, andleast livestock risky, most An EverGreen Agriculture Network least risky, and most easily diffused agricultural practices oduction, with up to 160 trees per hectare. In production with food crops on160 small farms on a national scale.

It has reached fodder production, with up to trees per hectare.

In accessible to small scale farmers.

National Governments Anfarmers.

EverGreen Agriculture Network is evolving to support the information needs, accessible to small scale National Governments more than 160,000 farmers have160,000 extended 200,000 farm than families during itstheir first fiveextended years. Maize Zambia, more farmers have their yields increased from capacity and knowledge generation required to assist the community across Africa are across now deepening their supportbuilding, for the Africa are now deepening their support for the on farming practices increase the yieldtoofincrease the yield of 1.3 to 3.1totons per hectare. conservation farming practices of EverGreen Nationssystems. in scaling-up. A broad alliance is emerging of governments, expansion of these EverGreen Agriculture systems. expansion of these EverGreen Agriculture Inmaize each of these cases, theretrees is with evidence that thetrees EverGreen practices have their crops byFaidherbia intercropping Faidherbia ze crops by intercropping with international donors, research institutions and international and local development countries are in now engaged in EverGreen Agriculture partners to expand EverGreen Agriculture throughout Africa and Asia. ntries are 17 now engaged EverGreen Agriculture The momentum that has been generated is encouraging. But an accelerated effort is needed to expand the reach of EverGreen systems to transform the farms of tens of millions of the poorest small-scale farmers.

Today, Africa is critically threatened by food insecurity, land degradation and climate change. Smallholder farmers need science-based solutions to increase the efficiency of their crop production systems. Solutions that build upon the best of local knowledge and practice, and that are truly accessible and affordable. EverGreen Agriculture provides new options to better care Farmer Managed Natural for the land and to increase smallholder food production and cash income.

Regeneration Farmer Managed Natural Conservation Agriculture with trees In is, in short, a concept whose time has come.

Tons/ha

Tons/ha

n indigenous farming technologies.

Regeneration

Trees interplanted in conventional Conservation Agriculture with trees tilled cropland

Farmer Managed Natural

Trees interplanted in conventional Regeneration + Trees interplanted tilled cropland in conventionally tilled cropland Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration + Trees interplanted in conventionally tilled cropland

For more information, contact Dr Dennis Garrity at: d.garrity@cgiar.org EverGreen Agriculture website: http://evergreenagriculture.net World Agroforestry website: www.worldagroforestry.org The writer is the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Drylands Ambassador Creating an EverGreen Agriculture in Africa | 3

Miti July - September 2012

Creating an EverGreen Agriculture in Africa | 3

11

Aerial view of the Aberdares Conservation Area.

(Photo: Christian Lambrechts)

Pay as you use Could payment for environmental services help to conserve the Aberdares ecosystem?

By JORAM K. KAGOMBE

P

eople get ecosystem services (ES) or goods and services from ecosystems.

These can be direct or indirect. They include provisioning services such as food, fuel wood, fodder, natural resource products and water; regulating services such as flood and disease control; cultural services such as spiritual, recreational, regulation; and supporting services such as nutrient cycling and biodiversity that maintain the conditions for life on earth (Biggs et al.). Ecosystem values are measures of how important ecosystem services are to people – what they are worth.

Payment for environmental services (PES) is a voluntary transaction where a well defined environmental service (often a land use providing this service) is bought by one or more service buyer(s) from one or more service provide(s) if the provider(s) continuously secure the provision of that service. Buyers are the users or institutions acting on behalf of the users of these services.

PES programmes where the actual user is the buyer are more efficient because the actors with most information on the value of the service are directly involved and have clear incentive in ensuring the service functions well.

Sellers/providers of ES are those who are in a position to secure the delivery of ES. Sellers are land managers who are paid for specific land use practices that generate the desired ES. An important component of a PES scheme is that the targeted service is threatened.

PES is most promising where the providers are poor while the buyers are well-off. For PES to work, the ecosystem service should be perceived to be of high value, compared to other alternative land uses.

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The value of ecosystem services can be measured by estimating what people are willing to pay, or the cost of the actions they are willing to take, to avoid the adverse effects that would occur if these services were lost, or to replace the lost services.

For example, wetlands often provide protection from floodwaters. The amount that people pay to avoid flood damage in areas similar to those protected by the wetlands can be used to estimate willingness to pay for the flood protection services of the wetland. Methods used for measurement are the cost of damage avoided, replacement cost, and substitute cost methods.

However, many ecosystem services are not traded in markets, and are not closely related to any marketed goods. Thus, people cannot “reveal” what they are willing to pay for the services through their market purchases or actions. In such cases, surveys are used to ask people what they are willing to pay, based on a hypothetical scenario. Alternatively, people can be asked to make trade-offs among different alternatives, from which their willingness to pay can be estimated. Survey methods include contingent valuation and contingent choice methods.

Some economic activities that involve natural resources are carried out in an unbalanced manner, resulting in the reduction of the quantity or quality of the flow of environmental services.

Economic activities that respect nature’s biological properties and ecological cycles can increase the availability of these services and thereby generate benefits for society as a whole.

The case of the Aberdares Forest range The Aberdares forest, located in Central Kenya, is one of the five water towers in the country.

It has high biodiversity value to Kenyans and the international community. The Aberdares National Park is a major tourist attraction, mainly because of the wildlife found there. Plantations in the forest supply timber and other construction materials to the ever expanding population.

The forest is surrounded by a high population whose main occupation is tea farming. The tea belt is directly supported by the forest as the forest provides ideal climatic conditions for tea farming. The Aberdares forest provides water for domestic use, irrigation, industrial use in factories, fish farming, and generation of hydroelectric power.

The Aberdares forest forms part of the upper catchments of the Tana River, Kenya’s largest river, as well as the Athi, Ewaso Nyiro (North), and Malewa rivers. It is also the main catchment for the Sasumua and Ndakaini dams, which provide most of the drinking water to Nairobi. The forest serves the Tana Water Service Board, which has seven water service providers (WSPs) and the Athi Water Board, which has 12 WSPs including those providing water to Nairobi and Thika.

Water destined for Nairobi is stored in Ndakaini and Sasumua dams, and then piped to Nairobi and other towns after purification.

There has been a fluctuation in water supply that has resulted in water rationing in the recent past. Although it is claimed that a dry weather spell is the main reason for reduced water levels, unsustainable conservation efforts have contributed greatly to the current situation.

Miti July - September 2012

Tea farming showing effects of frost in January 2012 (Photo: KEFRI)

Forests in water catchment areas have been degraded, farmers have cultivated on river banks, leading to runoff and soil erosion.

The effect of unsustainable conservation efforts have been felt by consumers downstream and those in towns. This calls for concerted efforts to conserve the forest and neighbouring farmlands. The communities around the forest are active in forest conservation and have organised community forest associations and water resource users associations.

Fencing of Aberdare forest Conservation of the Aberdares forest has been enhanced greatly after the completion of the electric fencing project supported by Rhino Ark and other development partners. The 392.5-km fence, constructed between 1989 and 2009, has contributed to a reduction in human-wildlife conflict and enhanced the value of both the ecosystem and farms in the neighbourhood.

Ndakaini dam and surrounding tea farms (Photo: KEFRI)

Payment for ecosystem service as an incentive to conservation The Aberdares forest has a high conservation value to the country and the international community.

In spite of the high value of the forest, few consumers link the conservation efforts to the ecosystem service they use like the water consumed in the household. A case study in Ndakaini dam showed that the neighbouring community views the dam as a liability as they get few benefits from it. The main service provider, Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company, is restrained in providing incentives by the laws governing the water provision.

PES would be a form of compensation for those who preserve or conserve resources, ecosystems and environmental services. Such compensation could take a range of forms, such as: Direct transfer of financial resources Support in obtaining credit Tax and fee exemptions Preference in obtaining public services Access to technology and technical training Subsidies to products.

PES can take the form of local mechanisms where the consumers of the service contribute to its conservation through user pay principle; and regional/international where developed countries, the main producers of green gas, contribute to conservation in third world countries using methods like carbon markets.

In both mechanisms, a clear institutional structure should be worked out to ensure the incentives reach the target producer. The main challenge to effecting this is lack of clear legislation that supports PES and carbon trading.

Miti July - September 2012

In addition, ecosystems are often undervalued, resulting in low resource allocation.

The way forward The Aberdares forest is a crucial resource to the country that should be conserved for perpetuity.

PES offers an opportunity for enhanced benefits to the community within the conservation area.

This, coupled with government commitment to plough back the resources to conservation areas can improve the range of incentives.

To achieve this, a legislative and institutional framework should be developed that would support payment for ecosystem services and allow benefit flow stream from the carbon markets. The policy should address poverty mitigation measures through enhanced benefit flow to the producers of ES. The government should lead the other

stakeholders in developing financing mechanism for the ecosystem by exploring both the local and international options. PES provides a viable local mechanism while carbon trading is viable as international financing mechanisms. Pilot PES schemes should be started that will enhance understanding of how it works before scaling out to the other parts of the cpountry.

Kenya stands to gain from the experiences of countries in Asia and South America where PES has taken off successfully. Payment for environmental services remains a viable longterm option for conservation of the Aberdares range for continued provision of ecosystem goods and services.

The writer is Principal Research Officer at KEFRI Email: jokagombe@yahoo.com jokagombe@kefri.org

13

Achieving a green economy through PES A working example of payment for environmental services around Lake Naivasha

By ROBERT NDETEI

E

cosystems provide a wide range of products and services for raw material inputs, production processes and climate stability. Quite often, either no financial value is attached to these services or they are undervalued.

In response to the growing concern regarding the monetary value of ecosystems, markets are emerging for payment for ecosystem services (PES). This is a voluntary transaction in which a well-defined environmental service (e.g. clean water, or a form of land use likely to secure that service) is bought by a buyer (beneficiary of that particular service) from a provider (seller or one who makes that service available) if and only if the provider continues to supply that service (conditionality).

The critical, defining, factor of what constitutes a PES transaction, however, is not just that money changes hands and an environmental service is either delivered or maintained. Rather, the key is that the payment causes the benefit to occur where it would not have occurred otherwise. PES is therefore a market-based scheme hinged on the premise

that those who provide environmental services are compensated by those who benefit from the services.

The Lake Naivasha basin, heart of Kenya’s horticulture industry, accounts for more than 70 per cent (US$ 400 million) of the country’s cut flower exports; over 40 per cent of the European retail market; generates 9 per cent of Kenya’s total foreign exchange revenue; and contributes 2 to 3 per cent to the Kenyan GDP. This industry depends on water, whose quality is threatened by land use activities in the lake’s watershed.

Feasibility studies carried out by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in 2008 clearly demonstrated that the lake supports diverse ecological habitats and livelihoods. The studies further identified the main source of sediments in the rivers and prescribed necessary land use interventions to reduce this silt load.

More studies were carried out to identify innovative conservation mechanisms with both conservation and livelihood gains as well as link upstream and downstream communities in watershed management and benefit sharing.

It is from this background that WWF engaged

The farm of one of the participants (sellers) in the PES agreement, before demonstration and intervention. (Photo: Robert Ndetei)

14

stakeholders in the basin to pilot a PES scheme to protect and manage the fragile Naivasha ecosystems, and at the same time improve the community’s livelihoods and secure investment.

This scheme was designed into three phases: Feasibility assessment Implementation – engaging a few upstream land owners Scaling up to deliver the desired improvements in ecosystem services that the buyers ultimately require, and with the buyers assuming a large share of the cost.

Naivasha PES business case Studies carried out in the Naivasha basin on an economic valuation of the ecosystem, and buyer cost assessment to treat water, clearly showed a tenfold difference in water treatment cost between dry and wet seasons. Through these studies, the opportunity cost (losses) associated with production using turbid water was quantified, and this stimulated interest among the private sector to invest in reducing associated business risk. On the other hand,

The same farm after demonstration and intervention.

(Photo: Robert Ndetei)

Miti July - September 2012

Handing over of a symbolic cheque to a group of sellers of environmental services, organised under a water resources user association - WRUA. (Photo: Robert Ndetei)

erosion assessments showed the amount of soil lost per year in the upper catchment as well as the opportunity cost to reduce siltation.

These studies clearly demonstrated losses associated with unsustainable land use practices.

They showed clearly losses of large sums by both the horticulture growers as well as the small scale farmers upstream, and therefore the need to negotiate for an agreed avoidable figure and modalities of payment. The parties (buyers and sellers), through a series of contested negotiations as well as through lobbying environmentally friendly horticulture farms, eventually agreed on a figure of US$ 17 per farmer to be paid through a voucher system.

Conceptual framework It is hypothetically envisaged that delivery of clean water will depend on transformation of land use practices by upstream communities who should be rewarded by the beneficiaries downstream and elsewhere. Currently, 765 upstream smallscale farmers are benefiting financially from the Naivasha PES scheme and another over 1,000 getting in-situ (natural) benefits.

