WWF SAF Mara River Basin Project Proposal

WWF
Annual Plan 2007 – Mara River Basin Management Initiative
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This Proposal is part of the approved three years document for the Mara River Basin
Management Initiative, Kenya and Tanzania (“the Project”) submitted to the Norwegian Agency
for Development Cooperation (Norad) for funding. WWF-Norway contributes with matching funds.
The four years second phase of the Mara River Basin Management Initiative (MRBMI) started in
January 2006 and will end in December 2009. This is in line with the recommendations of an
evaluation of the Project conducted in May–June 2005. The second phase will consolidate
Norad/WWF Norway’s investments in the past three years (2003–2005) and continue to facilitate
a system for integrated water resources management. The USAID Bureau for Economic Growth,
Agriculture and Trade (EGAT) and USAID East Africa also contribute funds to the MRBMI in
2007. One common work plan is prepared for MRBMI, indicating which source of funding
supports each activity.
Background
Detailed background information on the Mara River Basin was provided in the proposal submitted
to Norad in October 2002 and subsequent annual plans as well as the main text of this proposal.
During 2005 WWF commissioned an evaluation of the MRBMI, which concluded that the MRBMI
has made significant contributions to the sustainable management of the Mara River Basin that
also had attracted the interest of other donors. The evaluation observed that the Project is highly
relevant in view of the major threats both to the Mara River and its tributaries, and to the tourist
industry in the National Park (Serengeti, Tanzania) and National Reserve (Masai Mara, Kenya)
that largely depends on the River. In terms of project progress the evaluation team considered
the principal achievements of the Project to be:
i. The lobbying of political leaders for the protection of the remaining forest in the upper
catchment (Mau Forest) in Kenya, the source for the Mara River;
ii.
iii.
iv.
The facilitation of the Mara River Water Users’ Association (MRWUA), a large and
representative forum for discussion on water and related issues in the Kenyan part of the
Mara River Basin. Facilitation of about 20 local level water users’ associations in
Tanzania;
Successful lobbying of civic leaders leading to a proposed sewage treatment plant in
Bomet Town. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation has prioritized this project as one of
the investment projects under the NBI NELSAP Mara River IWRM project; and
The fact that the Ministry of Water and Irrigation in Kenya perceives the MRBMI as a pilot
project for implementing the new water sector legislation and institutional framework.
WWF is working through its Eastern Africa Regional Programme Office (WWF EARPO) and with
financial support from Norad/WWF-Norway and USAID, to create the enabling conditions for
integrated water resources management (IWRM) and to facilitate the efforts of responsible
government agencies, other partners and stakeholders to implement IWRM.
The main achievements of the MRBMI in 2006 are grouped into three areas as follows:
i. Coordination of WWF and other key Stakeholders Initiatives
An evaluation in June 2005 pointed out lack of coherence in the activities of the Project in Kenya
and Tanzania, and also with other actors in the Basin including the Nile Equatorial Lakes
Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP) and the East Africa Community (EAC). The Project has
continued efforts to engage other initiatives and followed up on this recommendation by instituting
remedial measures including recruitment of two more staff and strategic engagement with the
EAC and NELSAP. Two key personnel, a Policy Officer and a Regional Mara River Basin
Coordinator were recruited to assist the coordination and management of WWF’s initiatives and
other initiatives within Mara River Basin. Different projects plans funded by Norad/WWF-Norway
and USAID were integrated into one Mara River Basin Management Initiative to create more
complementarities and synergy.
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