Thematic Areas: Environment
There is increasing consensus by the world government bodies that environmental resources are at ever greater risk: some 50% of the entire world's wetlands have been lost since 1900, for example. Climate change effects being experienced globally only aggravate the situation on the already vulnerable natural resources. Most recently the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 was held aimed at setting up a framework for climate change mitigation beyond 2012, a process which has been criticised for its failure to yield expected results.
Much of the Earth’s surface has been altered by human activities. In the highly industrialized countries these changes have brought improved wellbeing for many but in other parts of the world these changes have engendered a cycle of poverty and ecological destruction that has persisted for generations. Human activities have in many places reduced biodiversity, vegetation cover and accumulated organic matter which has degraded definable ecosystem functions and processes including biological carbon capture, nutrient recycling and natural hydrological regulation. This has led to massive biodiversity loss, climate changes, desertification and food insecurity.
NI supports the establishment of environmentally sound policies needed to ensure the sustainability of our ecosystems.
Current activities include:
- UNEP – Terrestrial Ecosystems Unit: support to design of various projects on ecosystem management, including: Ecosystem Management for Maximizing Functionality, rehabilitating the Mau ecosystem, LifeWeb, etc.
Past projects undertaken include:
- UNEP – Support to project document preparation; projects assisted include: Climate Communication, Education and Outreach, Environmental sustainability in UNDAFs and UN country programming, development of laws for ecosystem management and tools for terrestrial ecosystem restoration;
- UNEP Regional Office for Africa: Population, Environment & Urbanization Cluster, Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM), UN agencies in support of AU and NEPAD 2009 report- NI provided assistance towards the organization of the cluster report to the 10th RCM and facilitated the development of a business plan beyond the 10th RCM;
- Facilitated multi-stakeholder Committee addressing issues of management surrounding the Massai Mara Ecosystem;
- Development of a strategy and implementation plan for UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on enhancing its engagement of civil society at policy formulation and programme implementation levels (Oct.’01 to Oct.’02) and
- Publication project on best practices in community based natural resource management and local governance, producing a series of books, “SARDEP Approaches to Development: a Compendium of Experiences”, and a web-site (www.snvworld.org/kenya), (Feb.- Nov. 2002).