The business scheme is between two water resource users associations (WRUAS) as sellers in the upper catchment (Wanjohi and Upper Turasha-Kinja WRUAs) and one downstream WRUA (LANAWRUA) as buyer. The buyer is composed of horticultural growers and riparian communities around Lake Naivasha. The two upstream WRUAs signed the contracts on behalf of the farmers implementing the scheme, while LANAWRUA signed on behalf of the buyers.

Results The buyers, based on a contractual agreement, have made two payments of US$ 17 per farmer, to upstream farmers (providers) to compensate for the opportunity costs, based on ecosystem service provision and contribution to positive socioeconomic impacts. The sellers on the other hand, have implemented conservation measures as agreed in the contract; and are monitoring the situation to find evidence/fulfilment/adherence to the PES contract with the buyers.

Miti July - September 2012

In an evaluation of the Naivasha PES, the sellers have found evidence of an increase in income associated to PES. They can demonstrate increases in yield as a result of soil conservation; increases in milk production due to availability of fodder crops used in soil conservation; and increases in sales of their produce.

Conditionality, additionality, leakage, and permanence PES is distinct from other conservation approaches because any economic rewards to environmental service providers are conditional on their continued performance. This conditionality means that service providers are to receive payments only when their efforts produce detectable changes in the quality or quantity of the service.

This is very different, for example, from programmes that subsidise farmers to plant trees without any way of ensuring that the investments are subsequently maintained. Payments are linked to the number of trees protected; whenever a tree is cut, the farmer loses a portion of the payment.

Another important feature of PES and other conservation approaches is additionality, which requires that the payment should yield environmental benefits that would have not have been realised without it. If a landowner was not going to cut her trees anyway, it would be unnecessary and therefore inefficient to pay her not to cut them.

Leakage happens when a landowner receiving a payment simply shifts the activity that causes the environmental problem to another piece of land that is not under contract. Under such conditions there is no additionality and thus no point in making the payment, and it would be socially inefficient. Critics of payment schemes like the national PES programme in Costa Rica say that many PES programmes do not achieve additionality. The solution lies in better targeting of service providers and better monitoring.

Permanence refers to the sustainability of the environmental service. Users are interested in

A farmer is paid for environmental services.(Photo: Robert Ndetei)

the long-term supply of the service, which requires making payments to providers on a continued basis.

For some environmental services such as carbon sequestration, permanence has a different meaning.

If the environmental service is discontinued, not only is the service no longer available, but all historic supplies of the service are invalid.

For example, when a tree is planted, it continues to sequester carbon as it grows. If it is cut, however, this not only disrupts the current supply of carbon sequestration but also results in emission of all the carbon that the tree ever captured in its trunk and branches, back into the atmosphere.

Conclusions The Naivasha PES scheme has improved linkages between up-stream smallholders and downstream commercial farmers through their respective WRUAs; creating a better understanding and goodwill among both groups regarding their specific situation. This could become a basis for future cooperation. Such cooperation could involve the private sector which would invest in PES when it becomes clear that payments will deliver either a financial or non-financial return on investment; and if there is a sense that stakeholder expectations include such payments.

The proposed PES up-scaling mechanism will include organising the sellers into formal groups and building their capacity to engage in marketing their services. The PES groups of farmers will in turn be given more intensive support with marketing in the form of direct linkages to markets or being subcontracted to produce for the large-scale farms. Such an arrangement will have long-term benefits and will reduce free-ride behaviour among both buyers and sellers.

The writer is the Project Coordinator, WWF Naivasha Basin Project-WWFKCO Email:Â RNdetei@wwf.panda.org

15

Charcoal burning in Cherangani Forest (March 2010). (Photo KFWG)

It’s time to reclaim lost ground Eldoret residents are ready to pay to conserve Moiben River, the source of water for the town

Table 1: Information on forest stations in the area

Forest station

Forest block

Size in hectares

Remarks

Cheptongei

Sogotio Cheboyit Kipkunur Chemurkoi

3561.2 2486.8 15175.7 3965.9

Extensive encroachments in Chemurgoi and Sogotio and boundary encroachments visible

Cherangany

Kiptaber Koisungur Kerer Toropket

12,886.2 1086.8 2160.2 117.4

Extensive boundary encroachments and settlements in Toropket and Koisungur

21933.9

60% of the forest under illegal settlements. An important water catchment that supplies all irrigation water in Tot Division.

Chesoi

Total

Embobut

65,500.3

By JOSHUA CHEBOIWO AND DAVID LANGAT

M

arakwet District is one of the most heavily forested districts in the country where forests and trees are estimated to occupy 40 per cent of the total land. Most forest blocks in the district are located within the Cherangany Hills and form one of the largest remaining natural forests in western Kenya.

It is an important water catchment area for rivers that flow to Lake Victoria and the drylands of north western Kenya. The rivers provide drinking water to millions of people and livestock, and for industrial and irrigation activities.

Chebara Dam is one of the largest projects that source water from Cherangany Hills for use in Eldoret town and its environs. The area is also an important source of roundwood for production of sawnwood and polewood, widely traded in western Kenya and other regions in the country.

The value of the forestry sector output is only second to agriculture in income generation and employment opportunities in the region.

These forest blocks host several species of fauna and flora; a few may be endemic to the ecosystem. The forest consists of forest blocks owned by the state and managed by Kenya Forestry Service (KFS) and large private plantations estimated at over 120,000 hectares. However, like most public

16

forests, management is inadequate because of outdated plans and scarce resources for supervision.

Due to the shape and size of the forest blocks, the boundary in contact with farmers is very long, thus exposing the forests to rampant poaching of tree products, illegal settlements, overgrazing, cultivation and other illegal activities. The forest management blocks are shown in Table 1.

The major commercial trees found in the Cherangany forests include Juniperus procera, Hagenia abyssinica, Podocarpus latifolius, Prunus africana, Croton macrostachyus and Arundinaria alpine, among many other species. The animals found in the forests include hyenas, leopards, Colobus monkeys and bongos, among many other smaller animals.

The Moiben River structure A GIS map developed for the Moiben River shows the different branches and tributaries. Except for the three tributaries from Tembu areas and Kapkochur forest and a few others at the middle and lower Moiben River, the rest of the streams in the catchment originate from farms (Figure 1). It is a widely held view that most river sources in key water towers originate from forests but the map shows that most tributaries of the Moiben River originate from private farms. This is a very interesting finding that confirms

Miti July - September 2012

that farms are the main areas that need attention so as to restore their functions for better provision of water supply.

Land uses in the catchment Moiben is one of the important river systems that originate from Cherangany Hills with catchments from both public and private farm forests comprising large and small-scale farmers. The existing land uses include the following, but the area also has swamps and private forests.

Table 2: Land uses in the Moiben River catchment

Category

Area (ha)

Percentage

Public or government forests

5,605

4.6

Intensive agriculture

29,280

24.4

Sparse agriculture

84,225

70.2

Open woodland

890

0.7

Total catchment

120,000

100

According to the survey, 40 years ago there were 29 main tributaries of the Moiben River originating from the forests but 11 have since disappeared, while the remaining have experienced reduced volumes of water. Farm sizes range from 4 to 120 hectares in the upper catchment areas. The elevations of the Moiben River catchment area range between 2350 and 3122 masl.

Historical perspectives According to the local residents, the Chemulany area was once dominated by indigenous tree species, mainly Juniperus procera, indigenous bamboo and glades dominated by wire-grass. The area was wet throughout the year and animals like buffaloes roamed the impenetrable wetlands. Reeds and Hagenia abyssinica grew in the marshy areas.

Food crops like maize took long to mature. The area was inhabited by a few pastoralists as the harsh cold weather scared away most people. In the late 1920s, the colonial administration wanted to encourage farmers to settle in the area and introduced modern livestock and crop farming.

Miti July - September 2012

The colonial agricultural office introduced Merino sheep and settlers were brought in from many places within the Keiyo-Marakwet area. To encourage the settlers to move into the area, they were given free Merino sheep and land with titles. However, due to the hostile climatic conditions at the time, few settlers were willing to settle in the area and the few who did were allocated larger pieces of land. To diversify agricultural produce from livestock (mainly sheep keeping) the colonial agriculture office in the 1940s introduced growing of potatoes, peas, cabbages and pyrethrum.

The cutting down of forests in the Cherangany Hills began with the introduction of cultivation agriculture and peaked in early 2004 when the banning of timber harvesting in public forests created a shortage of timber countrywide. The forested farmlands of Cherangany Hills were some of the areas targeted for timber harvesting from indigenous tree species in the country. The intensified logging fuelled by a high demand for timber and high prices on offer led to a drastic loss of forest on farms. The most affected were forests along rivers and wetlands within the catchment areas, compounded by the fact that most of the forests were located on private farmlands.

The Nginging-Kaplalang catchment site The Nginging East tributary is the permanent head source of the Moiben River. It originates from farmlands and later enters the forest many kilometres downstream. The catchment was formerly a scantily forested area intertwined by grasslands typical of high altitude areas above forest zones.

However, expanding agricultural activities have accelerated the clearing of the farmlands. The high demand for horticultural produce from the area and good prices for potatoes in Eldoret and Kitale, and sometimes Nairobi and Mombasa, has seen expansion of potato farming within the catchment area.

The key tributaries to Nginging and Kaplalang have started to show decreased water levels and the likelihood of them becoming seasonal is high. The volume of water is reported to have considerably decreased in many streams including Sinda East because of forest clearance and cultivation on the stream banks.

The four tributaries that join at Sogoiyo have been greatly affected by recent agricultural development in the Kaptalamwa area where intensive agricultural activities began in earnest in 2004. The agricultural activities

17

concentrate mostly on cultivation of potatoes, cabbages, peas and green onions.

Rearing of Merino sheep for wool production has increased in the area due to recent increased demand for wool in emerging textile industries.

Cherangani Forest being destroyed through clearing for agriculture (March 2010). (Photo KFWG)

The perception of the residents on water catchment protection The people sampled indicated that farmers incur loses when they conserve forest on farms in order to maintain stable river banks and minimise soil erosion. This is because farmers forego income-generating farming activities. This was confirmed by earlier socioeconomic studies done in farms within the Labot tributary catchment area of Lelan location that showed that farming enterprises were more profitable than forest conservation (Langat and Cheboiwo, 2005).

The residents were of the opinion that conservation efforts of water catchments for provision of better quality and quantity of water did not bring them any direct benefits. They felt that to motivate them to conserve forests and hence water courses, they should be compensated for perceived losses based on the area of conserved forests and units of river banks.

Thus, the government and other agencies should make the development of clear criteria for assessment of environmental services a priority before implementation of payment for environmental services schemes. Landowners proposed that restoration of degraded water catchments should involve planting of indigenous tree species known to stabilise banks and provide clean water such as Hagenia abyssinica (sewerwa ), Prunus africana (tenduet) and Arundinaria alpina (mountain bamboo).

Some key findings The landowners felt that since there are many players in the forest and water conservation sectors that have overlapping interests in the conservation of water catchments, there is likely to be conflict, duplication of efforts and wastage of resources. There is thus a need for harmonisation of public and private efforts for maximum impacts. The landowners felt that mapping of the extent of the critical catchments and specific areas of the catchments needs to be done, so as to quantify and qualify the efforts needed from them. There was a general observation that the fast decreasing tree and vegetation cover in the catchments and along the river courses, and the increasing impurities in local drinking water, need urgent attention.

Potential avenues for forest conservation There were several proposals that the local communities felt could restore the water catchments areas. These included the following: Provision of tree seedlings for restorative plantings in the degraded areas.

Support of local communities in tree nursery establishment.

Development of project proposals for intensification of on-farm tree planting to ease pressure on tree resources in public forests.

Water projects for local households in order to ease pressure on streams within the catchment area.

Land compensation commensurate with opportunity costs of alternative land uses.

Depopulation of the water catchment through compensation for alternative land and possibly monetary compensation to land owners within key water tributaries.

Levy based on use of water resources from the Moiben River with some of the funds going towards community development through local authorities or relevant appropriate institutions.

Employment of local people in environmental conservation activities.

Creating awareness on the statutory requirements for river bank management such as non-cultivation of specified distances classified as protection belts by the Agricultural and Water Acts.

Enhancing adoption of good agricultural practices such as construction and maintenance of terraces, planting of trees or fodder grass along the contours and river banks.

18

Challenges on private farms

Higher rates of harvesting of trees on farms, mostly due to high demand and prices for timber because of the ban on logging in public forests and increased farming activities.

The enforcement of legislation on farming along river courses has been weak and awareness on its existence has been inadequate.

Increased population in the catchments and faster subdivision of land that has resulted in enhanced agricultural activities and cutting of trees along the water courses.

Increased livestock population and reintroduction of Merino sheep-rearing for wool has increased grazing pressure in the water catchments on farm forests.

Challenges on Government forests The local people have unlimited access to grazing in public forests. This custom has been overstretched over the years with large numbers of animals, and has suppressed regeneration. The forest blocks at the head and midstream are been heavily encroached and many illegal settlements are located in the water catchment areas. Highly valuable timber species such as podo, cedar and Hagenia abyssinica have been heavily harvested by poachers, leaving some places bare of vegetation.

