agriculture and ecosystem services - Serena

PES and Eco-certification in theKapingazi watershed, KenyaS. Wachira/ICRAF't .1.:;;4Y,Adk.. " ._404._IAL.....,..©Current pages(from left to right):>A > section of the KapingaziRiver with heavy sedimentload.©>Most > residents in theKapingazi catchment arealack piped water and haveto carry water from localrivers and streams for homeuse, watering vegetables andraising livestock.is complete. The assessment of soil erosion risk was completed in 2009 and is being revisedwith higher resolution data. The results of this work will be used in negotiating with potentialbuyers of ecosystem services and to assess their willingness to pay (WTP).Technical studies on the willingness to accept (WTA) were completed in 2010. Peoplewith larger landholdings demanded greater payments in order to enter into land managementcontracts. Furthermore, people who were already part of the Mount Kenya East Pilot Project(MKEPP), funded by IFAD/GEF, were willing to enter into contracts for relatively lower payments,possibly because they were already benefiting.The integration of PES and already existing eco-certification presents both challenges andopportunities. Opportunity associated with working with coffee and tea farmers is that thefarmers are already organised. Various organizations, such as Technoserve, are also helpingfarmers to improve governance of the cooperative societies. Technoserve is also already workingin the Kapingazi catchment on this initiative.A major challenge would be the question of additionality for already eco-certified farmers,particularly whether they should also receive water payments for soil and water conservationpractices already in place. Furthermore, from ongoing PRESA research in the East Usambaras, it wasfound that if the incentive is not large enough, the motivation to conserve is diminished; boostingthe modest payments for eco-certification through PES would, thus, improve that motivation.ReferencesBedru, B. 2010. Assessing landholder preferences for alternative land management schemes and willingnessto accept rewards for watershed services provision: The case of Kapingazi River basin, Mt. Kenya East.Final report. Nairobi, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).43