Trends and future developments in wetland management – ,

Paul Muoria Lecturer - Kenyatta University Scientific Advisor - Nature Kenya Presentation outline 1. Wetland conservation and socio-economic development 2. Challenges in wetland conservation and management 3. Trends and future developments in wetland management a. Ecosystem valuation -– Yala Swamp example b. Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) – Yala Example, example c. Land use plans and Strategic Environment Assessment – lessons and Yala Swamp

Linking Yala Swamp’s Ecosytem services and livelihoods

A: Provides – goods •Food- •Harvested Wild – fish, bushmeat •Cultivated –Fish farming Enhance for livelihoods • Crop farming •Fuel.

•Livestock fodder •Thatching material •Genetic resources. •Natural medicines •Fresh water – most of residents around swamp

Rice Sugar cane Importance of Yala Swamp

B. Regulating Services • Climate regulation - carbon storage – Carbon Credits?. • Water regulation – stores water, regulating its flow and availability • Water purification and waste treatment • Natural hazard regulation – Flooding

Percent reduction in nutrients between Dominion Farm and 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Phosphates Nitrates Wetlands Ecosystem services

C: Cultural Services Spiritual and religious values Aesthetic – Nature Values Cultural heritage values ecotourism – needs development

80.0

70.0 Local community income sources 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0

% of residents of % 10.0 0.0 Biodiversity value – Link to recreation, food- fish

Baseline biodiversity assessment- December 2014 • Birds – 82 species including 5 papyrus endemics • Fish – 19 fish species at – some are of conservation importance – endangered with some CR • Mammals – 28 mammals – including the rare sitatunga

Challenges in Wetland conservation & management

Direct drivers • Drainage of wetlands for agricultural expansion • Infrastructural development such as hotels, ports and industries • Overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides leading to heavy nitrogen load and reduced available oxygen • Invasive plants such as water hyacinth • Pollution due to urbanization (e.g. , and the Indian Ocean);

Direct drivers

• Over harvesting of products ( e.g. papyrus , fish); • Cattle overstocking and overgrazing (e.g. Tana Delta during dry season); • poor fishing methods • Increased rural settlements that exert pressure on wetlands, such as over- abstraction, overharvesting, waste disposal • climate change

Indirect drivers of change

• High human population increase and associated demand for food from fisheries and agriculture; • Poverty driven by limited livelihood options causing unsustainable harvesting and or use of wetlands; • Low capital investment in sustainable wetland management; • Over-reliance on irrigation without assessing all risk factors • Policy and institutional failures, such as lack of spatial land use plans based on strategic environment assessments • Little appreciation for wetlands

Trends and future developments in wetland management a. Ecosystem valuation -– Yala Swamp example b. Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) – c. Land use plans and Strategic Environment Assessment – Tana River lessons and Yala Swamp

Ecosystem Service evaluation Yala Swamp example • Importance 1. Improved ecosystem service delivery = Development 2. identify and inform management strategies/policies to enhance economic sustainability and human well-being 3. provide information on additional benefits from traditional approaches to biodiversity conservation 4. identify those affected by land use management decisions, and so help spread the costs and benefits more fairly among stakeholders 5. provide information to raise awareness and build public and government support for evidence-based policy and management decisions.

Location of Yala Swamp Yala Swamp catchment Yala Swamp Ecosystem Service assessment.

Paul Muoria1,2, Rob Field3, Paul Matiku1, Serah Munguti1, Emily Mateche1, Simon Shati1, Dickens Odeny4 (2015).

Institutional Affiliation: 1 Nature Kenya, 2 Kenyatta University, 3 RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 4 National Museums of Kenya

2 levels

1. Rapid assessment 2. Detailed Assessment TESSA tool – what does it measure – use Yala Swamp results 1. Climate regulation 2. Harvested goods 3. Cultivated Goods 4. Water services 5. Recreation – Get the values The scenarios Land Use Percent of Swamp Current Continued Balanced Devel Dev Abandoned land 1.1 0 0 Subsistence 11.5 18.6 13 farming Commercial rice 9.4 34.4 16.9 production Papyrus 61.2 26 53.2 Degraded papyrus 1.7 3.4 0.8 Burnt papyrus 1 1.9 0.5 Settlements 1.5 2.9 2.9 Scrub/woodland 1.7 1.7 1.7 Open water 10.1 10.1 10.1 Seasonally flooded 0.9 0.9 0.9 land Total 100 100 100 1. Climate regulation

• Below Ground and Above Ground Carbon – Worked with KEFRI – Collected soil and plant material from different habitat types – Analysis at KEFRI labs KEFRI HQS – Calculations as in toolkit • GHGs fluxes – Tier 1 estimates – published estimates -

– (carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O)) – appropriate, published, peer-reviewed values and including emissions from soil, plant and animal -1 -1 – net flux of each gas (in tonnes ha y ) into tonnes CO2 equivalents (CO2eq) ha-1y-1, and summed these to give a net global warming potential (over 100 -1 -1 years – GWP100) ha y under each land use (Forster et al, 2007