These developments have degraded the water catchments and in some cases led to the disappearance of streams. In Tirich catchment areas, the local people report that there were 29 tributaries originating from public forests but now only 11 remain, though with reduced volumes of water. The disappearance of streams is attributed to forest degradation, but our studies could not confirm the real cause of such hydrological changes. However, we observed the dried stream courses.

Conclusions The Moiben River system is key to the provision of quality water to residents of Eldoret and surrounding areas. The ecosystem within the Moiben River is threatened by human activities upstream. A number of stakeholders are involved in conservation and development projects in the area. Two socioeconomic surveys undertaken in both the catchment area and in Eldoret itself show that upstream communities are aware of the threats to the ecosystem and of the measures to be undertaken, and residents of Eldoret were willing to pay to support conservation. The study identified a range of incentives to upstream communities to support conservation of water sources that drain into Moiben River up to Chebara Dam. Joshua Cheboiwo is Principal Research Officer, Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Londiani Regional Research Centre Email: kefri-ln@africaonline.co.ke or jkchemangare@yahoo.com David Langat is Senior Research Officer, Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Londiani Regional Research Centre Email: dkipkirui@yahoo.com

Miti July - September 2012

USAID PARTNERS WITH THE PEOPLE OF KENYA TO PRESERVE THEIR NATURAL RESOURCES Kenya’s economy is growing. To ensure this growth is sustainable, and that it benefits all Kenyans, conservation of biodiversity and sound management of the natural capital – land, forest and water – is essential. USAID promotes pro-poor and equitable growth by supporting Kenya’s environment and natural resource management.

Five thousand local jobs and Ksh 400,000,000 generated through USAID’s Conservation Finance Mechanisms: USAID’s Payment for Environmental Services program, including payment for carbon sequestration, benefited 317,000 poor Kenyans. USAID negotiated with the Kenya Forest Service to allow landless people, youth and women to plant and manage indigenous trees species along rivers in government protected areas and thereby to receive carbon credits. Kenya TIST farmers sold 64,000 tons of carbon credits in the global carbon market.

Community Land Rights for the indigenous Boni People: USAID supported the adoption of the nation’s first community land rights recognition model which benefits the marginalized people in the Boni-Dodoni Region. By establishing land tenure and property rights, poor people’s livelihoods improve and they become stakeholders in biodiversity conservation.

Land Use Master Plan and Environmental Easement promotes peaceful co-existence between pastoralist Masai and their urban neighbors: USAID supported a holistic and inclusive community driven process to launch Kenya’s first Land Use Master Plan around Nairobi National

Park. The ecological diversity of the Park is secured and it functions as an open range land system. USAID also facilitated the nation’s first conservation easement that added 100 acres to Nairobi National Park.

People and wildlife are flourishing around Laikipia: USAID partners with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), and National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). USAID’s support has established about 30 community conservancies across Kenya that promote community-based conservation tourism. This ensures that land is set aside for wildlife, while at the same time creating jobs and income for local communities. The results: healthy co-existence, as opposed to conflict, of livestock and wildlife was recorded in Laikipia. While livestock numbers doubled since the early 1980s in the plateau; wildlife numbers have increased by 15% as well.

Kenyans around the country work with the Government to manage forest and water resources: USAID built on the legislative base provided by the Kenya Forests Act 2005 and Water Act 2002 to promote comanagement organizations to establish Community Forest Associations and Water Resources User Associations. Comanagement formally involves the communities as central to resource management in partnership with all relevant stakeholders, including the GOK and the local government.

USAID will continue its commitment to working with Kenyans to preserve their natural resources. Together, all is possible.

A typical inselberg in Samburu.(Photo: KEFRI)

The other water towers

Not much is known of dryland hills and low mountains that offer a lifeline to people in ASAL

By FRANCIS GACHATHI

E

xtensive areas of Kenya’s drylands are low-lying plains covered by thickets of thorn bush, grassland and scattered trees, mainly Acacia and Commiphora species.

These plains are however characterised by isolated hills and low mountains often called inselbergs, as they rise abruptly, from the gently undulating plains.

These hills trap and hold clouds or force moisture-laden winds into high altitude where cooling causes precipitation. Even during the very dry season, the hilltops are often covered with thick fog in the early morning and in the evenings, and in the rains, the atmosphere is usually moist.

The result is a relatively cooler atmosphere than the surrounding areas, and a suitable environment for better developed vegetation cover of trees, shrubs and herbs. The hilltops receive much higher rainfall than the lowland plains.

Although geographically within the drylands, these restricted hilltops are not dry. They hold unique “islands” of forests with different flora and fauna from that of the surrounding hot dusty thorn bush at the base. They have tree species of the upland dry montane forests and those from the intermediate transitional forests as the ones around Nairobi.

Common tree species include Juniperus procera (pencil cedar), Olea europaea ssp. cuspidata (wild olive), Podocarpus falcatus (podo), Nuxia congesta (muchorowe), Cassipourea malosana (muthaiti or pillar wood), Acokanthera schimperi (muvai, murichu, ol-morijoi), Apodytes dimidiata (pear-wood, with pear, mlambusi mbage), Ekebergia capensis (ekebergia, teldet), Olinia rochetiana (mwathathia, ol-kirenyi), Pistacia aethiopica (musaa, chepkorokwet), Schrebera alata (lamaiyat, mutoma, ochol), Teclea nobilis (munderendu), Teclea simplicifolia

20

(munderendu), Croton megalocarpus (musine) and Calodendrum capense (Cape chestnut).

These unique hilltops are vital habitats to the long-term maintenance of biodiversity and other natural processes in the drylands. They play a major and significant role as water catchments.

The impact of hilltop forest cover on temperature and soil moisture conditions is significant. The forests prevent the rapid runoff of rainwater, so enabling it to sink in slowly and replenish springs and streams in the valleys

below. The water catchments are vital for the existence of the local pastoral communities, their livestock and the wildlife living in and around them. During periods of drought, people and animals converge to these hills for water, wild food plants and pastures, the only hope for survival. A number of plant species in these forests have medicinal, spiritual as well as sociocultural value. The forests play a central role in traditional ceremonies and sacrifices.

The species of plants and animals in hilltops

Some major hills and low mountains in the drylands that provide water to millions of people, livestock and wildlife

Mountain/hill

Size (ha)

Catchment for

County/counties

Mt Marsabit

13,675

Lake Paradise, Local springs

Marsabit

Mt Kulal

2,240

Local springs

Marsabit

Matthews Range

26,330

Uaso Nyiro and Milgis rivers

Samburu

Ndoto Mts

10,155

Milgis River, local springs

Samburu

Nyiru Mts

7,890

Local springs and streams

Samburu

Kirisia Hills

22,340

Uaso Nyiro and Milgis rivers

Samburu

Ol Doinyo Orok

6,575

Local springs and streams

Kajiado

Emali Hills

50

Local springs and streams

Kajiado

Chyulu Hills

4,640

Mzima Springs, Tsavo and Galana

Makueni, Kajiado Taita

Machakos Hills

4,290 (total)

Athi River, springs and streams

Machakos, Makueni

Ol Doinyo Sabuk

720

Athi River, springs and streams

Machakos

Endau Hill

455

Local springs and streams

Kitui

Mutitu Hill

145

Local springs and streams

Kitui

Mumoni Hill

45

Local springs and streams

Kitui

Tugen Hills

7,590

Perkerra, Kerio and Suguta rivers

Baringo

Karasuk Hills

650

Turkwell River, springs

Turkana

Kasigau Mt

230

Local springs and streams

Taita-Taveta

Maungu Hills

200

Local springs and streams

Taita-Taveta

Source: H.J. Beentje, The Forests of Kenya: Proceedings of the Twelfth Plenary Meeting of AETFAT, Hamburg, 1990. Figures refer to the size of the indigenous forests on these hills, not the gazetted areas. Today these forests could be much less and disturbed.

Miti July - September 2012

have evolved with mutual adaptation in an intimate interdependence. Some animals remain on a particular hill since it has become difficult for them to move across the dryland plains to similar habitats on another hilltop forest. The resident buffalo, leopard, klipspringer, reedbuck and the greater kudu, found on various hills, are such examples. Even birds such as eagles and vultures which could fly from one hill to another with ease, are restricted to specific hills, as are reptiles and thousands of insects. These forests are of special interest to biologists, for in them we witness the process of survival and adaptation of species.

Local communities have traditionally conserved and managed hilltop forests in drylands through customs and unwritten rules and regulations.

Traditionally, communities have developed ecological management strategies in harmony with their fragile ecosystems by exploiting different ecological niches. Under normal circumstances, the people graze their livestock on the lowland plains but with the onset of drought, animals gradually move to the hills and into the forest.

Harvesting of plant materials, including herbal medicines, was regulated by rules and regulations effected through the elders. This way, the local communities have managed hilltop forests since time immemorial. However, with an ever-rising human population, demand for forest resources, farmlands, settlement and building materials, the hilltop forests may not be secure, even through gazettement.

Case study on Endau Hill A case study on Endau Hill illustrates the importance of these hilltop forests as water catchment areas and biodiversity conservation sites. It also highlights the role of hilltop forests in strengthening adaptation to climate change and the involvement of local communities in conservation and management.

Endau Hill lies between the highlands and the coastal forests at 380 38’ east, 10 16’ south.

From the general elevation of 500m above sea level on the plains, the hill rises to several peaks with their summit at Matundu (1,400m). Endau hilltop forest is gazetted, and has been surveyed and demarcated on the ground. It is owned by the government and managed by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) on behalf of the state.

The forest falls under the administration of the Zonal Forest Office, Kitui. The day-to-day management of the forest is the responsibility of the Forester at Mwitika with one Forest Guard and one Patrol Man, both stationed at Endau Trading Centre. The forest covers an area of 6,700 ha.

There are no plantations and management is purely for protection, particularly for water catchment.

Miti July - September 2012

Cows returning from grazing on Endau Hill..(Photo: KEFRI)

Services of Endau Hill to the local communities According to the communities living next to Endau Hill, the most important commodity derived from the hill is water. The hill is the source of about 20 permanent water springs. Six of these have been tapped and piped down into huge tanks at the foot of the hill and to the market centres for use by the community and their livestock.

Permanent springs include Ngunya-imwe and Kausya, which supply Ikisaya, Wazalani and Kathua markets. The Ikituku and Yongoni springs supply Manjunja area; Kangera and Kaundua supply Mutalani; Kibau spring supplies Koi Primary School and Twamboi markets while there is a shallow well at Malalani. This water is piped with the help of various organisations particularly the ASAL Programme and AMREF. Water is managed by local communities through water committees. Availability of water is the main factor for human settlement around the hill.

Endau Hill is also useful for dry season grazing, herbal and traditional medicine and wild food plants. During the dry season when grass and palatable herbs are dry, livestock, mainly cows, are moved to the hilltop forest for pasture.

The medicinal plants around Endau Hill are very popular and held in high esteem by the Kamba community.

Some of the medicinal plants collected from the hilltop forest are Strychnos henningsii (muteta), Caesalpinia volkensii (kivuthi), Albizia anthelmintica (moakyumanai), Zanthoxylum chalybeum (mukenea) and Croton megalocarpus (muthulu). Wild food plants, particularly fruits, are useful during famine. Some are sold at the local markets for extra income.

Among the fruits found in Endau hilltop forests are Uvaria acuminata (mukukuma), Cordia monoica (muthiia), Vitex payos (kimuu), Berchemia discolor (kisaya), Ximenia americana

(lamai) and Grewia villosa (muvu).

Endau hilltop forest is associated with various traditional ceremonies and sacrifices of great cultural and spiritual value to the local Kamba community. For example, every year before planting, a traditional ceremony is performed at one site on the hill, where people take their seeds for blessing by their ancestors. These sacred sites are at Kwa Sio Sili and Kwa Muteyia.

The hilltop forests also support a variety of wildlife.

From the Endau Hill study, it was clear that hilltop forests in the drylands are a crucial resource both for economic activities, drought adaptation and for biodiversity conservation. It is important therefore that local communities be involved in the planning and management of hilltop forests.

Frequent droughts are a major threat to survival in the drylands. Generally, they affect quality and quantity of water and grazing resources, reduce incomes and aggravate poverty.

They may trigger conflicts, cattle raids, loss of life and accelerate the rate of land degradation.

The hilltop forests in the drylands play a vital role of providing water for local communities and even beyond. The extent to which natural vegetation on hill tops enhances microclimate and protects water sources in the drylands is an issue that requires critical attention at both national and county level.

A comprehensive survey of hilltop forests in the drylands would establish more fully the diversity and value of species in these forests.

This is particularly important because very little attention has been paid to, and no such surveys have been conducted, on dryland hilltop forests These are truly water towers!

The writer is Principal Research Officer, Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) Email: gachathif@yahoo.com

21

Aberdare is now all fenced in

The fence has brought environmental benefits and has improved livelihoods

By CHRISTIAN LAMBRECHTS

F

or years, the wildlife and forests of the Aberdares faced numerous threats arising from human activities, including poaching, bush-meat hunting, snaring, illegal logging, charcoal burning and encroachment. By the 1980s, these activities had decimated the wildlife population, with the black rhino, in particular, almost wiped out.

