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Kenya Water Towers , Forests and Green

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Kenya Water Towers , Forests and Green REPORT OF THE HIGH-LEVEL NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON KENYA WATER TOWERS, FORESTS AND GREEN ECONOMY 5-7 NOVEMBER 2012 Introduction The First Kenya Water Towers, Forests and Green Economy National Dialogue was held from 5-7 November 2012, in Nairobi, Kenya. The dialogue was organized jointly by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Kenya’s Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife. It was held as part of Kenya’s follow-up to the outcome of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20 Conference) “The Future We Want” and also as part of the Government of Kenya’s efforts to implement its Vision 2030 (2008-2030), which has the objective of helping to transform Kenya into a “middle-income country providing a high quality life to all its citizens by the year 2030.” The three days brought together more than 200 key decision-makers from Kenya, including from 12 ministries and government agencies, the private sector, development partners, civil society and media, as well as international observers. The purpose of the dialogue was to raise awareness of the socio-economic role of water towers and forests in the Kenyan economy and identify the enabling conditions for delivering long-term investments in sustainable forest management. The dialogue also aimed to consider how to capture finance and investment opportunities relating to Vision 2030 and the green economy. This report summarizes the presentations made, and discussions undertaken, during the three days of the dialogue. 1 Report of the Meeting The Kenya Water Towers, Forest and Green Economy National Dialogue included opening and closing high-level segments, technical sessions, and a press conference on water towers and the role and contribution of mountain forests to the Kenyan economy. This report summarizes, in the following order, the high level opening ceremony, plenary technical sessions, and the closing ceremony. OPENING OF DIALOGUE On Monday, 5 November, Nasser Ega-Musa, Director, UN Information Centre, opened the dialogue by welcoming participants and dignitaries to the event. David Stower, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, speaking on behalf of the Minister, underscored that Kenya’s current constitution has placed enormous responsibility on the government on matters of the environment, noting that water is recognized as a socio-economic right of the people. He reported that the Water Bill of 2012 undertakes to mainstream water-related issues with relevant articles of the constitution, and that water availability is a key enabler to achieving Kenya’s Vision 2030. Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP, emphasized that Kenya’s five water towers are the backbone of the country’s economy, providing 75% of its renewable water resources. He lauded the government’s commitment to saving the Mau Forest ecosystem where over 21,000 hectares of land have so far been repossessed for rehabilitation. He reiterated the commitment made by UNEP during its 40th anniversary to support the government in creating awareness of the value of forests, highlighting recent estimates that show that the country stands to gain 4.24 times more from sustainable management of forests compared to cutting them down. Lodewijk Briet, Ambassador of the European Union to Kenya, said enabling conditions for sustainable development include improved land tenure and increased sharing of benefits from the environment with local communities. He noted that the Tana Delta, 2 where communities have been fighting to defend water and land for centuries, was a classic example of the importance of the water towers to communities. Briet called on the dialogue to address the role of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in enhancing investments in forests and responsible governance, including payments for ecosystem services (PES). He reported that the EU has developed 97 community-based projects in the water towers, which aim to restore vital water services, and improve and protect the livelihoods of local communities. Lawrence Mwadime, Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, said the dialogue would provide an opportunity for forests to play an active role in achieving Vision 2030 and in transitioning to a green economy. Hon. Dr. Noah Wekesa, Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, noted that despite the importance of forests in economic development and rural livelihoods, Kenya is a low– forest-cover country. He called for enhanced conservation of existing indigenous forests and ambitious farm and dryland forestry programmes to ensure increased tree cover to the 10% recommended in Vision 2030. He reported that his ministry would continue to provide enabling conditions for private sector investment in forestry. The Minister lamented that politicians had neglected debates on the environment and said that if he had the power to influence Kenyan voters, he would “plead with them to vote for candidates who will address and recognize the importance of the environment and issues related to mitigation and adaptation to climate change.” The Minister declared the dialogue officially opened and received from Achim Steiner, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) - UNEP report on “The Role and Contribution of Mountain Forests and Related Ecosystem Services to the Kenyan Economy.” TECHNICAL SESSIONS THE ROLE OF WATER TOWERS AND FOREST ECOSYSTEMS IN THE KENYAN ECONOMY: On Monday morning, Gideon Gathaara, Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, chaired this session. Pushpam Kumar, UNEP, discussing ecosystems for a green economy, said the growth of domestic consumption and demand of products in Kenya should be addressed 3 during the transition to a green economy. He highlighted the need to: recognize the role of ecosystem services in a green economy and create public awareness; restore degraded ecosystems by means of incentives, regulations and markets for ecosystem goods and services; and reflect the true value of ecosystems in the green economy model. Kumar added that even though PES has the potential to compensate ecosystem custodians for provision of goods and services, it is not the panacea for all problems. In ensuing discussions, participants addressed: how to convince local communities to consider the trade-off between resource exploitation and the long-term benefits from conservation; how to incorporate The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) into policy; and the need to elaborate reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, as well as conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+) as an incentive-based programme. Charles Mutai, Ministry for the Environment and Mineral Resources, discussed Kenya’s progress towards creating enabling conditions for its transition to a green economy. He highlighted the Green Economy Scoping Study supported by UNEP to assess opportunities and challenges for the transition, as well as the activities of an Inter- Ministerial Committee on green economy, which provides technical support and policy interface. Mutai highlighted policies and laws that support the transition, including: Articles 42, 60(c) and 69(a-h) of the constitution of Kenya, which recognize the rights to a clean and healthy environment, sustainable and productive management of land resources, and sustainable use and protection of genetic and biological diversity, respectively; Kenya’s Vision 2030; the Agriculture (Farm Forestry) Rules 2009; Forest Policy of 2005; the National REDD+ strategy; the Greening Kenya Initiative; and the Water Act of 2002. During discussions, participants noted the need for a roadmap and a legal framework for the green economy, as well as the need to harmonize the roles and mandates of various ministries. Karanja Njoroge, Centre for Environmental Action, chaired the session in the afternoon. Samuel Muriithi, KFS, presenting on the role of mountain forests and ecosystems in the Kenyan economy, noted that the contribution of forests is underreported in national statistics. He reported on the Forest Resource Account (FRA) of 2000-2010, noting that it captures the full value of the forestry sector as 3.5% of the country’s Gross Domestic 4 Product (GDP). He highlighted that the key findings of the report show that deforestation within this period led to a reduction of water availability by close to 62 million cubic meters, which in turn led to declines in fish catch and irrigation and hydro-electric power potential, a rise in the cost of water treatment, and increased incidences of malaria. Participants discussed: the need to ensure mainstreaming of PES in forest ecosystems while ensuring that it does not lead to inflation of water and hydroelectric power bills; the effects of drought on ecosystems; and the role of REDD+ as an incentive to maintain forest cover. Edmund Barrow, IUCN, discussed forest restoration, highlighting the successes of PES in Beijing and New York in paying for water catchment management. He reported that Kenya loses 3.87 billion KES a year from lack of investment in water catchment management and highlighted that the pre-requisites for successful restoration include: enabling policies; supportive agencies; benefit sharing with communities; and “ring fencing” of national financial resources. He urged Kenya to take on the 2011 Bonn Challenge and deliver on the global commitment to restore 150 million hectares of lost forests and degraded lands by 2020. In ensuing discussions, participants debated: the need for continued policy reforms to ensure the success of PES and REDD+;
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