Tana Delta Irrigation Project, Kenya: An Environmental Assessment

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Rehabilitation of the Tana Delta Irrigation Project, Kenya: An Environmental Assessment. ii
Rehabilitation of the Tana Delta Irrigation Project, Kenya: An Environmental Assessment. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY To be successful, conservation investments must consider the natural resource base, traditional cultures, tenure of all resources, economic aspects, as well as the history of activities in the area. This environmental assessment strives to address all these aspects in equal regard in order to provide recommendations to the Tana and Athi River Development Authority (TARDA), the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), communities reliant upon the Lower Tana Forests and other relevant stakeholders. These findings will help ensure that any re-establishment of the Tana Delta Irrigation Project (TDIP) will have positive impacts on sustainable community livelihoods, long-term conservation of the forests, and the survival of the two Critically Endangered primates, the Tana River red colobus Procolobus rufomitratus and Tana River mangabey Cercocebus galeritus, flagships for all the threatened species that rely on these forests. These recommendations are made on the basis of three independent, but intrinsically linked, studies: • Socio-economic study • Botanical/Ecological study • Census of the Tana River red colobus and Tana River mangabey The three studies presented in this report represent the current state of the area for the proposed rehabilitation of TDIP (established in 1986) that was severely damaged by the floods associated with the El Nino in 1997/1998. The history and details of this development are available elsewhere and need not be reiterated here. Each of above studies stands alone as an independent statement of the current status of the specific sector. However, there are several concurrent themes in each of the studies that form the basis of this executive summary. These recommendations present a once off opportunity in re-establishing the TDIP that, if combined, will: • Alleviate poverty amongst the local Pokomo and Orma tribes, as well as other pastoral groups that seasonally rely upon this area and; • Expand forest cover and forest health and, ultimately, improve the long-term conservation of the two species of threatened primates. This is a rare opportunity that combines development investment with conservation priorities to repair the environmental damage and negative community attitudes in a critical area of Kenya. To achieve these goals will require a long-term and creative approach. Commitments by all stakeholders’ to any new approach needs to be honoured in a timely fashion. The conclusions and recommendations from the three studies are as follows: Socio-economic Study Significant levels of poverty and vulnerability characterise the Pokomo agricultural and the Orma or Wardey pastoralist communities associated with the Lower Tana River. The greatest constraint to their livelihoods stated by the communities was the low and highly seasonal rainfall. The communities believe that the irrigation rice scheme holds the potential to contribute significantly to improvement of their lives by allowing dry season production of crops, at little cost to the TDIP. However, the historic relationship between TARDA and the communities is characterised by mistrust and bad feeling. These communities identified (1) that there are three types of woodlands integral to their livelihoods, and (2) express the desire for the forests to be conserved, rehabilitated, and expanded. The three forest types are: • Riverine forests adjacent to the river course; • Floodplain forests (‘madzini’) a short distance from the river course and of greatest importance to the local communities; • Thicket woodlands (‘gubani’) on dryer areas away from the flood plain. This environmental assessment focuses on the riverine and floodplain forests. iii
Page 1: REHABILITATION OF THE TANA DELTA IR
Page 5 and 6: Rehabilitation of the Tana Delta Ir
Page 23 and 24: INSTITUTIONAL LINKAGES Primary link
Page 53 and 54:
Rehabilitation of the Tana Delta Ir
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Table 19. Spatial distribution and
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113:
show all

Tana Delta Irrigation Project, Kenya: An Environmental Assessment

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?