At the same time, the increasing human population in the prime agricultural land surrounding the Aberdares meant that farming was being conducted right up to the national park and forest reserve boundaries. Regular crop damage by wildlife, especially elephants, was a major problem for the farmers, who suffered great losses. Encounters between farmers and wildlife occasionally led to loss of human life, and served to heighten tensions between humans and wildlife.

In 1989, Rhino Ark was established by a group of conservationists to seek solutions to these challenges. Through a partnership with the Kenyan Government and support from thousands of Kenyans and friends of Kenya overseas, Rhino Ark undertook the construction of an animal-proof electric fence around the Aberdares. The nearly 400km long fence was completed in August 2009.

communities have initiated indigenous tree re-planting inside the fence where previously illegal logging, uncontrolled cattle grazing and indiscriminate cultivation were rampant.  A 54 per cent decrease in open areas (grassland and cultivation) inside the fence.  A 47 per cent increase in exotic plantations outside the fenced area. Fence edge communities have increasingly embarked on growing wood lots for fuel.  Wildlife populations have increased, although poaching remains a threat.  The Aberdares rivers are “more stable than the Mount Kenya rivers”, although the report acknowledged that data on water resources are limited.

The study also records socio-economic results, such as higher household incomes and land values (as high as 300 per cent in some cases) due to improved farmland security, crop yields and safer living conditions. Crop destruction by wildlife has been all but eliminated and children walking to school face fewer risks from animals. In addition, cattle rustling using the forest as an escape route has ceased and disease transmission between wildlife and livestock has greatly reduced.

The report’s economic analysis estimates the total values of products and environmental services provided yearly by the fenced ecosystem at Ksh 39.3 billion (US$ 467 million) with an additional Ksh 20 billion (US$ 238 million) for biodiversity conservation, amounting to an overall total of Ksh 59.3 billion (US$ 706 million).

Assessing the true impacts of 20 years of conservation efforts In 2010, Rhino Ark commissioned an independent study on the environmental, social and economic assessment of the fencing of the Aberdare Conservation Area. The study was co-funded by UNEP, Rhino Ark and the Kenya Forests Working Group and supported by the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Kenya Forest Service and the Greenbelt Movement.

The study reveals key positive outcomes attributable to the fence, including improved forest cover, safer living conditions for local communities and greater security for wildlife. This affirms that the fence has been instrumental as a management tool in addressing the challenges affecting the Aberdare ecosystem.

In addition, the study’s economic analysis highlights the importance of the environmental services that are protected by the fence and that serve key national and global interests.

More specifically, key environmental improvement attributed to the fence and more assertive policy interventions are:  A 20.6 per cent increase in forest cover between 2005 and 2010. In some areas,

22

Miti July - September 2012

View of the moorland in the Aberdares Conservation area. (Photo: Christian Lambrechts)

This farmer can now smile as his cabbages are safe. (Photo: Nigel Pavitt)

The breakdown of some key identifiable benefits provided by the Aberdares to many parts of Kenya is as follows:  Domestic water supply to central Kenya, parts of the Rift Valley and the Tana River valley: Ksh 646 million (US$ 7.7million) annually.  Nairobi water supply which comes mainly from above and below-ground Aberdare sources: Ksh 1.46 billion (US$ 17.4 million) annually.  Carbon sequestration and soil erosion control: just under Ksh 1.9 billion (US$ 22.6 million) annually.

The report further highlights that the Aberdares is a key contributor to hydropower, which represents 58 per cent of the national total installed capacity. The mountain range is also a core provider of water for the horticulture and floriculture production around Lake Naivasha. It is also vital to the Ewaso Nyiro River, which flows into Laikipia and the arid northern rangelands.

The report also looked at the distribution of economic benefits from the Aberdares. It gives the central Kenya/Rift Valley area 71 per cent, whilst the total national benefit is logged at 12 per cent. The fence-adjacent communities receive 7.6 per cent of the total cake. The global value from agricultural exports, tourism and biodiversity is just under 7 per cent. It must be noted that, in capita terms, the 40,000 fenceadjacent families receive by far the largest value benefits.

Next step - investing in our natural infrastructure The economic analysis of the environmental services provided by the Aberdares does not aim at giving a price tag to the ecosystem. Such precious ecosystem is not a tradable commodity.

Miti July - September 2012

The economic analysis, however, aims at show-casing the important contribution of such montane forests to the national economy and at sensitising policy-makers on the need to invest in the management and conservation of these ecosystems.

The analysis calls upon the Ministry of Finance and policy-makers to make appropriate budgetary allocations for the management of the Aberdares, as well as the other water towers of Kenya. Indeed, the report underlines that the fence, for example, is under-supplied in both human and capital needs.

Following the publication of the report, the Ministry of Finance has allocated an additional Ksh 100 million (US$ 1.2 million) for the fencing of Mt Kenya and Mt Eburu in the Mau Forests Complex. It has also committed to allocate Ksh 200 million (US$ 2.4 million) in the following years for the same purpose.

In line with the report’s recommendations, an Aberdare Trust was established. This is a publicprivate partnership with strong “participatory management” by communities that will manage

the fence and ensure that its objectives are met, through, among others, properly implemented gate management and access policy. During the launch of the Trust on May 11, 2012, the Kenya Government committed to contribute to an endowment fund that would secure sustainable financing for the Trust.

The recent investments in the water towers by the government are an expression of Kenya’s commitment to a transition to a Green Economy.

This is also in line for Vision 2030, Kenya’s development blueprint, which calls for the rehabilitation of the five main water towers, as one of its flagship projects.

We are therefore looking forward to increased budgetary allocations for the management of the water towers in the years to come. This will be necessary in order to secure the benefits derived from these ecosystems that are essential for environmental stability, economic development and human well-being.

The writer is the Executive Director, Rhino Ark Email:christian.lambrechts@gmail.com

23

A KFS nursery showing cypress and pine seedlings.

(Photo: KFS)

Meeting the need for tree seedlings According to KFS statistics, nurseries fall short of national requirements

By MITI TEAM pon request, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has kindly provided statistics about national seedling production, according to collection of data through their field stations network. The figures provided are the highest seedling production recorded for the last financial year, 2011 - 2012. These are shown in Table 1, broken down into conservancy, ownership of nursery (KFS or private), and between exotic and indigenous species.

These are very interesting figures. They show that a total of 115 million seedlings were produced in nurseries, countrywide, by the end of March 2011. Of these, one third (35.6 per cent) was produced by KFS, and the rest (64.4 per cent), by private nurseries (communities, individuals, etc.) The latter figure would have been higher if data for Eastern Conservancy had been available.

KFS has stated that it does not want to compete with private nursery operators, and that its central nurseries are either to raise seedlings for KFS plantations and other KFS programmes, or are mainly used as training sites. KFS has recognised capacity building for nursery management by private entrepreneurs and communities as one of its strategies for employment and wealth creation.

The distribution of production, broken down into KFS and private, is shown in Figure 1.

Central Highlands Conservancy produced the highest number, at 28.8 million seedlings, and North Eastern Conservancy the lowest, at 0.35 million seedlings.

The highest proportion of private seedling production was 87.1 per cent, in Nairobi, with Coast (83.5 per cent) and Nyanza (79.8 per cent) following.

The conservancy with lowest input from the private sector was North Rift at 41.4 per cent, still a sizeable 9.1 million seedlings.

The seedling production, broken down into exotic and indigenous species, is shown in Figure 2.

Indigenous species made up about a quarter of total production (26.3 per cent or 30.3 million seedlings), with the highest proportions in Western Conservancy (32.4 per cent), North Rift Conservancy (29.3 per cent) and Mau (28.4 per cent).

U

24

Figure 1: Total seedling production per conservancy, KFS and private sector

Figure 2: Total seedling production per conservancy, exotic and indigenous species.

Miti July - September 2012

People in full activity at a community nursery.

(Photo: KFWG)

A well-kept private nursery with a rich species mix. Guava seedlings are in the foreground, further on cypress, pine, grevillea … (Photo: Robert Ndetei)

Table 1: Seedling return March 2011

Conservancy

Type

Central Highlands

KFS

Nyanza

North Rift

Western

Mau

Eastern

Coast

Ewaso North

North Eastern

Nairobi

Exotic

Indigenous

Total

6,408,510

2,029,133

8,437,643

Private

14,627,039

5,778,578

20,405,617

SUBTOTAL

21,035,549

7,807,711

28,843,260

2,797,116

471,495

3,268,611

Private

10,670,779

2,256,038

12,926,817

SUBTOTAL

13,467,895

2,727,533

16,195,428

9,697,248

3,217,907

12,915,155

5,896,113

3,232,921

9,129,034

15,593,361

6,450,828

22,044,189

KFS

KFS Private SUBTOTAL KFS

2,784,412

1,591,536

4,375,948

Private

10,356,352

4,708,421

15,064,773

SUBTOTAL

13,140,764

6,299,957

19,440,721

KFS

1,902,365

2,127,374

4,029,739

Private

6,127,236

1,063,210

7,190,446

SUBTOTAL

8,029,601

3,190,584

11,220,185

KFS

3,723,760

2,225,936

5,949,696

-

-

-

3,723,760

2,225,936

5,949,696

800,451

203,240

1,003,691

Private

4,832,679

234,594

5,067,273

SUBTOTAL

5,633,130

437,834

6,070,964

175,640

57,287

232,927

95,713

87,921

183,634

271,353

145,208

416,561

Private SUBTOTAL KFS

KFS Private SUBTOTAL KFS

133,486

23,618

157,104

Private

178,970

15,264

194,234

SUBTOTAL

312,456

38,882

351,338

KFS

215,629

365,277

580,906

3,330,591

601,332

3,931,923

Private

3,546,220

966,609

4,512,829

TOTAL

SUBTOTAL KFS

28,638,617

12,312,803

40,951,420

Private

56,115,472

17,978,279

74,093,751

GRAND TOTAL

KFS+Private

84,754,089

30,291,082

115,045,171

Miti July - September 2012

A KFS nursery with the capacity to produce large quantities of seedlings for planting in gazetted areas.

(Photo: KFS)

Some reflections A pertinent question is, what percentage of these seedlings was finally planted, and what was the survival rate? We venture some estimates (“intelligent guesses”). Not all seedlings are planted or sold in one season, and surely more than 10 per cent remain in the nursery. Let’s use a conservative estimate of 70 per cent being planted. That makes 80.5 million seedlings.

Once planted, the struggle for survival sets in, and drought, livestock (goats!), management issues, pests and diseases decimate the numbers.

If half (50 per cent) of the seedlings survive, that makes it 40.3 million. If the seedlings are planted at an average spacing of 2.5 x 2.5m, that would cover 251,000 ha. Sounds impressive. But is it? Yes and no. By itself it is.

However, to achieve 10 per cent tree cover by 2030, a yearly total of 380 million seedlings have to be planted (see interview with Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP, Miti issue 12, October - December 2011).

In other words, we are at 10.6 per cent of what needs to be planted.

Even taking into account two planting seasons, and doubling this percentage to 21.2, still leaves it at one fifth of what needs to be done.

25

Eucalyptus in harmonious co-existence with tea. Note some Grevillea robusta in the foreground. So, contrary to popular myth – eucalyptus trees do not kill all undergrowth. (Photo: BGF)

More than just tea

Part of the sawmill, log yard and associated workshops of Finlays. Note the use of specialised Bell forestry loaders. (Photo: BGF)

Finlays is one of the biggest private tree-growers in Kenya, in addition to growing cut flowers and fresh produce

By JAN VANDENABEELE

T

he Finlays tea estate in Kericho was started in 1925, so it’s just 13 years short of being 100 years old. Tea planting started in 1926, but today, 30 per cent of the estate’s total land area of over 10,000ha is under trees, either plantations or natural forests. That means that about 6,000ha is under tea while about 3,000ha is under trees.

This makes Finlays one of the biggest private growers of trees in Kenya.

Although this is not big by international standards, it is a notable achievement in a

26

country where the World Bank has subsidised timber production for decades1, hence stifling private investment in the sector. Amidst all this, Finlays is doing it in an elegant and efficient way.

Ecological conditions in this part of Kericho are superbly suited for growing tea and eucalyptus. The estate is situated adjacent to the Mau Forest, at an altitude of roughly 2,200masl, with high rainfall - an 1 The plantation estate of Kenya Forest Service, formerly 140,000ha fully planted, was created through low-interest loans of the World Bank in the 70s, resulting in cheap timber until the imposition of the so-called “Presidential ban on logging” put an end to that. The era of cheap wood in Kenya is now definitely over.

annual average of 2000mm, although this varies, and for example, in 2011, the area received 2400mm.

But even at the lower levels of 1900mm, the rainfall is still abundant. Soils are deep, and as the rainfall and altitude suggest, quite acidic (pH 4-4.5), which is exactly what tea requires, and what trees, especially eucalyptus, can cope with.

