Story | 16 11 月, 2021

The Restoration Initiative: A Kenya Tana Delta story

Bringing the Tana River Delta in Kenya back into balance with nature

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Photo: Caroline Chebet

One way of thinking about environmental problems at all scales, whether we are considering forest and landscape degradation, or species loss and extinction, or climate change, is that they essentially describe systems out of balance: the demands that people and economies are placing on nature are outstripping that which nature can sustainably supply.

Kenya’s Tana River Delta, where the TRI Kenya Tana project is working, is one such system out of balance. Here, tens of thousands of Kenyans share a diverse landscape of freshwater, forest, floodplain and coastal habitats, and depend upon the delta to make a living through small- scale agriculture, livestock grazing, fishing, timber and wood harvesting, and tourism. However, rapid population growth and poor land-use practices are extracting more than what the delta can sustainably supply in terms of productive pastureland, soils, wood, clean water and other ecosystem services. Over time, this imbalance is steadily degrading the delta – particularly the heavily populated western terraces – threatening the plants, animals and livelihoods of the people who live here. And climate change impacts are expected to place additional stressors on these resources going forward.

Addressing this imbalance is challenging to say the least, and no single intervention or approach is likely to be sufficient. The TRI Kenya Tana project, under implementation by UNEP and managed by Nature Kenya, is using a multi-layered approach to help reduce pressure on the delta’s natural systems and restore degraded lands.

One key way is on the policy front, helping support more balanced land-use planning and management. Working with partners including the local Tana River and Lamu County Governments and local communities, the project has supported the development and now implementation of the Tana Delta Land-Use Plan. Adopted by Lamu County as an official policy document and under review by Tana River County, the 130,000 ha land-use plan will serve to guide future development in the Tana Delta. It promotes regulated access and use of public pastureland, forests and waterways, and improved management of natural resources, with the aim of reducing the drivers of deforestation and degradation, helping promote natural regeneration, and conserving habitat for threatened biodiversity. The plan also envisions supporting the development of “green value chains” consisting of sustainably produced products that enhance livelihoods and income while preserving the natural ecosystems that provide the raw materials for these goods.

The TRI Kenya Tana project’s contribution to the work of developing and implementing the Tana Delta Land-Use Plan has included providing training sessions for government and community partners on FLR and sustainable land management principles and practices. Some 60 workshops have been presented to date, reaching nearly 30,000 stakeholders.

Another way the project is helping to reduce pressures on the delta is by supporting local communities in developing and strengthening sustainable businesses, including beekeeping and fish farming. Some 100 interested people from different communities in the delta were trained on beekeeping techniques, and each trainee was also provided with equipment needed to start beekeeping (including box, colony, protective clothing, and centrifuge machine for refining harvested honey). In 2020, these beekeepers collectively harvested 670 litres of honey. The beekeeping, which relies in part on the health of surrounding landscapes, helps to diversify and supplement household income and provides a further incentive to sustainably manage the landscape.

Similarly, in the coastal town of Ozi, where fishing is already an integral part of the local economy and soil conditions are favourable, the project has supported the development of sustainable fish farming. Interested community members were trained on fish-farming techniques, 14 fish ponds were constructed, and community members were also provided with three fish-feed making machines. Fish farming is anticipated to begin in 2021.


Story from The Restoration Initiative Year in Review 2020