part 1 - EuroAfrica-ICT

Integrated trans-boundary river management policy developmentPeriod: 01/04/2007 – 30/06/2008Budget from EC: EUR 148,850website: www.macaulay.ac.uk/INTREPIDLivelihoods in semi-arid areas depend upon a biologicalresource base underpinned by access to water. Withincreasing human populations and water stress comepressures to harness water resources for ‘higher economicvalue’ uses, instead of an integrated approach that includesprovisions for ecosystem conservation and livelihoodsustainability.Nowhere is this lack of integration more prevalent thanin the semi-arid regions of Africa. The linkages betweenIntegrated Water Resource Management (IWRM),Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) and Biodiversity Conservation(BC) are poorly known. River basin management,biodiversity conservation and livelihood programmes inAfrica have evolved independently, with often overlappingand/or conflicting goals and responsibilities.Coordinator: Dr Kevin UramaMacauley Land Use Research InstituteThe SSA provided a platform for policy makers, practitionersand researchers to consolidate expertise on African IWRMsystems and draw on experiences from the implementationof the EU-Water Framework Directive with a view topromote and reinforce the vital synergies between IWRM,BC and SL.The Mara River Basin system in Kenya and Tanzaniaformed the case study for this project. It is hoped thatthe principles and outcomes derived from this SSA couldprovide an integrated framework to support future policydevelopment and research covering other vulnerable riverbasins throughout the semi-arid Africa.The result has been persistent intra- and trans-boundaryconflicts; leading to increasing poverty and declinesin biological diversity. The INTREPID project addressedthis disparity by recognising that IWRM, BC and SL areirretrievable linked and that water management and policyinitiatives focusing on individual aspects are likely to fail.It aimed, therefore, to resolve this gap by initiating andpromoting inter-disciplinary and international collaborationto integrate sustainable water resource management,biodiversity conservation and livelihoods using the MaraRiver Basin as a case study.Natural Resources