The eucalyptus were originally imported to provide firewood for the tea factories. A rule of thumb for firewood consumption is 1kg of wood for 1kg of (black) tea production (see the article, “Calling on small-holders” in Miti 11 of

Miti July - September 2012

Sawing a eucalyptus log using a mobile Lucas mill. Eucalyptus provides good to excellent timber on condition it is properly dried. (Photo: BGF)

Aerial pruning of clonal eucalypt seedlings at the modern Finlays nursery (Photo: BGF)

July-September 2011). There are four leaf tea factories on the Finlays estate.

However in 1980, the estate increased its consumption of firewood when production of instant tea was introduced. It requires 15 kg of wood to produce 1kg of instant tea. As such, production of firewood had to be increased, which Finlays did by improving the handling of firewood in the factories, improving the plantations silviculturally (get higher yields per hectare), and getting more land to plant with eucalyptus.

For getting higher yields, Finlays started its own genetic breeding programme, which is discussed below. But first, something about the estate.

The estate A number of rivers run through the estate, all with riparian vegetation consisting of indigenous forest, completely protected. Five hydropower stations are built on the rivers, supplying about 2.4 MW of electricity, against a total consumption of 6MW. The estate also has a combined heat and power plant. On average, Finlays runs for over 30 per cent on its own, sustainable, electric power resources. Sustainably grown eucalyptus supply ALL the heat requirements for drying tea.

The company runs a small-scale sawmill, with its own kiln, with a maximum timber processing capacity of 30m3/day. The mill produces timber from pine and cypress, excellent packing material for tea crates. Pallets too can be made out of pine and cypress, but also from eucalyptus. Indeed, when properly dried, eucalyptus makes beautiful timber, and a number of companies buy wood products from Finlays.

Finlays also runs a quarry and stone crusher, for providing good quality materials for civil works and for supplying gravel for maintenance of its roads network.

Miti July - September 2012

The species composition of the Finlays plantations is as follows: Species

Area (ha)

Remarks

Eucalyptus grandis

2,500

Best for firewood

Eucalyptus saligna

300

Difficult to split

Eucalyptus regnans

100

Cypressus lusitanica and Pinus patula

120

For timber

Acacia mearnsii and melanoxylon

Tried on experimental scale

Eucalyptus globulus

Stopped because of low yield and too much splitting

Eucalyptus dunnii, Eucalyptus nitens, various GCs*

On a small scale

GC: Grandis-Camaldulensis hybrids

Eucalyptus improvement programme In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Finlays imported improved seed lots of E. grandis and E. saligna from South Africa, Australia and Zimbabwe. But the real breeding started in 2002, when the company planted 2,000ha with mostly E. grandis.

At the rate of 1,600 trees per hectare, this translates into 3.2 million trees. Out of these, 97 superior trees were selected for fuel wood, poles and timber. This is equivalent to 0.003 per cent, meaning a very rigorous and strict selection criterion was applied. The criteria used for selection was stem form, calorific value and wood density, branching height, branch shedding, resistance to pests and diseases and tolerance to site variability.

The chosen trees were cloned, under the guidance of consultants from the United

A promising clonal eucalypt plantation of Finlays, less than a year old. Not planted in tea this time, but undergoing regular weeding. (Photo: BGF)

Kingdom and South Africa, and comparative trials established, now three to four years old, resulting in 14 selections of E. grandis. Resistance against the Chalcid wasp (Leptocibe invasa) is now also a criterion for selection. These 14 selections are being multiplied clonally and at a planting rate of 200ha/year, some 400,000 of them have been planted at a spacing of 1,600 trees/ha, or 3m x 2m.

A number of species were cross-bred - GC, GS (grandis-saligna), GT (grandis-torelliana) GR (grandis-robusta). To avoid eucalyptus toppling over and falling in temporarily waterlogged areas, E. grandis was grafted onto rootstock of E. saligna, which has a lignotuber with a stronger developed root system, and E. robusta, which can survive in waterlogged areas.

It is worth mentioning that Finlays also has a cypress (Cupressus lusitanica) strain resistant to the cypress aphid (Cinara cupressi).

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Eucalyptus blocks on Finlays Estate in Kericho (Photo: Finlays)

A tea estate working with forestry equipments. Definitely professional (Photo: BGF)

Value adding: processing of timber (Photo: BGF)

Value adding: pole production (Photo: BGF)

Nursery and management of eucalyptus plantations Finlays produces good quality seedlings in a nursery with a yearly capacity of two million seedlings. To ensure genetic variability, seedlings are produced both from seeds (25 per cent) and clonally (75 per cent). The nursery also has an important stock of indigenous species (Ficus capensis, Markhamia lutea, Croton macrostachyus, etc). Part of the production is done on raised beds, in root-trainers imported from South Africa, for aerial root pruning.

As a service to the community, Finlays sells seedlings to the local communities at a subsidised price of Ksh 5 per piece.

For fuel wood and poles, the trees are planted at spacings of 3 x 2m (1,600 trees per hectare), and at 3 x 3m (1,111 trees per hectare) when the objective is to produce heavy poles and sawlogs for timber.

Eucalyptus are not planted in the vicinity of water courses. Finlays uses a special planting technique called “gum into tea” that involves planting eucalyptus into existing tea plantations. This is said to give better growth results than replanting eucalyptus (“gum into gum”), with the added advantage of cheaper establishment costs since pulling out roots is quite expensive. The better growth might be attributed to the fertilisation of the tea plantation.

Pitting is done mechanically, with hand-operated earth augers and augers mounted on a tractor PTO (1,200 pits/day with a 2-people team), and a hole diameter of 30cm. Soils are fertilised with rock phosphate or Triple Super Phosphate. During the first three years, weeding is done three times a year, and afterwards, twice a year. It is done manually by slashing or chemically by using Glyphosate, in 1.5 metre-wide strips. Occasionally, mechanical mowing is done.

Thinnings are done at year 3 and year 6, and the fuel wood is split into lengths of 1.2m, with a hydraulic splitter and a circular saw.

Not surprisingly, yields are very high, at Mean Annual Increment of 50m3 per hectare per year over a standard nine-year rotation, and there are even reports of 760m3 per hectare, all yield included. The harvesting is done by a specialised logging team, equipped with proper machinery and tools, like Bell logging tractors and special trailers for transporting logs.

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The sawmill Value adding is done through sawing, kilning and timber treatment. The sawmill is fitted with a variety of saws - like circular saws that can be positioned into different angles to process large diameter logs, and band saws made by multisaws from South Africa for fast processing of logs. The recovery rate is 75 per cent with an average daily turnover of 18 - 20m3 of timber. All these operations are concentrated in one site, from log yard to sawing and kilning. The operations are well managed, and there is no wastage. Even sawdust is sold. The mobile Lucas mill from Australia can be moved to site and used on large diameter logs that cannot be transported to the sawmill.

Environmental protection Finlays have recently lent a helping hand in protecting the Mau Eburu Forest, a cause to which they have been committed for long. In line with their endeavors to serve as a catalyst in the community, Finlays supports efforts such as saving the Mau Forest, conserving the bongo, supporting 11,200 small scale farmers through a small-holder leaf tea project called Kibagenge, and supporting the NGO Rhino Ark. Finlays has supported conservation of the Mau for many years through funding of Friends of the Mau Watershed (FOMAWA), which seeks to educate farmers and school children on the importance of protecting their environment and planting trees. Finlays was one of the founding members as well as the main provider of annual operating funds.

All in all, Miti’s visit to Finlays was too short to do justice to the estate. We could still talk about the social side (schools, housing, medical services – there is even a Chief’s Office on the estate) but maybe we will go back. There is so much to see, and to learn.

The writer is the Executive Director, Better Globe Forestry.

Email:jan@betterglobeforestry.com

Miti July - September 2012

An umbrella for all seasons The Biblical Ark of the Tabernacle is believed to have been made out of Acacia tortilis, a multi-purpose tree for drylands

An Acacia tortilis forest in Isiolo. Note the contrast between the green canopy and the barren ground surface. (Photo: KEFRI)

By FRANCIS GACHATHI

I

n Exodus 25, God ordered Moses to instruct the Israelites to build an ark (verse 10) and a table (verse 23) out of acacia wood, or the shittim, according to some Bible translations.

Acacia tortilis is presumed to be the acacia wood in question. The tree grows in the Sinai Desert and also around the Dead Sea. It is believed to be the tree from which the Biblical Ark of the Tabernacle was made.

A. tortilis, the umbrella thorn acacia, grows to about 5 - 8m high but can attain 20m in riverine conditions and in areas of high water table. It has a flat, spreading or umbrella-shaped crown at maturity. The spines come in pairs, some short and curved up to 5mm long, mixed with long, straight, whitish ones that grow up to 8cm in length - sometimes one long and one short white spine in the same pair. The flowers are creamywhite and fragrant, in small round heads. The tree’s specific epithet “tortilis”, is derived from its very distinctive spirally twisted and contorted pods, which are greenish yellow to yellow-brown.

A. tortilis is common in most drylands of Africa, from South Africa northwards to Algeria and Egypt, extending into Israel and southern Arabia. In Kenya, it is widely distributed in arid and semi-arid areas, particularly in the northern and eastern parts. It is drought resistant, can withstand high temperatures, salinity, sandy and stony soils, seasonal water-logging, heavy grazing and generally forms open dry forests of almost pure stands.

It will grow from sea level to 1,650m, in areas with mean annual rainfall of between 150 and

Miti July - September 2012

Acacia tortilis pods. This is where this acacia got its name. “Tortilis” means twisted. (Photo: KEFRI)

900mm. The long taproot and numerous lateral roots enable it to utilise the limited soil moisture available in the semi-desert, while stabilising the sand. Local names associated with A. tortilis include dadach (Boran); muaa (Kamba); chebitet (Kipsigis); otiep (Luo); oltepesi (Maasai); ses (Marakwet, Pokot); mugaa (Mbeere, Tharaka); dedach (Orma); dahar (Rendille); itepes (Samburu); ewoi (Turkana) and abaq (Somali).

A. tortilis is perhaps the most important and widely utilised acacia tree in the drylands, highly valued by all pastoralist communities. Its leaves and flowers are readily eaten by livestock and game but the main value of the tree is in its pods, which can be numerous.

When the pods mature, usually around January-February, they are often the main source of food for cattle, sheep and goats. The ponds

are collected and packed in large sacks for dry season fodder reserve and even for sale.

During famine, after removing the seeds from the pods, people pound the pods into flour, mix it with milk or blood and eat it. The gum is also edible.

The tree’s heavy reddish-orange coloured wood makes excellent charcoal and firewood.

It is also used for making handles for tools as well as for building. The flexible roots are used to make frames for temporary shelters. The bark is a good source of tannin. The thorny branches are suitable for erecting barriers and making temporary cages and pens. The stem and root bark produces good fibre for ropes, basketry and for making milk containers.

In addition, A. tortili’s bark, roots and leaves are used for treating various ailments and conditions related to traditional beliefs. The fragrant flowers are excellent bee forage and thorns are used as needles.

Remaining green throughout the year, A. tortilis provides the much needed shade and shelter in the drylands, a convenient spot for resting and meetings. Many birds build nests in its branches. Its occurrence may indicate underground water sources, such as drainage lines or shallow depression.

Two subspecies occur in Kenya: subsp. spirocarpa which is most common and subsp. raddiana, confined to the islands of Faza and Manda.

The writer is Principal Research Officer, Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) Email: gachathif@yahoo.com

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Strength in unity

UTGA brings together Ugandan commercial tree growers for mutual gain

T

he General Manager of UTGA, Dennis Kavuuma, spoke to Diana Ahebwe, the Country Representative, Miti magazine (Uganda). Below are excerpts from the

interview.

1. What is Uganda Timber Growers’ Association?

Uganda Timber Growers’ Association (UTGA) is an association for members investing in commercial forestry in Uganda. It was formed in 2007 by a group of people investing in commercial forestry who agreed to come together and promote the climate of commercial forestry in Uganda and mainly tackle issues that afflict them.

2. Why was it formed?

UTGA was formed to enable tree growers to lobby, establish, maintain and utilise commercial forestry effectively rather than working as individuals. UTGA is a private association which gets technical assistance from the Sawlog Production Grant Scheme (SPGS), generates internal funds and also receives funds from the Norwegian Government (NORSKOG). UTGA was primarily formed to develop sustainable commercial forestry in Uganda.

3. What is UTGA’s role in afforestation and the forestry business in Uganda?

Our role is to develop partnerships in not only Uganda but around the world by bringing investors in commercial forestry together. Some of our partners are in South Africa, Burundi and

Norway. This has kept the relationship ongoing among the tree growers.

4. How have you supported forestry in Uganda?

We do lobbying and advocacy for our members, provide forest inputs through identifying potential suppliers and advise our members accordingly, develop markets for our members, raise public awareness in tree planting and facilitate training and research.

5. Whom do you reach out to?

We reach out to anyone interested in growing trees as a business. You have to be interested in commercial forestry to qualify to become a member. We also carry out registration of new members and annual subscription for those who are already members.

6. How many members does UTGA have?

UTGA has 170 members whose plantations cover about 45,000 hectares. More people are still registering as members, and we are looking out for more members so as to promote unity in commercial forestry to tackle the problems that confront us.

