go to: Regional; Burundi; Rwanda; Tanzania; Uganda

Regional Policy and development context for Kagera TAMP

The Kagera river basin is part of the Nile Basin and as such receives substantial support through the Nile Basin Initiative - Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme (NBI-NELSAP) which in addition to Kagera countries includes Congo D.R., and Kenya, as well as downstream Egypt and Sudan which are associated. The TAMP is also building a partnership with the Lake Victoria Environment Management Programme (LVEMP) that is implemented jointly by the Republic of Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Uganda to add

The East African Community (EAC) (recreated in 1999) provides a framework for extensive political cooperation and integration, among Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya (which share Lake Victoria) as well as Burundi and Rwanda which have both applied to join EAC. EAC is establishing the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) to manage the entire basin area, including the Kagera, and invited (2003) Burundi and Rwanda to sign a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate cooperation in this venture.

In the Action Plan of the Environment Initiative (October 2003) of NEPAD (New Partnership for African Development), land degradation is a major area of attention, alongside biodiversity conservation, drought and climate change mitigation, protection of fragile ecosystems and the ozone layer. NEPAD’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP, November 2002) is also a key entry point for integrating SLM in agriculture and natural resources management and with mainstream national priorities of poverty eradication, improved food security, accelerated economic growth and development, promotion of women in development and international Millennium Development Goals (MGDs).

The countries sharing the Kagera Basin have all adopted various national strategies and action plans that address sustainable management of natural resources, biodiversity conservation, agriculture, forests, desertification, and climate change mitigation. Land degradation is recognized by all stakeholders as a major threat to the natural resource base and to livelihoods. Ratification of the Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in the late 1990s by the four countries and subsequent development of National Action Programme (NAPs) for its implementation has led to raised awareness from national to local levels, including of the close links between degradation and poverty.

Loss of biodiversity has been widely recognized in the environmental sector, especially for the protection of large fauna, birdlife and indigenous forest species through national parks and forest reserves. During the decade since ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) by the Kagera countries, there has been raised awareness of the importance of biodiversity and the ecosystem approach. National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) have been prepared in each country but besides some targeted studies and activities, there are limited resources for their application.

Relevant actions have also been developed under the Framework Convention for Combating Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Ramsar Convention respectively.

Dates of Signature to Relevant International Conventions

National Policies and Priorities [Summary of relevant national policies and legislation (Annex 8 of project document)]

In addition to the referred national plans to implement the environmental conventions, also important are the National Environment Action Plans (NEAPs), National Agricultural and Livestock Strategies and related plans/programmes, and the Poverty Reduction Strategies and Programmes (PRSPs). The latter have been developed in accordance with country decentralisation processes and recent targets to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (especially [#1] eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; and [#7] ensure environmental sustainability). Kagera country PRSPs have identified agriculture as the lead sector in poverty reduction and priority attention is placed on increasing productivity and reliability of production, inter alia, through improved water management and soil fertility re-capitalization. An outline of relevant national policies, laws and priorities is presented below and in more detail in Table 1 of Annex 7.

Burundi
Through the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (January 2004) the Government of Burundi seeks to support the reintegration of displaced persons and other victims of conflict into agricultural production, rehabilitating and developing rural and agricultural infrastructures, supporting micro-watershed management, sustainable farming approaches, resource use planning for protection areas and buffer zones, land titling and community management. The National Strategy for Food Security (2003) recognizes as priorities: raising production, productivity and diversifying sources of incomes in rural areas, improving the quality of services and their delivery to farmers, promoting sustainable land use and improving natural resource management through improved farming practices. Efforts are being made to implement the National Environment Strategy (1997) and strategies/actions to meet the goals of the biological diversity (NBSAP, 2000), climate change, desertification and Ramsar conventions; however, efforts are constrained by lack of resources and capacity. Relevant reforms include: legal instruments to improve agricultural planning and management, enacting a Land Law, updating national policy for managing natural resources and the environment and involving communities to help restore and protect vulnerable ecosystems, adoption of a National Environment Law (2000) and developing a National Forest Policy (draft).

