Improved land management in the Lake Victoria Basin: Linking land and lake, research and extension, catchment and lake basin

Lake Victoria is of immense economic and environmental importance in the eastern and central African region. The lake is the largest freshwater body in the tropics and its basin supports one of the densest and poorest rural populations in the world. About 21 million people rely primarily on subsistence agricultural and pastoral production for their livelihoods. But pervasive poverty has hindered sustainable use of the land resources and there has already been considerable land degradation. There is little doubt that sedimentation and nutrient run-off, urban and industrial point source pollution and biomass burning, have induced the rapid eutrophication of Lake Victoria over the last fifty years. Invasion of water hyacinth and loss of endemic biodiversity are interrelated and compound problems for the lake environment and the welfare of its people. This project set out to assess the extent and causes of processes that contribute to pollution of the lake and to localize interventions for more sustainable land management. In a one year start-up phase, emphasis was placed on prioritizing river basins and assessing the land degradation problems in relation to nutrient and sediment inputs to the lake. This document summarizes progress on the proposed activities and the principal findings achieved under the start-up phase. The detailed results supporting these findings are given as an annex. A regional assessment identified the Nyando River Basin as a major source of sediment and phosphorus flow into Lake Victoria, and so much of the initial work was concentrated on this river basin while methods were being refined. The study identified severe soil erosion and land degradation problems throughout the Nyando river basin. Accelerated run-off and sheet erosion over much of the iii catchment area has led to severe rill, gully and stream bank erosion in lower parts of the river basin. The principal causes of erosion include deforestation of headwaters and overuse of extensive areas of fragile lands on both hillslopes and plains, coupled with loss of watershed filtering functions through encroachment on wetlands and loss of riverine vegetation. Associated with soil erosion, there has been substantial depletion of soil quality over much of the basin. Communities in the river basin are aware and concerned about water shortages and local land degradation but there is a low level awareness of the off-site effects. The lower parts of the river basin and the lake are particularly vulnerable to the return of a large rainfall event, such as experienced in the early 1960’s, which would cause catastrophic damage. The report outlines possible broad areas of intervention. The major requirements are to: (1) rapidly reduce pressure on vegetation cover over large areas of fragile land, including headwaters, shallow soils on hillslopes, and fragile soils on plains and the Nyando escarpment, (2) restore the filtering function of wetlands and riverine buffer strips, and (3) increase productivity of agricultural land that has high potential, particularly by removal of soil phosphorus and other soil nutrient constraints, which will help reduce pressure on fragile lands. The current catchment extension approach of the Soil and Water Conservation Branch has received considerable penetration in terms of number of participating farmers, but the efforts are unlikely to have significant impact on sediment and nutrient transfers to the lake. The Branch has had most impact in high population density areas largely within cash cropping systems. In contrast, it is in the marginal areas with extensive agropastoral systems that erosion risk is high. These are mostly communally-used grazing lands and government trust land where population density is fairly low and there is little incentive for investment in soil conservation. Complimentary approaches based on integrated watershed management are needed that jointly consider agricultural areas, forest areas and trust land, with highly active community participation. The emphasis must be on large area management of fragile lands and buffer zones around riparian zones, wetlands, and headwater catchment areas. Given the high cost of rehabilitation of marginal areas, priority should be given to assessment of their natural regeneration potential, in conjunction with policy and institutional innovation for their improved management. The project has been a focal point for the development of some exciting new methods for the quantitative assessment of land management problems that are of international significance. New remote sensing and ground survey tools were developed for rapid assessment of land and soil degradation and for precise spatial management of soils and vegetation. For example, critical target levels of dry season herbaceous vegetation cover depending on soil type and slope can be mapped. Progress towards achieving targets for buffer zone vegetation management can also be monitored. These tools are ready for deployment in the Nyando and other river basins

Improved Land Management in the Lake Victoria Basin: Annual Technical Report, July 2000 to June 2001

