On June 10th, UNEP-IEMP together with the Kenya local partners, the Wildlife Research and Training Institute, and the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, launched an ecosystem restoration project in the Lake Victoria Basin.
In recent decades, the combined effects of climate change and human interventions have had a significant impact on the environment and community of the Lake Victoria Basin. Frequent floods are reshaping life of the local communities. For example, after the first rainy season in 2024, flooding in Lake Victoria resulted in the water level rose to 1,137.5 meters, 2.5 meters above the baseline, and the lake water flowed back into the floodplain, affecting more than 160,000 people on the Kenyan side and the disaster displaced 17,000 families.
In this context, UNEP-IEMP initiated the project entitled "Ecosystem Restoration for Enhancing Livelihoods and Addressing Climate Change: China-Kenya Cooperation on Bamboo Technology Transfer” in the Nzoia catchment of the Lake Victoria Basin. It focuses on ecological restoration, technology transfer, and assessment in the degraded Nzoia catchment by addressing challenges like rebuilding riverbanks with bamboo as flood buffer zone, restoration priority areas and techniques, science for policy. It also seeks to address Kenya national policy priorities on "15 Billion Tree" initiative and the "National Bamboo Policy 2022".
During June 5-9th, the joint project team surveyed the Nzoia catchment to understand ecosystem degradation status, local stakeholders` needs, practices, success and lessons on restoration, and identified key intervention sites for restoration. Local communities, including sand harvester, farmers, restoration practitioners and water user groups were consulted for building consensus on restoration actions.
Project team visit to the Busia county government, June 7th, 2024
The project was launched with different local stakeholders in Busia County in the west Kenya on June 10th, together with a training session organized. During the launched, Dr Linxiu Zhang, Director of UNEP-IEMP, expressed her expectations on this project to join hand with local communities living in the flooding zone, and jointly build functional ecosystems, climate resilience and alternative livelihoods in the coming 3 years.
Dr Linxiu Zhang, Director of UNEP-IEMP, giving opening remarks at the launch workshop, June 10th, 2024
This project is funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and will be implemented in 2024-2026. For more, please find the project description here.