7. What opportunities are there in forestry?

The potential in forestry is immense because of the high demand for timber, poles and fuel wood, which can be provided by both large and small tree growers.

Dennis Kavuuma, the chairman of UTGA.

8. Why should people join the forestry business?

There is an ever-increasing need for forestry products and environmental conservation benefits. Unlike other industries which need Environmental Impact Assessment, commercial forestry definitely conserves the environment.

Forestry products can never fail to get a market so it’s a business where there is no loss as long as you follow the procedures (especially the tree planting guidelines developed by SPGS).

There are many benefits from forestry which include social advantages such as jobs, especially for the rural people since these forests are mainly in rural areas. Forestry mitigates climate change and also reduces pressure on natural forests, which are rich in species biodiversity that cannot be provided by plantation forestry. There is also support provided by SPGS to those who meet the minimum standards of planting techniques (e.g. maintenance, use of quality seedlings etc Besides all the benefits, there is an aesthetic enjoyment that forest owners get in seeing their trees grow and reach maturity.

9. There are complaints about commercial forestry, especially eucalyptus and pine, degrading the land, what do you say about that?

We usually advice our clients not to grow crops around the plantations and besides, most of these forests are set in degraded land especially Central Forest Reserves which have been degraded. Members get leases from the National Forest Authority (NFA) to plant trees and not crops.

An SPGS clients meeting. Such meetings impart technical and managerial knowledge to plantation owners, most of them affiliated to UTGA. (Photo: BGF)

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Miti July - September 2012

A typical example of a plantation supported

by SPGS and owned by a UTGA member: Pinus caribaea Hondurensis, less than 10 years old, well established and maintained. (Photo: BGF)

Since tree planting is basically commercial, no taungya1 is allowed in order to have good yields.

To carry out commercial forestry, one has to be committed to the business such that after harvesting, they are ready to replant.

10. What challenges are you facing as UTGA and what actions are you currently putting in place to overcome those challenges?

Most UTGA members plant on degraded land of NFA but they have not been helped by NFA. For example, they don’t have forest roads; some have not been given permits while others need more land to plant more trees which they don’t get. There is a major problem of encroachment by grazers and cultivators, leading to forest fires. This has affected most of our members, especially in the central region.

Besides encroachment, there is little government acknowledgement and support to the commercial forestry sector and this is demonstrated by lack of consultation on issues that would help leverage the industry. There is also little support in helping the growers to fight encroachment by settlers, grazers, cultivators and veterans on areas where the investors have set up their plantations.

The menace of forest fires especially during the dry season is a serious threat to members’ plantations. UTGA continues to lobby the government and NFA to help mitigate against the issues that afflict our tree growers.

UTGA continues to sensitise all the stakeholders including the government, NFA, forest adjacent communities and the public about the social, economic and environmental good that come with the establishment of plantations, for example jobs, school support, infrastructure development like roads and canals, taxes that accrue from forest and out of forest activities, etc.

10. How do you expect to function once SPGS stops operating?

We expect to take over most of the activities, if not all, the services that SPGS is offering. For example, we are already carrying out nursery certification in Uganda. The commercial forestry industry driven by the private sector must continue even after SPGS winds up.

11. What support exactly does UTGA get from NORSKOG, the Norwegian Forestry Association?

NORSKOG provides both financial and technical support to build UTGA into a viable organisation able to sustain its operations and meet the objectives for which it was set up.

1 Taungya, a term from SE Asia; in Kenya it is called the shamba system.

Miti July - September 2012

A threat to many UTGA members - encroachment on land leased for afforestation. The tree-grower has little chance of getting rid of the unlawful intruders. (Photo: BGF)

12. How many members have been disillusioned with the medium-term nature of the tree growing business, its high costs and lack of immediate income, and decided to sell off their plantations?

The buying and selling of plantations is very normal and actually good for the industry because plantations are just like any other commodity or goods. Our members and all others who are growing trees on a commercial basis are doing it to make money and therefore trading in plantations is one way of showing that plantations are buyable and sellable.

13. What plans do members have to make use of pine thinnings?

UTGA is currently helping members to develop markets for their thinnings. There are more plans of attracting processing industries that will ultimately make use of small dimensional wood coming out of members’ forests.

14. Was UTGA able to get concessions from the government to get tax-breaks etc, for tree planting?

This is an ongoing and part of UTGA’s mandate, not only to get the concessions you mention but

also look at the larger picture of the whole sector and work towards creating a more conducive climate for members to establish, maintain and harvest from their forests.

15. What advice do you give to investors in forestry?

There is hope in forestry; it is a business that will never lose value if you follow guidelines properly and take the advice given by the technical people.

16. What do you see as the future of forestry in Uganda?

The government should support forestry if we are to improve and maintain the forest cover.

Currently, there is minimal support from the government and yet forestry is the biggest resource that Uganda has. It is predicted that the demand for timber is likely to increase, yet it is already high so we are likely to begin importing timber in years to come.

17. What are your future plans as UTGA? Our future plans as UTGA are to build membership, attract wood processing industries, streamline and polish forestry training in modern techniques of commercial forestry and lobby for government support.

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A portable metal kiln introduced by KEFRI. Recovery rates are high but so is the investment cost - Ksh 80,000.

(Photo KEFRI)

A kiln for every need Whether you need charcoal for domestic use or for sale, there is a kiln for you

By JOHN NGATIA MATHENGE This is the second part of the discussion on sustainable charcoal production after the gazetting of the Charcoal Rules.

In Miti issue 14, we discussed the concepts and methods of traditional charcoal production. In this second part, we look at medium-scale charcoal production technologies that could work well with groups as proposed in the Charcoal Regulations. A third and final part on large-scale production will appear in Miti 16.

A

s highlighted in the last article, the greatest challenges in traditional approaches to charcoal production are low recoveries, contamination with soil crumbs, poor air-flow controls and loss of byproducts which escape into the environment as pollutants. Some of the challenges are addressed in the small-scale production technologies with various degrees of success.

Here we look at different technologies, namely: • Metal kilns (drum and steel kilns); • Brick and masonry kilns (orange, dome and rectangular shaped kilns).

METAL KILNS 1. Drum type Description: These kilns make use of ordinary drums, which are modified to provide an ignition point with some controlled closing mechanism.

Chimneys are attached appropriately to control air flow inside the carbonisation chamber.

The drum kilns address the issue of air control and reduce contamination of the final product. In addition, the labour requirements to monitor the charring process are less intense as compared to the traditional production processes. Work on the drum kilns has been advanced by the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) and the Woodlands 2000 Trust at Kitengela.

KEFRI type, construction and process: This kiln is constructed by modifying an ordinary oil drum with an adjustable lid specially fitted with a firing door. Wood is stacked over a metal grill placed inside the drum. Air movement is

32

controlled through a chimney attached to the side of the drum.

The drum is covered with soil during charcoaling. The process takes 6 - 12 hours and recovery is about 28 - 30 per cent. Each drum yields about ¾ of a bag of charcoal (Oduor 2006). The production is low, making this technology more suited for domestic production but not recommended for group or commercial investment.

where trees are, thus reducing the cost of transportation of wood. The drums are available easily and are relatively cheap and the design is not complicated. The kilns are ideal for producing charcoal for domestic consumption.

However, the kilns are not durable and may only be re-usable three to five times, especially when subjected to high temperatures. Compared to traditional earth kilns, the cost is higher but less labour intensive since chimneys are provided for air control.

Kinyanjui type, construction and process: The drum kiln designed by Maxwell KinyanjuiWoodlands 2000 - is a little different from the KEFRI one. The lid acts as both the ignition section and the chimney. It uses small twigs of pollarded trees. This means that whole trees are not needed, thus allowing for sustainable production of charcoal.

There are also improved ovens and stoves to compliment the Kinyanjui kiln. This improves recovery rates and enhances energy utilisation while minimising waste and reducing costs.

2. Steel type Small-scale kilns: The advantage of using a solid cover (metal, brick or concrete) for the charcoal producing process stems from the hermetic seal such a cover provides. This minimises the effect of poor supervision and gives more consistent results. Steel and brick kilns are less labour intensive than improved earth mounds. However, they may be less accessible to small-scale traditional charcoal makers because of their higher costs.

Advantages and challenges of drum kilns: Drums kilns can be transported easily to areas

Portable metal kilns (KEFRI) Construction and process: These are imported,

Miti July - September 2012

Different types of fixed masonry kilns. Recovery rates are also high, but the principal disadvantage is the cost of transporting the wood, as the kilns cannot be moved. (Photos KFS)

easily transportable kilns. At KEFRI, the kilns portrayed are made of 2mm thick stainless steel consisting of three interlocking cylindrical cambers (rings) and a conical cover. The bottom cylinder has eight air inlet/outlet channels arranged radially at the base.

Most portable kilns operate on the reverse drought principle where carbonisation starts from the top and progresses downwards. This is aided by chimneys situated around the base of the kiln.

The process provides better carbonisation control and yields of up to 30 per cent recovery (Oduor 2006). In 2006, a kiln that produces about eight bags of charcoal per carbonisation process would cost approximately Ksh 80,000. The cost could be reduced if the kiln were to be fabricated locally.

Advantages and challenges: The portable kilns can be transported easily to sites where raw materials are located. The three chambers and the top-lid can be separated, making it easy to move them from place to place.

The production cycle is short, at 16 - 24 hours. The cost of importation is high but local fabrication can be considered. These kilns are recommended for small groups of traders and producers who could work in turns to produce charcoal. The short production cycles provide an opportunity for higher frequency of production.

Proper management of the system could allow for rewards to individuals in the group corresponding to the amount of work and inputs to the production process.

Unmovable ring kilns (Gallmann’s ranch) Description and construction: These are medium-sized circular metal kilns with conical tops fitted with air inlets that can be closed or opened at will to control air flow. Four chimneys are placed at the base of the kilns. The kilns can be constructed near the fuel wood resources.

The cost of construction is high and it may be

Miti July - September 2012

appropriate for commercial purposes though installation is capital intensive.

Advantages and process: The ring kilns can be constructed in various diameters, useful for commercial or small-scale production. The ring kilns are perfect for converting hardwood thinnings from small-scale woodland operations into charcoal or for owners of small woodlands, colleges, countryside parks or wildlife trusts who wish to make charcoal for personal use or smallscale sales.

The technology can also work well with small groups of four to five individuals, rather than the 25 to 30 usual membership of self-help groups.

The kiln can be transported around easily in a station wagon, a van or small pickup. It can be assembled easily by one person and burns for about five hours.

SMALL-SCALE BRICK KILNS Description: Brick kilns come in various shapes, dimensions and designs. The capacities vary, depending on dimensions. Brick kilns can be useful for individual domestic production, group production or industrial production.

In Bondo and Baringo districts, where large volume kilns have been constructed, charcoal production is usually constrained by increasing costs of transporting raw wood. However, the kilns are useful in large enterprises like Kakuzi, Githumbuini Farm, Catherine Gallmann (Laikipia) Ranch and others where wood fuel is readily available in the vicinity either as leleshwa shrubs, or “waste” after sawmilling timber production. In these cases, the kilns go a long way to ensure higher recoveries of timber utilisation.

This kiln is also appropriate for managing the invasive prosopis species.

Half-orange brick kiln (Kinyanjui) Half-orange kilns can be constructed for medium or large scale charcoal production depending on

objectives. At Woodlands 2000 (Kinyanjui) the half-orange kiln produces 4 - 5 bags of charcoal since it is of a small diameter and designed to make use of twigs and small branches. Such kilns can be useful at household level charcoal production where the charcoal is for domestic, rather than commercial use.

Dome shaped brick kilns (Kakuzi, Bondo, Baringo, Githumbuini Farm) Larger, commercial brick kilns of 5 - 7m diameter produce 80 - 120 bags of charcoal, depending on the radius of the kiln. At Kakuzi, the bricks are placed in two layers to ensure minimal loss of energy. Air inlets are constructed at the base, while chimneys, which control flow, are placed mid-way to the top. Huge chunks of wood, including stumps, are used to make charcoal.

The brick kilns have a long life span but may occasionally require maintenance. This may increase costs of charcoal production, eating into profits. If however, the initial construction is done with two layers of brick walls, as witnessed in Kakuzi, the life span of the kiln may be prolonged and higher profits realised.

Advantages and challenges: The brick kiln technology is highly favourable to community groups. The higher output per charcoaling process allows for higher profits that can be shared among a larger number of members.

The challenge in using this technology lies in the danger of the kiln collapsing, but more often, in transportation costs of the raw wood, making the kiln a little less acceptable to some groups, especially where the wood resources are scattered. Management also becomes more challenging as there are more interests to satisfy.

The writer is a Programme Support Officer (Natural Resources), Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

Email: johnmngatia@gmail.com

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A view of the water-pan created on Peter Moll’s farm. Due to erosion, the water is brown (but at least it is there). (Photo: BGF)

Stopping the waste Earth dams would preserve much needed rainwater that at present runs off to the ocean

By JAN VANDENABEELE

T

hree quarters of Kenya is semi-arid or arid. But when it rains, rivers flood and gush towards the ocean and the water, suddenly abundant and a nuisance, disappears within a couple of days. The natural way of capturing this bounty has always been the vegetation, in all its forms, be it grassy savannah, bushland or forest, that provides an ideal infiltration bed for rain with soft soil, rich in organic matter. This way, rain falling over a large area does not run off into streams and rivers, but is captured and stays in place.

