INVESTING IN TREES AND LANDSCAPE ... - PROFOR

BOX 2.1. KAGERA RIVER BASIN: TRANSBOUNDARY AGRO-ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT
The 60,000 km 2 Kagera River Basin is shared by 17 million people in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and
Burundi. The basin faces increasing pressures from population growth, agricultural intensification, and
unsustainable management practices, and over 7 percent of the land is degraded to the point that it is
categorized as nonreclaimable. Land uses in the basin are diverse, including extensive and intensive
livestock systems, cropping systems, and mixed farming systems: agroforestry, crop-livestock, crop-fish,
and systems dominated by commodities such as bananas, coffee, and tea.
The goals of the recently launched Transboundary Agro-Ecosystem Management Programme (TAMP)
are to restore degraded lands for improved productivity and food security, improved livelihoods, carbon
sequestration, and agro-biodiversity conservation. Although the program is led by government agencies,
private sector investment is central to the strategy. Restoration is to be achieved through a variety of
agro-ecosystem management approaches, such as conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and integrated
plant and nutrient management. Payment for ecosystem services approaches are being explored for
watershed and biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration. Capacity building and communitybased
natural resource management play a large role. TAMP aims to have 100,000 hectares under
sustainable management, resulting in 10 percent increase in crop and livestock products for trained
farmers, and a 20 percent increase in carbon stores on 30,500 hectares. More than 120,000 community
members have participated in TAMP activities.
The transboundary activities are funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with support from FAO
and the four governments. Government agencies are also major partners: Rwanda Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources; Uganda Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries; Tanzania Division of
the Environment; and Burundi Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. The activities were initially developed
by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and are executed through TerrAfrica. The initiative
relies on existing regional policy (e.g., East African Community, Lake Victoria Basin Commission, NEPAD).
NGOs and researchers provide technical support. Private companies support input and product supply
chains, credit, and finance.
Source: FAO 2011.
2.3 BIOPHYSICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR INVESTMENT
IN LANDSCAPE RESTORATION
Appropriate biophysical conditions are a first screen for the suitability of specific rural landscapes
for investment in restoration. Public sector actors may seek to steer investment to areas with high
potential for public benefits (e.g., restoration of ecosystem services, export earnings, or domestic
energy production interests), while private actors will generally seek investment sites that present
lucrative opportunities with acceptable levels of risk. These diverse objectives generally mean that
different public and private actors typically have biophysical investment criteria that are overlapping
but not identical. This section first briefly reviews the scale and consequences of landscape
degradation in Africa, as well as opportunities and benefits associated with landscape restoration.
Chapter 2. WHERE DO PRIVATE MARKET INCENTIVES CONVERGE WITH LANDSCAPE RESTORATION GOALS?
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