May 5, 2010 – Strategic Partners expressed full support to the Mau rehabilitation during the second Consultative Forum held at UNEP HQ
Donors pledged USD10 million in support of the Kenyan Government’s appeal to save the Mau forest ecosystem, during the second Strategic Partners Consultative Forum convened by the Kenyan Government and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
To assist secure support, a fully-fledged Programme Document was developed that spelt out the various activities required to implement the Mau Task Force report. The Programme Document was prepared by the Secretariat, in consultation with the relevant Ministries and with support from UNEP.
USD 7 million was pledged by the United States Government to finance a Watershed Conservation pilot project in the upper catchment of the Mara River. The project aims to help restore forest ecosystems and to create more secure land titles and better livelihoods for residents.
Meanwhile, Euro 2.3 million (approximately USD $ 3 million) are expected to be provided by the European Union to restore the Mau Forest Ecosystem and create a sustainable basis for its conservation and management. The EU project will aim to strengthen key capacities and develop innovative approaches in support of governance, livelihood development and ecosystem rehabilitation.
UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said: “I would like to commend the Kenyan Government for the sensitive way it is handling the complex issue of resettlement and the involvement of forest dependent people in the process.”
He added, “I would also like to commend donors for having risen to the request for assistance. Together we have gone from the science, spotlighting the degradation of the Mau, through the economics in terms of what this large close canopy forest means to key sectors and the Kenyan economy as a whole, to beginning the implementation of restoration and rehabilitation.”
The Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, said “Kenyans have accepted that the restoration of the Mau and other water towers is a critical sustainable development imperative. Consensus has now emerged that the very existence of many communities and the welfare of the country depend on how we live with our forests and our ecosystems, and indeed how we address the key environmental challenges of our time.”
The Prime Minister added, “As we move forward to rehabilitate the Mau Forest, we are conscious of the fact that we have a duty to be sensitive to the human and social needs of those who must leave the forest. This is essential, because the sustainability of any rehabilitation efforts will depend on these very people as friends of the forest. So far, illegal activities have been reduced by an estimated 60- 70 per cent in southern Mau.”
He also noted that the goodwill and commitment of local communities to the Mau restoration project have been crucial to the success of the project, pointing out that, so far, up to 42 titles have been surrendered back to the Government without any demand for compensation.