Organic matter expands, absorbs water until saturation, some water infiltrates into deeper layers of soil to replenish the aquifers, and in case of sustained or heavy rainfall, the surplus ripples and flows away.

In these days of climate change, rainfall has become less frequent and has been transformed into heavier rainstorms. This overwhelms the absorption capacity of the soil, which in turn is decreased and keeps on diminishing as more vegetation disappears, either through reckless destruction or careless clearing for farming activities. Hence, we have to look at artificial means to trap more rain, to have water available for the aftermath of the storm when the usual drought returns.

Pastoralists feel the pinch heavily today, and migrate with their herds to far-away watering

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holes, once the usual supplies have dried. Big concentrations of livestock build up at a few places, and inevitably, conflicts erupt between the pastoralists themselves, and with agriculturalists who also need their share of water.

Obviously, further degradation of vegetation has to be stopped and huge efforts like REDD1 and REDD+ are taking place, but it’s not enough.

Any effect of these policies still has to be felt on the ground, and degradation simply continues in various forms (fires, uncontrolled charcoal burning, the silent killing of regeneration through overgrazing, extension of farmland even on steep slopes, etc).

Boreholes vs. water pans/earth dams Earth dams and water pans are a simple and relatively cheap way of trapping more run-off water. If well constructed, they will trap huge amounts of water that can last through the dry season, and contribute to sustained livestock keeping and agriculture/horticulture.

In ASAL however, aid organisations and government frequently look for the easy way out, which is boreholes. But the whole of ASAL is littered with attempts to get water out of bore 1 REDD: Reducing Emissions from forest Degradation and Destruction, REDD+: the same but with added features like support for sustainable tree planting and conservation of forests & management.

holes that are not working either because of mechanical failure or because the water quality is unpredictable, salty and not drinkable. And they are expensive, at easily Ksh 10,000 per metre, which makes for a Ksh 1.3 million investment for a 130m deep borehole, and that is just drilling.

The cost of a submersible pump, a pump house with diesel generator (usually there is no electricity in those places and the investment for solar power is even higher) and storage capacity drives the total price to Ksh 3 – 7 million. Then there are running and maintenance costs, with the price of diesel ever rising.

On the other hand, water pans and earth dams can be constructed easily, using a bulldozer, in anything between 40 and 100 working hours, depending on the size and the natural configurations of the site. Hiring a bulldozer should not cost more than Ksh 8,000 -10,000 per hour, to which has to be added the cost of transport of the machine (on a lowloader) and payment of supervision and the technical expertise. Hence the cost is far lower than for drilling boreholes and their subsequent (complicated) management. To save on the cost of bulldozer transport, development of clusters of water pans in the same area is a good option.

In addition, the rain water collected in pans and earth dams is sweet and slightly acidic, although in most cases polluted through soil

Miti July - September 2012

The Candelabra cactus.

You cannot just walk through. (Photo: BGF)

Peter Moll (Photo: BGF)

particles from erosion. However, in time the soil particles sink to the bottom.

Case study The Ilbartan Community Group in Ntashart, Kajiado, down from the Ngong Hills in the Rift Valley, is working with earth dams. At the end of the 1990s, the Dutch government sponsored the ASAL (Kajiado) project, in a self-help arrangement of sorts. The agreement was that the project would contribute half of the cost of a water pan/ dam construction or other water work, if the beneficiary was able to pay for the other half.

Peter Moll, who had acquired farmland in the area, took the initiative to bring together 18 members into a CBO, and they were duly assisted.

In 1998, 16 dams were constructed within a 3km radius of his farm and two water storage tanks erected. Of the dams, 12 are still working today, some silted up, and one simply dried up, the water suddenly sucked away through a hole in the volcanic subsoil that is the Rift Valley.

With basic maintenance only, 75 per cent of the structures are still operational 14 years later. Not a bad record in the world of waterworks, where anything can happen.

For their dams, each member paid Ksh 60,000 (a large amount of money 15 years ago), totalling Ksh 1,080,000 and the project contributed the other Ksh 1.08 million. This amount paid for some technical expertise, 40 hours of work by a bulldozer per site (roughly one week), and in the case of Mr Moll resulted in a 6m deep reservoir for water storage.

Later on, on his own initiative, Mr Moll added to this work by digging a trench to evacuate runoff water from a nearby slope towards the dam, substantially adding to the water catchment area feeding the dam, and ensuring it virtually never dries up. In this area, where average annual rainfall is barely 500mm, and natural water holes or springs non-existent, such a water supply is

Miti July - September 2012

White thorn (Acacia seyal) woodland on the farm. (Photo: BGF)

a treasure, and cannot escape the attention of neighbouring herdsmen walking around with thirsty cattle.

Mr Moll established a live hedge of the candelabra cactus (Euphorbia lactea) and constructed a steel gate to deter unauthorised use of his water. However, some steel bars bent mysteriously, and a stretch of fence was unable to close satisfactorily. Nevertheless, Mr Moll has water for his livestock, and for a small horticultural operation. To this end, a simple twin impeller petrol-operated water pump pushes the water 1.3km away and 40m up into some storage tanks.

Mr Moll estimates that the water costs him Ksh 0.06 per litre (5 litres of petrol at Ksh 120 per litre, for pumping 10m3 of water). Even considering investment costs, this is reasonable.

But Mr Moll’s story is not complete, and the struggle to extract money from such a harsh environment is epic and on-going. He has planted aloes, jatropha, and invested in horticulture and different types of livestock. To expand his

operations and reap the benefits of working large-scale, he has to construct more dams and has selected three sites for this.

In the meantime, he works at increasing the amount of pasture for his livestock, clearing leleshwa (Tarchonantus camphoratus) in the valleys of his property, but leaving the acacias (white acacia and whistling thorn, resp. Acacia seyal and A. drepanolobium) and the desert date (Balanites aegyptiaca), also loved by wildlife, of which there is plenty.

Conclusion Only the replication of similar initiatives by the thousands can offer relief to herding communities in large stretches of Turkana and North Eastern Province, and even closer by, in Eastern Province.

Such initiatives would provide water where it is needed, instead of having it running off to the ocean.

The writer is the Executive Director, Better Globe Forestry Email: jan@betterglobeforestry.com

35

Pumping water into the future Solar powered pumps enter the mainstream and point the way forward

By ERIC NISSEN-PETERSEN

A

lthough the Rural Electrification Programme is really making inroads in the Kenyan countryside, complete electrification is still to be achieved. As such, many Kenyans in rural areas still depend on petrol or diesel fuelled engines and generators to power their water pumps.

Fuel is expensive and solar power offers a viable alternative. A number of people have turned to 12-volt solar powered pumping systems. The advantage of these 12-volt submersible pumps is that they do not require batteries and converters.

This means that whenever the sun’s rays hit the solar panels early in the morning, they send 12-volt electricity directly to the 12-volt pump, without any losses, and the pump will start to deliver water to the storage tank. The delivery rate of water will increase as the sun rises towards noon and only stops when the sun goes down in the evening.

Water for domestic use A new and long awaited era of affordable solar powered water pumps has now become a reality.

Gone are the days when I used a small 12-volt water pump powered by solar panels to pump about 200 litres of water for my household in Kibwezi on a sunny day. During the last few years, Grundfos SQF 12-volt submersible pump, powered by solar panels, has been installed for supply of communal drinking water in a joint venture with the Kenya Red Cross called Lifelink The Red Cross provides rehabilitated or new boreholes, while Grundfos delivers the other components. A complete unit with a borehole costs about Ksh 7 million.

The Lifelink system is being installed on a trial basis country-wide, and the installation costs have until now been financed by international development organisations, and to some degree

by Grundfos itself. It is as yet unclear how interested communities will be able to finance such a system on their own.

Where the systems have been installed, the users have agreed on the price to be paid per litre of water drawn. Users must sign an agreement with Grundfos on service and maintenance, as the intricate system cannot be serviced locally, and there is therefore a minimum charge to be paid for water drawn, to cover the maintenance

36

The Lifelink solar pump system.

and servicing costs.

The payment for water drawn is done via mobile phone. Each member gets a metal coin, called a polet, with an account number. The MPESA network is used for depositing money into the account. When a member wants to draw water, the polet is placed in the tap stand and the balance of the account is displayed. If the account has money, the cost of every litre of water drawn is deducted. If the account is empty, a red light is displayed and no water can be drawn until the account is recharged.

Lifelink’s office in Nairobi monitors the performance of all their projects via the Internet. Should any part of a unit malfunction, it will show up on the screen immediately and a service contractor is dispatched to correct the malfunction within 24 hours.

A computer tap stand.

A polet with an account number.

Water for irrigation: Sketch of profile and plan of the water supply system on a farm in Wote (Makueni District).

Miti July - September 2012

Water for irrigation Within the last year, Grundfos and Lorentz 12-volt solar powered submersible water pumps have also been used for irrigation of vegetables and fruits for export.

Recently, a farmer in Wote, Makueni, installed a solar-powered Grundfos submersible pump to deliver 10m3 of water daily for irrigation of French beans for export on a three-acre piece of land.

The total installation cost was Ksh 720,000 (see Table 1) of which 35 per cent was subsidised by Danida1.The farmer expects to recover his Ksh 468,000 investment in five years. He previously used a petrol-powered pump. The increased income from a more reliable irrigation system will shorten the break-even point.

Interestingly, the farmer’s shallow well has a diameter of 3m, which provides more infiltration area than the usual narrow wells, with the added advantage that the submersible pump can be placed in a horizontal position. This means more water can be pumped as the pump indeed has to be submerged in water, and the horizontal position allows a water depth of merely 30cm.

Sketches of a frame for tilting solar panels manually.

Table 1: Installation cost of the Wote project

Item

Description

Water source

Cost Ksh

Cost US$

A 3-metre wide and 8-metre deep hand-dug well with a daily yield of the required 10m3

90,000

106

Power source

8 units of 80W solar panels fixed onto a steel tower

200,000

2,353

Pump

A Grundfos SQ Flex 2.5-2 to deliver 2.5m3 of water per hour

221,000

2,600

Pipeline

130 metres of 40mm (1½’’) HPDE PVC pipe

39,000

459

A 6m3 PVC storage tank

40,000

471

Fittings, etc.

20,000

235

Installation

110,000

1,294

Total cost

720,000

8,471

Storage

A sun-tracking mechanism: manual tilting

A sun-tracking mechanism: automatic tilting Table 2: Installation cost of the proposed project in Loitoktok

Item

Description

Water source

A 120-metre deep borehole existing from 1969

Power source and pump

Pipeline

Two sets of solar panels in Kiambu.

The capacity of the solar panels can be increased by 30 per cent, or the cost reduced by 30 per cent, (Ksh 66,666 or US$ 784 in the above project), if the solar panels are mounted on a tipping frame that exposes the panels directly to the sun for up to 11 hours daily.

Water for both domestic use and irrigation

A community in Kiambu has replaced their old diesel-powered water pump with a German1 The Danish International Development Organisation

Miti July - September 2012

made Lorentz PS400 solar powered submersible water pump capable of pumping 30,000 litres of water daily from a 184-m deep borehole. The pumping system is equipped with an automatic tracking mechanism that adjusts the solar panels to face the sun directly every 30 minutes.

A farmer in Loitoktok wants to install the Lorentz PS4000 C-S18 solar pump at his 42acre farm, instead of buying diesel for Ksh 2,000 daily. The Lorentz system will cost a total of US$ 35,889. He will have to pay Ksh 1,982,880 (US$ 23,328), taking a Danida subsidy of 35 per cent into account, which he will save in 2.7 years, by not buying diesel.

Again, the payment period may be shorter due to increased production from a reliable irrigation system.

Cost Ksh

Cost US$

NIL

NIL

Sun-tracking solar panels powering a Lorenz PS4000 solar powered submersible water pump to produce 65m3 of water daily

2,841,599

33,431

130 metres of 40mm (1½’’) HPDE PVC pipe

39,000

459

Fittings, etc.

20,000

235

Installation

150,000

1,764

3,050,599

35,889

Total cost

Conclusion Solar powered systems are still expensive.

However, as more units are produced and installed, the price is expected to come down.

Fuel prices on the contrary are expected to rise.

Maintenance costs are almost non-existent, as the lifetime of the panels is about 25 years (with a warranty of 10 to 20 years). The panels only need regular cleaning. The submersible pumps are deep down in the borehole and do not require maintenance. They have a warranty for one year.

Erik Nissen-Petersen is the Managing Director, ASAL Consultants Ltd. Email: nissenpetersenerik@gmail.com

37

A rich natural forest is the dream of every forester. Such forests are special biodiversity reserves, probably with the special plants or animals that we will use as food or medicine in the future.