Contribution of various land-uses to overall carbon storage in vegetation and soil at Yala, under current and supposed future land-use scenarios Global warming potential

• Cont development – net warming effect • Current – net cooling effect • Balanced – net warming effect – not large Cultivated crops production

Current Continued Balance Development Area - Millions Area - ha Millions Area - ha Millions ha Ksh Ksh Ksh Subsistence 5,881 114 9,547 185 6,669 129 Farming Rice farm 4,819 509 17,661 1,867 8,645 914 Total 623 2,052 1,143 Harvested Wild goods Product N Respondents who Quantity Mean Value of product for 300 harvest harveste price respondents (Ksh) Numbe Percent d (Ksh) Gross Producti Net value r value – on cost (Millions) (Millions) (Millions)

Wild 300 40 13.33 34,408Kg 300 10.3 5.9 4.4 harveste d Fish Papyrus 300 17 5.67 14,062 216 3.0 2.0 1.0 products Bundles Firewood 300 59 19.67 34,329 75 2.6 1.0 0.7 Head loads Thatch 300 42 14.00 22,396 139 3.1 3.0 0.1 grass Bundles Value of harvested goods to all residents Water Services % of Water Source Respondents The most important water Lake Kanyaboli 30 sources for Yala Swamp Borehole 29 Residents River Yala 16 Well 10 Canal 7 Water provisioning by Yala Swamp for Rain water 3 domestic and irrigation needs. River Nzoia `2.7 Yala Swamp 2 Amount of water (Cubic metres/per year)

Current Development Balance Local community 762,524 762,524 762,524 Dominion 127,750 468,177 229,177 Total amount used 890,274 1,024,801 991,701 mean flow rate 5,400,540 5,400,540 5,400,540 Water regulation issues 100 Losses due to flooding 80 60

40 Percent of of Percent

respondents 20 0 Crops Equipment Buildings Contents of Life Others Damage buildings

14 12 Water related problem/s 10 8 6 4

2 Percent of respondents Percent 0 Odour Taste Illness Taste, Odour Odour, Taste, Health odour, Health Health, Taste Recreation

• 68 international visitors who were from diverse countries including North America, Europe and the rest of Africa. • 1024 national visitors 22 groups of school and college students and 55 other individuals.

Visitor Local spending category Oct 14 - Annual Spending under different scenarios (Ksh) Mar15) Current Balance Development

Internationa 336,100 672200 672,200 0 l

National 249,000 498,000 440,538 0

Total 585,100 1,170,200 1,112,738 0 Balance sheet- US $

30,000,000 Using social cost of carbon (SCC-US Government) Current income Cont. Development Balanced 20,000,000

10,000,000

0 GWP/Emissions Subsistence Commercial Harvested wild Recreation Net Balance farming farming goods

Value US $ US Value -10,000,000

-20,000,000

-30,000,000 Importance of measuring and monitoring ecosystem services

1. Improved ecosystem service delivery 2. identify and inform management strategies/policies to enhance economic sustainability and human well-being 3. provide information on additional benefits from traditional approaches to biodiversity conservation 4. identify those affected by land use management decisions, and so help spread the costs and benefits more fairly among stakeholders 5. provide information to raise awareness and build public and government support for evidence-based policy and management decisions. Application assessment results

• Land Use Planning/management • Development of PES Schemes • Informed development initiatives • Potential for Use in policy, advocacy – to qualify area as Ramsar site

``

Land Use planning

• Three scenarios from current situation 1. Conservation scenario 2. Continued development scenario /Business as scenario 3. Balanced/hybrid scenario Development as usual/Continued

Current development situation

2030 2050 Balanced/hybrid scenario Current situation

2030 2050

Developing Yala PESS

• Sellers of ecosystem Services – Primary - Local communities – Upper, mid and lower basin – others • County Governments of Busia and Siaya • Protected areas in the basin • Conservation organizations Application 2: Developing Yala PESS

Buyers of Yala Swamp Ecosystem Service 1. Carbon - Voluntary Carbon market, donors 2. Water • Private companies operating witin Yala Swamp • Industries and commercial farming enterprises in Yala river basin including the swamp • Water users downstream – Lake Victoria, Nile Basin • Donors Recreation – tour and travel companies, donors Promotion of sustainable livelihoods

• Fish farming – fish ponds • Training in tour guiding, • Value addition of papyrus products • Restoration of degraded sites • Training in advocacy for conservation cbos • Awareness creation

Conclusions – way foward

• Landscape approach • Measuring – understand all the values of the wetlands • Involving all stakeholders – Local communities – Policy makers - Local, national, regional government bodies – NGOs, – Donors • Science based Land Use Plans – Informed by SEAs for sustainable livelihoods • Use PES