Other Strategy and Policy Papers for Burundi:

• Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper – Preparation Status (September 2005)
• Cadre stratégique de relance économique  et de lutte contre la pauvreté (Nov 2003)
• National Environmental Strategy

Rwanda
The Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) links human development with environment and natural resources management, and recognises the need to accompany agricultural/rural development by environment protection (soil and water conservation, reforestation, rational use of wetland, water, energy). A new Agriculture Sector Policy (2004) and a Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation (October 2004) [French] have been adopted for intensifying sustainable production systems and promoting agri-business and thereby contributing to poverty reduction and food security. This is linked to NEPADs Mid-term Investment Plan and aims to shift from subsistence agriculture to an agriculture sector integrated with markets. Rwanda has confirmed that reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss in the Kagera basin is a top priority in view of the serious impacts on resources and livelihoods. In addition to environmental conservation, TAMP actions should improve crop and livestock production and forestry and thereby improve income and food security.

Other Strategy and Policy Papers for Rwanda:

• National Environment Policy (2004)
• Projet de stratégie pour le développement agricole (Horizon 2010)
• National Strategy for the Conservation of Biodiversity (2003)
• Land Reform Presentation (Nov 2005) [summary in MSword]

United Republic of Tanzania
National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (June 2005) is the guiding framework that links poverty eradication with environmental degradation and the agriculture sector. The National Environmental Policy (1997) is an umbrella framework that promotes socio-economic development while maintaining environmental quality and resource productivity, supported by a set of environmental laws and specific policies on land, water, resources, forest and wildlife. Land degradation and drought are priority problems implemented through the National Environment Action Plan (1994), the Forestry Action Plan (1994) and the Action Plan arising from the Soil Fertility Initiative (2000). The Agricultural and Livestock Policy (1997) promotes integrated, sustainable use and management of natural resources and improving the wellbeing of those dependent on agriculture. It is implemented through the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (2001). Following CBD ratification a National Conservation Strategy (draft) was developed and NBSAP (2000) which gives clear directions towards biodiversity conservation and links to NAP-CCD including promotion of sustainable development in areas adjacent to protected areas and rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems. Through the Land Act and Village Land Act 1999, village councils are to categorize their land according to pre-existing or new land use plans to be approved by the village assembly and subject to advice of district councils.

Other Strategy and Policy Papers for the United Republic of Tanzania

• Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (April 2006)
• Environmental Policy Brief (June 2005)
• Agricultural Sector Response to HIV/AIDS (Oct. 2005)
• Poverty and Human Development Report (2005)
• Joint Assistance Strategy - Revised Third Draft (March 2006)

Uganda
The National Environment Management Policy (1995) is the umbrella framework that recognizes the importance of conservation and restoration of ecosystems, biodiversity and ecological process and of enhancing public awareness and local participation in environmental actions. Linkages between poverty and environment and inter-sectoral actions are implemented through the National Poverty and Environment Action Plan (PEAP) and its District Development and Environment Action plans (DEAP). The draft National Land-use Policy aims to fill a gap in integrated, harmonized land-use planning/ management across sectors and among land users/ stakeholders; and the draft National Soils Policy aims to maintain productivity of land /agro-ecosystems. The Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture is in line with the PEAP aiming to increase production/unit area and to promote sustainable use and management of natural resources forest, wildlife, livestock and rangeland. This is supported for example by the Livestock Policy which sets optimum stocking rates to prevent over-grazing and soil compaction, by the multi-sector Food and Nutrition Policy (2003) and the National Policy for the Conservation and Management of Wetland Resources (1995), aiming to maintain ecological and socio–economic functions of wetlands through optimal use of resources and partial exploitation for economic development.

Other Strategy and Policy Papers for Uganda:

• Draft Agricultural Development Strategy (Horizon 2010)
• Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (August 2005)