Abstract
This chapter develops a concise, but comprehensive, plan for designing and developing a payment for watershed services (PWSs) mechanism in the Mara River basin (MRB), Kenya. It will describe the current water situation in the Mara and future trends. It will make the “case” for improved land management practices and more efficient water use in the headwaters of the catchment (Nyangores and Amala sub-catchments), and it will introduce PWS as an effective mechanism to facilitate and support improved water research and management. There is a growing sense of optimism among stakeholders in the Kenyan and Tanzanian sides of MRB. National water resources management legislations in both countries have enabled the formation of water users associations (WUAs). Legislative provisions for introducing PWS have been made. Various government agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and academic institutions have been conducting extensive studies to estimate a minimum environmental flow regime for the river. Efforts to educate resource users through WUAs are also being made. There is definitely no consensus among user groups as to who should be the lead agency for implementing intracountry or intercountry payment schemes as of yet. However, if the above-mentioned governmental and nongovernmental efforts continue, the prospect of PWS implementation in MRB in the future is promising.
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Acknowledgments
This work has been made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (Cooperative Agreement No. EPP-A-00–04-00015-00). The contents are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Government. We would like to thank the staff of the WWF offices in Nairobi and Narok, Kenya, and Musoma, Tanzania. Our special thanks to Mr. Mohamed Awer (WWF, Nairobi), Mr. Daniel Sapit (WWF, Narok), Mr. Adam Dikirr, and Ms. Batula Awale (WWF, Nairobi) for their logistical as well as technical support during the workshop and field study.
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Bhat, M., McClain, M., Ombara, D., Kasanga, W., Atisa, G. (2014). Payment for Watershed Services in the Mara River Basin: Part I: Institutions and Stakeholder Engagement. In: Melesse, A., Abtew, W., Setegn, S. (eds) Nile River Basin. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02720-3_31
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