Kenya

Mount Kenya East Pilot Project for Natural Resource Management

Context: Mount Kenya National Park and the National Forest Reserve, together with surrounding agricultural lands, form the watershed for two major rivers, the Tana River and the Ewaso Nyiro River. They serve about three quarters of Kenya’s surface area, and the former provides water to about 50 per cent of the country’s population.

Ecosystem degradation in the region is acute. Stress on both agricultural land and the remaining natural habitats and forest reserve is intense. If current trends continue, the integrity of the protected areas will be threatened and future livelihood options of the surrounding population will be severely reduced.

Global benefits: Improved protection and conservation of biodiversity resources of global significance in the Mount Kenya ecosystem.

Strategy: Improve conservation, management and sustainable use of biological resources in the protected areas of Mount Kenya National Park and the National Forest Reserve, while ensuring the equitable and sustainable use of natural resources by local farmers.

IFAD-GEF synergies: The project uses a two-pronged approach to environmental conservation by addressing the causes and impacts of environmental degradation. IFAD financing is directed towards tackling poverty in the agricultural areas, which places major pressure on the integrity of the protected areas, and improving rural livelihoods.

The GEF intervention focuses on the management of both sub-basin catchment areas and the protected areas themselves, and on rehabilitation of indigenous and plantation forests, and mitigation of human/wildlife conflict.

Source: IFAD