ICRAF and the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MOARD) are implementing a project on “Improved Land Management in the Lake Victoria Basin.” The project began in 1999 – 2000 with a one-year startup year of activities under the Sida-sponsored National Soil and Water Conservation Programme (NSWCP). The collaborative project of ICRAF and MOARD has now been continued for another three years under the National Agriculture and Livestock Extension Programme (NALEP). This paper summarizes achievements and findings for the project for the year 2000 / 2001. The Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) supports “Improved Land Management in the Lake Victoria Basin” through NALEP. Additional financial support for the activities reported herein was also provided by the Rockefeller Foundation, ICRAF core funds, Danida, the University of Florida and the USAID. Research conducted during 2000 / 2001 addressed a range of issues across a large tract of Western Kenya. A coarse resolution assessment of soil erosion risk conducted for the entire Lake Victoria Basin identified the Nzoia / Yala and Kagera river basins as those with the greatest percentage of land at risk. Biophysical research on land management problem domains has quantified the widespread spatial extent of soil physical and chemical degradation in the Nyando river basin and illustrated four contrasting biophysical problem domains within the basin. District-level data on population density, poverty and agricultural production available from secondary sources have been complemented with baseline household and community survey data collected in 9 villages around the Nyando river basin. The overall picture that is emerging is that while much of the Nyando river basin has experienced some physical and chemical land degradation, there are pockets of severe poverty, severe environmental degradation and extremely low agricultural production. Different approaches to extension, investment and policy may be needed to address poverty – environment – agricultural problems in different parts of the river basin. Reversing trends in environmental deterioration will require interventions on farmers fields and in the many areas between farms that publicly-used, although usually privately-owned. Farmers have demonstrated their willingness to adopt recommended conservation practices on their individual family fields, but the intensity of adoption depends upon the potential returns to investments, their cultural grouping, and the approach that extension providers take to the provision of information and mobilization of community participation. Adoption of improved practices and investments on publicly-used areas between farms requires the mobilization of collective action among small, medium and large groups. Collective action in the Nyando River basin is most likely to be effective where it harnesses local institutional arrangements (e.g. sub-clan affiliations among the Luo) and advances common interests in the provision of high quality water and the generation of additional cash income. Among other opportunities, there appears to be good prospects for market-oriented agroforestry for production of fruit, fuelwood and timber. Changes in local and national policies would help to ensure good returns for smallholder farmers. This report begins with a presentation of a number of major findings, implications of those findings for extension and investment and implications for policy. A summary of progress by activity is then presented, followed by lists of personnel involved, presentations and publications. An annex presents detailed accomplishments by activity

Influence of annual windbreak on the water relations, growth and yield of cotton and peanuts

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to [email protected], referencing the URI of the item.Bibliography: leaves 60-61.Not availabl

Water is Life: Women’s human rights in national and local water governance in Southern and Eastern Africa

This book approaches water and sanitation as an African gender and human rights issue. Empirical case studies from Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe show how coexisting international, national and local regulations of water and sanitation respond to the ways in which different groups of rural and urban women gain access to water for personal, domestic and livelihood purposes. The authors, who are lawyers, sociologists, political scientists and anthropologists, explore how women cope in contexts where they lack secure rights, and participation in water governance institutions, formal and informal. The research shows how women – as producers of family food - rely on water from multiple sources that are governed by community based norms and institutions which recognize the right to water for livelihood. How these 'common pool water resources' - due to protection gaps in both international and national law - are threatened by large-scale development and commercialization initiatives, facilitated through national permit systems, is a key concern. The studies demonstrate that existing water governance structures lack mechanisms which make them accountable to poor and vulnerable waters users on the ground, most importantly women. Our findings thus underscore the need to intensify measures to hold states accountable, not just in water services provision, but in assuring the basic human right to clean drinking water and sanitation; and also to protect water for livelihoods. Published by Weaver Press, Harare, Zimbabwe. Made available in DUO Research Archive with permission from the publisher and the authors