(Photo: August Temu)

It’s time to review forestry education

Training of the future forester has to take into account local livelihoods, environment and climate change

By AUGUST TEMU

D

espite their small number in public and private institutions, foresters play crucial roles in conserving natural resources, biodiversity and maintaining ecosystem functions.

At the local level, forests and tree resources provide wood, other fibre products, fuel wood, water, bush meat, honey and fodder for livestock and wildlife. At the landscape and global level, forests and trees are major assets and means to

Table 1: Development of forestry education in eastern Africa

Country and name of institution

climate change mitigation and adaptation Yet, foresters are probably only mentioned when the landscape is damaged or in connection with scandals involving forest products. This is the paradox for a profession that impacts so much on the everyday life of everyone and yet it is invisible and seriously under-invested.

One of the reasons for the invisibility of forestry is that the sector is quite small relative to other sectors, and its contribution to the economy is grossly underestimated. For instance, forestry education graduates in East Africa are fewer than those for a single country like Germany.

Year established

Programmes taught

Ethiopia: Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hawassa University

1978

Vocational and technical training only until the 1990s, then forestry related degree programmes evolved - BSc General Forestry; BSc Forest Products Processing and Utilization; BSc Agroforestry and Soil Management; BSc Natural Resources Economics and Policy; and BSc Ecotourism and Cultural Heritage Management.

There are five active MSc programmes and two PhD programmes

Kenya: Kenya Forestry College Londiani

1956

Training forest rangers, certificate and diploma. Also runs short courses.

History of forestry education

Kenya: School of Natural Resource Management at Chepkoilel College of Moi University

1976

Started at University of Nairobi and was transferred to Moi University in 1984.

Bachelor degrees are offered in Forestry, Wood Science and Industrial Processes and Agroforestry and Rural Development.

Masters programmes are in Forestry and Wood Science. Students may register for PhD in Forestry.

A number of other Kenyan universities have natural resource and environment programmes that touch on forestry.

Tanzania: The Forestry Training Institute (FTI) Olmotonyi

1937

Two-year course for forest rangers, three years Diploma in Forestry. Also runs in-service training courses.

Tanzania: Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Sokoine University of Agriculture

1973

BSc Forestry, BSc Wildlife Management and BSc Tourism Management.

Three MSc programmes - MSc Forestry, MSc Wildlife Management and MSc Management of Natural Resources for Sustainable Agriculture. PhD programmes are available in all the above areas.

Uganda: Nyabyeya Forestry College

1931

Certificate and diploma courses in forestry and agroforestry. Also runs short training courses for serving foresters.

Uganda: Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Makerere University

1970

BSc Forestry, BSc Community Forestry, and BSc Wood Science and Technology. Graduate programmes include MSc Forestry, MSc Agroforestry and PhD Forestry/Agroforestry.

Formal forestry education in tropical Africa can be traced back to the colonial era. Vocational and technical forestry training (offering certificate and diploma qualifications, respectively) were established as early as the 1930s through to the 1950s. For instance, the Ivory Coast Forestry School was established in 1938 and the Technical Forestry School in Cameroon in 1949.

At independence, the young African nations agreed to share the costs of establishing professional forestry education, so a regional approach was adopted in some parts of the continent. Thus, the College of Forestry in Monrovia, Liberia 1955; the Department of Forestry at Ibadan University in Nigeria, 1963; and Makerere University, Uganda, 1970 were

38

Miti July - September 2012

Land resources include a wide range of animals.

Trees provide the much needed fodder as well as shade from the scorching sun.

(Photo: August Temu)

established to cater for several countries within their regions. Forestry schools in Congo-Kinshasa and Cameroon were planned to meet the training needs of French-speaking Africa. Southern Africa was well served from South Africa’s Stellenbosch University. However, from the 1970s to the 2000s, African countries abandoned this collaborative approach and started their own forestry programmes, thus expanding forestry education considerably.

Forestry education content Forestry education in tropical Africa was largely patterned on models already in place in Europe and North America. These emphasised biophysical aspects, with timber production as the main end-product of forest management.

They underemphasised economic, social/ cultural and ecological/environmental issues and benefits.

The conceptual framework was a vibrant public forestry sector, raising and managing forests to feed into public and private wood and fibre industries. Thus conservation was taken as a spill-over benefit rather than a mainstream purpose of managing forests.

With this frame of mind, forestry education was structured to produce vocational workers, technicians and professionals. The training periods recommended ranged from 2 – 3 years (certificate and diploma level) and 3 - 4 years for bachelor degrees. Graduates of these programmes were absorbed by public forest departments.

In the 1980s and 90s, in recognition of the links between forests and livelihoods and economic development of the local communities, subjects such as social forestry, community forestry and agroforestry were introduced. However, these were “add-ons”, often done without sufficient refocusing of the overall objectives of the programmes.

Currently, there is a growing awareness of

Miti July - September 2012

the multi-sectoral links of forestry to food and economic development, agriculture, wildlife, water, livestock, energy, climate change and the environment. This awareness is rapidly translating into significant changes in the forestry education programmes.

Recognition of forests and trees as major carbon sinks is raising the number of stakeholders and influencing the goals, science and practice of managing trees and forests. Reconciling all interests is hard for the current forester and even harder for the forestry education curriculum developer or educator.

Regarding the content of forestry education, three key issues must be underscored. First, the curricula and basic forestry text books used in tropical Africa have the character of temperate forestry and require vast field experience to make appropriate application to the local situation.

Criticism levelled against forestry training in the past decade could be attributed to this rather narrow perspective; namely, the prime goal of timber production and harvesting. The need for basic text books on silviculture, resources assessment, management, and other disciplines written specifically for use under local conditions has long been recognised but remains largely unfulfilled.

It is evident that forestry education institutions are responding to paradigm shifts by reviewing their curricula. Aspects such as forest extension, participatory forest management, non-timber forest products and values, biodiversity and environmental conservation are now finding their way into mainstream forestry training curricula.

These are positive steps but a few pertinent questions remain. For instance, to what extent are the observed curricular changes informed by a clear vision at national and regional levels and not merely responses to donordriven processes? How do forestry education institutions and academia get involved in broad based institutional reforms? Exactly what are the

Good management of the whole landscape ensures cleaner and better flow of water.

(Photo: August Temu)

forces driving changes in forestry?

Second, learning resources remain largely foreign. There is a need for books and learning resources that are developed to address local conditions, and preferably, from local perspectives. We have the capacity to do this, but some incentives are needed for senior academics to write new books.

Third, linking all land use disciplines in a common forum and networking will help to underscore the need to form and nurture strong relationships in educational programmes, and also the need to integrate social-economic considerations into curriculum development.

Where a forestry programme is linked to related disciplines (e.g. agriculture or natural resource management), the curriculum content tends to reflect elements of the other disciplines. On the other hand, stand-alone forestry faculties tend to have a “higher loading’’ of forestry courses.

The emergence of programmes in agroforestry, wildlife management and natural resources management within forestry programmes is a good trend, reinforcing the need for integration.

An important criticism is the perceived disconnect between training institutions and the new employment sectors. A large proportion of job opportunities for foresters is no longer in the public sector. The reality is that public sector employment has been declining rapidly since the 1980s.

Forestry education must be reformed to respond to a shrinking public and “expanding” non-public sector job market. This means a robust response to improvement of livelihoods and conservation of natural resources and environment. Further, emphasis on graduates with entrepreneurial and business skills is increasingly becoming popular.

There is a strong feeling that neither agriculture nor forestry education is responding adequately to the needs of small scale farmers and that there is a need to re-orient them in

39

Table 2: Objective Development and Management of Tree Resources

Production Systems Key functions

Natural Forests

Fibre products

Woodlands and scattered trees and bushes

Tree plantations

Trees on farms (Agroforestry)

Timber, rattan bamboo

Out-grower systems for industries, biofuel

Biofuels, home-grown timber and withies

Non wood products

Wildlife, bush meat, fodder, honey, frankincense, gums and resins

Horticultural crops, fruit, spices, gums, pharmaceuticals

Conservation and productivity

Ecosystem integrity

Improved tree crops

Biodiversity

In situ

Ex situ through use

Climate change

Mitigation

Adaptation

Landscape aesthetics

All landscapes should be developed to have this value

Livestock and wildlife management

Nitrogen fixing trees

Adaptation

Underpinning areas of learning Resource dynamics, ecology, policy, sociology, economics and business management science and practices

this direction. The emergence of climate change challenges is reinforcing this need.

The forestry professional area is broadening to include, inter alia: • Policy, social and economic issues, including participatory methodologies, interactive learning, communication skills, social values and ethics; • Broad-based handling of the larger field of natural resources management, including capacity for analysis, synthesis and decision making on complex natural resource situations and sustainable forest management; • Management of both tree and forest resources beyond designated “forest” areas; • Agrarian and natural resource production systems; • Entrepreneurship and business management; • Agroforestry, farm forestry, community forestry; • Gender issues: equity in access to land and natural resources, land tenure; and • Processes and impacts of globalisation, climate change, biotechnology.

Future forestry education There are two possible pathways to produce the future forester. The first is to broaden the forestry to include the other important sectors.

This is already happening as schools of forestry are initiating new land use programmes. The challenge here is that while natural resources are easier to bring on board, agriculture stands far from being integrated into forestry programmes.

Yet the best gains in management of tree resources are through agriculture.

The second strategy is to inject some elements of forestry and tree management in all land use disciplines as well as social sciences.

The gains would be great as many graduates from a wide range of specialisations would have some knowledge of forest and tree management.

Both strategies are valid and should be pursued.

Whatever option is selected, the following considerations are pertinent: • Decentralised natural resources management is a major transformation that is happening, albeit slowly, to enable local appreciation and

40

Farmers are determined to raise trees on their land for firewood and other needs. They need trees that do well and enhance crop production. (Photo: Robert Ndetei)

control of forests and other natural resources.

• Forestry is a very wide field of science and practice, with ramifications on a very wide range of sectors. Manufacturing industries have to invest in forests and trees to help off-set their carbon footprints. The medical and pharmaceutical industries have to protect biodiversity to ensure that species with potential to cure diseases or to improve nutrition are not wiped out. An intriguing trend is apparent in much of eastern Africa.

Trees in forests are declining while trees on agricultural land are increasing. The trend manifests a realisation by farmers that an effective way to meet tree products demand is through raising tree resources on-farm.

However, this positive trend has to be coupled with scientific knowledge that will ensure that each tree/species is planted in the right place.

Random development of trees on farms could lead to unsatisfactory ecological impacts if not properly managed. Forestry education must address this.

• No longer do we see forests as just a collection of trees. Forests today are recognised as highly diverse ecosystems with a wide variety of resources biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living), macro- and microscopic. These resources are mutually reinforcing, thus creating environments that enhance the

quality of human life. The trees are central to maintenance of the ecosystem, thus their removal degrades the ecosystem functionality.

It is instructive to note that forestry in the future has to be seen as management of tree systems in different land uses. Table 2 provides an example but it is not exhaustive. It serves as a tool for developing new forestry education programmes.

Conclusion Forestry education is no longer just about forests. It also has to cover trees in all land use systems and take into account local livelihoods, environment and climate change. This reflects a people-based approach to forestry, grafted with elements of global concerns.

The future forester is therefore expected to be quite different from the current somewhat regimented forester seeking to protect the forests.

To produce the new forester will take much more than a change of curricula. Current educators require training and re-orientation; new learning resources are needed and broadening of education programmes will be a prerequisite.

The writer is the Deputy Director General, Partnership and Impact. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).

Email: a.temu@cgiar.org

Miti July - September 2012

Better Globe Forestry Ltd

Making Africa greener

Making Africa greener Better Globe Forestry (BGF) is part of The Better Globe Group from Norway, which focuses on the need to fight poverty through promoting massive tree planting and sustainable agricultural programmes.

BGF’s vision is to create secure commercial projects with vital humanitarian and environmental activities and as a result become the biggest tree planting company in the world within 20 years.

Land in Kiambere before planting.

Note the omnipresent soil erosion

The mission of BGF is to make Africa a greener, healthier place in which to live and eradicate poverty by focusing on the development of profitable, commercial tree plantations that will deliver environmental as well as humanitarian benefits.

Miti magazine is a publication of Better Globe.

It is the policy of BGF to, among other things: • Create attractive financial opportunities for present and future investors, Continuously identify and address the needs of employees, suppliers, customers, shareholders, the community at large and any other stakeholders, • Focus on the need to help fight poverty, through promoting massive tree planting • Create and sustain motivation throughout the organisation for meeting its business objectives, • Continuously maintain and review an effective and efficient Quality System which as a minimum satisfies the requirements of the appropriate Quality System standard(s), • Continuously improve the performance of all aspects of the organisation.

Workers clearing a thicket in Nyangoro in preparation for tree planting

Our nursery at Kiambere

A two-year-old plantation of Melia volkensii in Kiambere

Workers in BGF’s plantation in Kiambere, after receiving a food donation

A Melia volkensii plus -tree part of our genetic improved programme

Preparing for planting in Kiambere

The committee of Witu Nyongoro ranch with Rino Solberg and Jean-Paul Deprins

www.betterglobeforestry.com