Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
New Partnership for Food and Agriculture Organization Africa’s Development (NEPAD) of the United Nations Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Investment Centre Division Development Programme (CAADP) GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO SUPPORT TO NEPAD–CAADP IMPLEMENTATION TCP/LES/2905 (I) (NEPAD Ref. 05/18 E) Volume III of V BANKABLE INVESTMENT PROJECT PROFILE Conservation and Land Improvement Project February 2005 LESOTHO: Support to NEPAD–CAADP Implementation Volume I: National Medium–Term Investment Programme (NMTIP) Bankable Investment Project Profiles (BIPPs) Volume II: Crop Production: Small–scale Irrigation Development Project Volume III: Conservation and Land Improvement Project Volume IV: Livestock Production Project Volume V: Support Services Programme NEPAD–CAADP BANKABLE INVESTMENT PROJECT PROFILE Country: Lesotho Sector of Activities: Soil and Water Conservation Proposed Project Name: Conservation and Land Improvement Project Project Area: National – 10 Districts: Mohalek’s Hoek, Quthing, Mafateng, Qach’s Nek, Batha–Bunthe, Mokhotlong, Leribe, Thaba–Teska, Berea and Maseru. Duration of Project: 5 years Estimated Cost: Foreign Exchange ............ US$23.5 million Local Cost........................ US$15.2 million Total ................................US$38.7 million Suggested Financing: Source US$ million % of total Government 4.8 12.5 Financing institution(s) 31.0 80.0 Beneficiaries 2.9 7.5 Private sector – – Total 38.7 100.0 LESOTHO: NEPAD–CAADP Bankable Investment Project Profile “Conservation and Land Improvement Project” Table of Contents Abbreviations........................................................................................................................................ iii I. PROJECT BACKGROUND.......................................................................................................1 A. Project Origin ....................................................................................................................1 B. General Information..........................................................................................................1 II. PROJECT AREA.........................................................................................................................2 III. PROJECT RATIONALE............................................................................................................4 IV. PROJECT OBJECTIVES...........................................................................................................4 V. PROJECT DESCRIPTION ........................................................................................................5 Component 1: Range Management............................................................................................5 Component 2: Implementation of Conservation Measures .....................................................6 Component 3: Development of Forest Resources .....................................................................7 Component 4: Construction of Small and Medium Dams .......................................................8 Component 5: Capacity Building, Research and Extension ....................................................9 VI. ESTIMATED PROJECT COSTS..............................................................................................9 VII. PROPOSED SOURCES OF FINANCING .............................................................................10 VIII. PROJECT BENEFITS ..............................................................................................................11 IX. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS ............................................................................12 X. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (TA) REQUIREMENTS ........................................................12 XI. ISSUES AND PROPOSED ACTIONS ....................................................................................13 XII. POSSIBLE RISKS.....................................................................................................................14 Appendix 1: Map of Lesotho...............................................................................................................17 Appendix 2: List of Catchments in the First Year of the Programme (2006/2007)........................19 Appendix 3: Detailed Project Cost Estimate .....................................................................................21 NEPAD – Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Lesotho: Investment Project Profile “Conservation and Land Improvement Project” Abbreviations AEZ Agro Ecological Zone AgSeSt Agriculture Sector Strategy CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme CBO Community Based Organisation DFID UK Department for International Development FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GA Grazing Associations GIS Geographic Information System GPS Global Positioning System IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IMSC Inter Ministerial Steering Committee MAFS Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MFLR Ministry of Forestry and Land Reclamation MoF Ministry of Finance MNR Ministry of Natural Resources NES National Environmental Secretariat NFAP National Forestry Action Plan NGO Non–Governmental Organisation PC Project Coordinator PCU Project Coordination Unit PMC Project Management Committee PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal RMA Range Management Areas SADPMA Sustainable Agricultural Development Project in the Mountain Areas SFR State Forestry Reserve SPFS Sustainable Programme of Food Security SWACAP Soil and Water Conservation and Agro–forestry Project TA Technical Assistance/Assistant UES Unified Extension System VGA Village Grazing Areas WAN Wide Area Network iii NEPAD – Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Lesotho: Investment Project Profile “Conservation and Land Improvement Project” I. PROJECT BACKGROUND A. Project Origin I.1. Projects within the CAADP represent an extension of the Agriculture Sector Development Programme. They translate the priority objectives of the Agriculture Sector Strategy into activities suitable for financing by external as well as local development partners. The formulation of the strategy was completed in August 2003. I.2. The present project is proposed in support of the capital investment programme of the Ministry of Forestry and Land Reclamation (MFLR) aimed at addressing the critical issue of soil and water conservation in Lesotho. Until late in 2003 the Ministry’s mandate was a responsibility area of the Department of Conservation in the then Ministry of Agriculture, Conservation and Land Reclamation. I.3. The project is a continuation of soil and water conservation projects being implemented with the capital budget of the ministry. It uses as experiences built up from recently completed projects in the sub–sector fills gaps identified and complements on–going projects carried over from the 1996– 2005 National Forestry Action Plan (NFAP). It takes into consideration updates to the action plan, and on the policy and strategies being formulated in the area of range management. I.4. A stakeholders’ workshop held in May 2003 has validated the broad objectives of the CAADP projects, while the detailed implementation will commence with consultation at the local level in the form of participatory rural appraisals and socio–economic studies B. General Information I.5. Lesotho is a land locked state in Southern Africa and surrounded completely by the Republic of South Africa. It is situated approximately between 28°S and 31°S latitudes and longitude 27°E and 30°E. The land area is about 30,355 km2. Vegetation is predominantly grassland with less than 1 percent forest cover. The arable land area is about 9 percent of the total area. However, the arable land is susceptible to severe soil erosion. I.6. The country has over the years experienced severe deterioration of agricultural land due to a set of natural and manmade factors among which may be pointed out: heavy summer rainfalls usually on bare ground following the vegetation less winter months, overgrazing on steep slopes in the mountains and foothills. Soil loss through erosion is currently estimated at about 13.2 tonnes per hectare totalling 40,000 tonnes per annum. This loss of topsoil with its higher organic content is also accompanied by loss of nutrients leading to overall impoverishment of land and reduction in the soil horizon. I.7. A mid 1980s study indicated that rangelands comprise about 60 percent of the land area. Increase in population and poor land husbandry, unsustainable grazing patterns combine with a communal land tenure system to aggravate the problem of soil erosion and loss of fertility. It is estimated that degraded grassland consists of 12 percent chrysoma and 5 percent shallow rock outcrops and that since the above study degradation is estimated to be increasing at about 2 percent per annum. I.8. Lesotho is a virtually treeless country with less than 1 percent cover of indigenous forests consisting of patches of evergreen trees and shrubs. Firewood supplies over 64 percent of energy 1 NEPAD – Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Lesotho: Investment Project Profile “Conservation and Land Improvement Project” demand in the rural household economy. The resulting shortage of firewood leads to a majority of the population resorting to the use of animal waste and plant residues as alternatives to fuel wood. I.9. To date some 10,362 ha of forest — or “woodlots”