ccsl_project_IWRM-Hoima

= CCSL project: Integrated Watershed Assessment: A social learning perspective for CC adaptation in local communities of Hoima = Gerd Foerch

Description

 * Introduction **

The project idea was created beginning of December last year, when Moses and I put our heads together for a proposal to CCAFS with the vague aim to bring our vast experiences in integrated watershed management in Eastern Africa together with the social learning activities of CCAFS in Hoima Region/Uganda.

Our aim was to raising funds for field research supported by our master students; the MSC in Integrated Watershed Management was established at Makerere University in 2012 as a spin-off from EU funded activities in Eastern Africa headed by the Centre for International Capacity Development at Siegen University (Germany).

It seems that our ideas brought forward raised the interest of the CCAFS community, not at least because of the cooperation between Moses and CCAFS activities in Uganda. Hence, our joining of the Yammer community with the aim to improve concept and implementation for getting the maximum benefit out of, for social learning as well as integrated watershed management.


 * The concept **

IWM is a holistic concept for sustainable resource utilization in a defined watershed (or catchment area): primarily concentrating on water as the key resource or driving force for development and at the same time a threat to maintaining acceptable livelihood conditions; and applying measures available from the GWP Tool Box for Integrated Water resources Management.

Water availability – in appropriate quality and quantities – is determined by the natural conditions – Uganda has ample water if looking at the annual water budget in the country – as well as the given infrastructure and institutional setup of water resources management in the country.

Climate change impacts as experienced already in Hoima region by increasing climate variability associated with increasing temperatures on one side and deteriorating watersheds (deforestation, soil degradation, soil erosion, wetland and bush clearing, decreasing spring and well yields etc) on the other demand for concise action together with the local farmers (and village inhabitants) and local government.

Our concept, based on experiences from Uganda (e.g. Kabale and Mbale regions) and Kenya (e.g. Mt. Kenya watersheds, Siaya, Tsavo etc), starts with a joint (researchers, students, stakeholders) assessment of a delineated watershed (based on Topo-Maps and/or DEMs as well as on the perception of local dwellers); determining water resources and water uses within the watershed; drafting a water balance; documenting threats to the watershed as a whole impacting on the availability of water for local uses; prioritising the problems and looking for solutions, which can be implemented on the ground by the stakeholders; solutions in the watershed are mainly aiming at water and soil conservation measures including CSA; aiming at the draft of participatory watershed management plan or in the context of the Ugandan Water policy: a comprehensive sub-catchment water resource management plan.

How comes social learning into this endeavour? I believe that the joint action – watershed assessment – is a good basis for knowledge sharing between actors (students, researchers) and stakeholders (water users, local stakeholders) and the necessary change of attitudes concerning adaptation measures (SLM, adapted cropping pattern, tilling practises, etc).

Learning (students, farmers, local government etc) from each other will be a joint experience in the field; hoping for new insights in the process as well as for IWM. We are aiming at documenting the assessment and learning processes with the objective to establish “tools” for further use elsewhere…