project_page_thumbnail_kakamega_kenya_itf

Project_Page_Thumbnail_Kakamega_Kenya_ITF

Cordia abyssinica

Maeopsis eminii

Olea Africana

Markhamia lutea

Croton macrostachyus

Bischofia javanica

Croton megalocarpus

Vitex keniensis

Bridelia micrantha

Trichilia emetica

Pligia unigicata

Antiaris toxicaria

Prunus Africana

Olea welwitschia

Polyscias kikuyuensis

While the vast majority of the blame for climate change can be attributed to our over-reliance on fossil fuels, massive deforestation in  the 20th and 21st centuries has diminished one of our planet’s best tools for absorbing carbon. Our forests are natural buffers against some of the worst effects of climate change, buffers that can be preserved through action on the ground.
Forests are vital for wildlife and for freshwater resources, and are relied on for the livelihoods of the  majority of local communities in Kakamega. Local people are estimated to derive products <a href="https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19936796076">worth 100 million Kenya  Shillings (approximately US$ 1.7 million) from the Kakamega tropical rainforest each year</a>. Local people recognise  that the forests need to be protected – but they also contribute to the damage, due to a lack of alternative livelihoods.  
In the past, Kenya has experienced erratic rainfall, attributed mainly to depletion of the five major water towers and its only remnant of tropical rainforest ecosystem &#8211; Kakamega forest. This has led to poor yields for farmers, escalating food prices and debilitating droughts.
The need to restore the degraded areas of the water tower is critical to millions of people who depend on the Kakamega tropical rainforest.  
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<h2>Planting Partner</h2>
The <a href="https://www.internationaltreefoundation.org/">International Tree Foundation</a> (ITF) was founded in 1922, in Kenya, and has been operating to restore and conserve forests, and promote cultures of forest stewardship ever since. Community consultation, engagement and leadership is the bedrock of ITF&#8217;s approach. Key to ITF’s operation is their commitment to and support of capacity-building within local communities to optimise forest planting and conservation efforts as well as improve the community livelihoods. Gender empowerment and education are also core elements of their community engagement. 
ITF works in partnership with the <a href="http://www.kenyaforestservice.org/">Kenya Forest Service</a>, <a href="http://kefri/">Kenya Forest &amp; Research Institute </a>and with Community Forest Associations to ensure that all planting is appropriate for local ecology, as well as working with their long-standing partner <a href="https://www.bgci.org/">Botanic Gardens Conservation International</a>.
ITF has worked with communities in Kakamega for a number of years with small-scale reforestation and  agroforestry. They have strong links with the government authorities in the area, and have partnerships  with different community-based organisations. This project will work closely with a community-based, women-led organisation. ITF has supported a network of more than 5,000 local community members within the Kakamega forest reserve and surrounding buffer zones. This network will form a fundamental  platform for scaling and replication of this initiative in and around Kakamega tropical rainforest.
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<img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-5370" src="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20220425173004/ITF-Full-Logo-Green-RGB-300x157.png" alt="" width="300" height="157" srcset="https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20220425173004/ITF-Full-Logo-Green-RGB-300x157.png 300w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20220425173004/ITF-Full-Logo-Green-RGB-1024x536.png 1024w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20220425173004/ITF-Full-Logo-Green-RGB-768x402.png 768w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20220425173004/ITF-Full-Logo-Green-RGB-1536x804.png 1536w, https://cms-assets.offset.earth/app/uploads/20220425173004/ITF-Full-Logo-Green-RGB-2048x1072.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />

This project specifically seeks to rehabilitate the degraded Illoro forest block within Kakamega Tropical rainforest by replanting African wild tree species and engaging local communities in their efforts to restore  and protect the forest. The project’s location is the Illoro Forest Block of Kakamega Tropical Rainforest in Kakamega County, Kenya &#8211; approximately 380 km northwest of Nairobi. Kakamega Forest is Kenya&#8217;s only remnant of  tropical rainforest. The Forest is known to be the easternmost fragment of the Guineo-Congolian lowland rainforest belt, which once stretched from Kenya across Uganda, East and Central Africa to the West  African coast. 
The project will result in enhanced ecological integrity of Africa’s tropical rainforest, improved climate resilience, socio-economic development and harmonious relationships between local communities and  their forested landscapes.  
The area is classified as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), a ‘water tower’ catchment area, whose rivers feed  into Lake Victoria UNESCO World heritage site and the source of the Nile River Basin &#8211; a transboundary  resource of international significance shared by 10 countries. 
Kakamega forest is also an Important Bird  Area (IBA). 367 bird species have been recorded in the forest such as the  West African Great blue turaco and black-and-white-casqued hornbill. At least 9 birds are not found  anywhere else. It is home to the endangered African grey parrots. Other endangered species include the  Kaimosi blind snake, De Brazza’s monkey, Black and White Colobus monkey, Red-tailed monkey and Gaboon viper. Between 10 to 20% of the animal species in the forest are nationally unique.  
Forty key species of medicinal plants used by local people have been identified and recorded. Some of the  medicinal trees include Mondia whitei which is locally known as Mukombero, and Olea capensis known as Elgon teak. About seventy percent of the medicinal plants grow inside the forest while thirty percent around the edge and the immediate surroundings of the forest. There are 380  recorded species of plants. This includes 150 species of trees and shrubs, 60 species of ferns, and 170  species of flowering plants including 60 species of orchids with 9 species found only in this forest.
This project will:
<ul>
<li> Plant a total of 100,000 native and threatened trees </li>
<li> Restore 100 Hectares of critically-degraded and biodiversity rich habitats in Kakamega Tropical rainforest  </li>
<li> Sustainably diversify and strengthen livelihoods within forest buffers for 600 households through tree planting activities and the promotion of alternative and profitable uses of the forest</li>
<li> Produce indigenous and threatened tree seedlings in community-managed nurseries  selected close to the identified planting sites  </li>
<li> Enable Local Community Forest Associations (CFAs) to take leadership in forest management and  protection</li>
<li> Hold advocacy workshops to rally public participation in forest and riparian protection  </li>
</ul>

ITF is working with <a href="https://wwanc.co.ke/about-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Women in Water and Natural Resource Conservation</a> (WWANC) to equip local community members with the skills and resources needed to restore and protect Kakamega Forest.
Partnering up with WWANC has been instrumental in encouraging the involvement of women in the project as one of their core activities is women leadership and girl-child mentorship.
For this project, women are the main project beneficiaries, and they carry out essential activities through their roles as project scouts and tree nursery attendants, while others worked on hole digging, tree planting and after care.
As part of this project, women are also establishing their own tree nurseries to diversify their income sources. Just 6 months into this project, women are reporting that they can now put food on the table, and are being respected by their husbands.

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It is estimated that 287 million hectares of degraded land in the tropics could be restored to continuous, intact forest. Using current and estimated commitments from the Bonn Challenge and New York Declaration on Forests, our model assumes that restoration could occur on 161-231 million hectares.
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By protecting currently degraded land and allowing natural regrowth to occur, committed land could sequester 1.4 tons of carbon dioxide per acre annually, for a total of 54.5-85.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide by 2050.

Tropical Forest Restoration

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IMG_0981

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PITF2

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Kenya Women's Project Kakamega

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PITF3

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MULIRU Community Forest Association IMG_0709

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PITF4

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Muliru Women Conservation Group, Kakamega,ITF beneficiaries.IMG_0705

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PITF6

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community planning meeting

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happy women launching

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planting a tree at Iloro forest

Restoring tropical rainforests in Kenya

Kakamega County, Kenya

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Restoring the last fragment of tropical rainforest in Kenya

Context

The Project

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Climate Solution

Tropical Forest Restoration

Photos from Kakamega

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Project location: Kakamega County, Kenya

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