Project

Securing watershed services through SLM in the Ruvu and Zigi catchments (Eastern Arc Region).

Lead country

Tanzania

Participating countries

Tanzania

Project status

Under implementation

Implementing period

From March 30, 2016 to March 29, 2021

SDGs addressed by this project

SDG targets

  1. 15.1 Conserve, restore, sustainably use terrestrial, freshwater ecosystems
  2. 15.3 Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil
  3. 15.5 Reduce habitat degradation, halt biodiversity loss, extinction

Project ID: 5077

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Technical team

  • Ecosystems and Biodiversity Programme

Technical area(s)

  • Ecosystem management and restoration

Sub-area(s)

  • Agrobiodiversity
  • Biodiversity financing

Landscape(s)

  • Human altered areas
  • FreshWaters
  • Forests

Sub-landscape(s)

  • Rural areas
  • Urban areas
  • Rivers and river basins
  • Montane forests

Transformed sector(s)

  • Agriculture
  • Fisheries
  • Livestock

UNDP role(s)

  • Capacity development / Technical assistance
  • Data collection and analysis
  • Institutional mechanism and system building

Strategy

  • Management operation
  • Law regulation
  • Governance

Sub-strategy

  • Sustainable land management
  • Ecosystem and ecosystem services conservation/restoration
  • Integrated water resource management
  • Laws/ Policy/ Plan formulation
  • Laws enforcement/ Regulation
  • Conflict resolution
  • Institutional framework
  • Participatory governance models

Social inclusion

  • Private sector
  • Women
  • Smallholder farmers

Gender equality

  • Women's access to and control over resources
  • Women decision making
  • Livelihoods for women

Gender result effectiveness scale

  • Gender responsive

Pathway(s)

  • Systems pathway
  • People pathway

Risk reduction target(s)

  • Reduce exposure
  • Improve resilience

SDG target(s)

  • 15.1 Conserve, restore, sustainably use terrestrial, freshwater ecosystems
  • 15.3 Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil
  • 15.5 Reduce habitat degradation, halt biodiversity loss, extinction

Conventions and protocols

  • United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
  • National Adaptation Plan (NAP)

Private sector(s)

N/A

Hot topic

  • Public-private partnership
  • Nature-based solution
  • Food and agricultural commodities strategy

About this project

Description

Tanzania's economy is highly dependent on water resources, whose continued flow is influenced by the health of the countries ecosystems. Agriculture, the largest sector and main source of livelihoods for the majority of the population, is dominated by rainfed farming and livestock, both of which are severely affected by unreliable rainfall and poor water management. Tourism and fisheries, the two largest sources of foreign exchange earnings, are dependent on healthy ecosystems, whose integrity in turn depends on water flows. Although the country is endowed with sufficient freshwater resources to meet its current water needs, it faces complex challenges in balancing demand from multiple users (domestic water for basic human needs; ecosystem goods and services for livelihoods; irrigation; and hydropower) and both have evidence of detrimental impacts from insufficient environmental flows in the past. The unsustainable use of water is mirrored by the unsustainable use of land coupled with unsustainable production practices. Many watersheds face moderate to severe deforestation and overgrazing pressures, corresponding to high rates of erosion, increasing soil salinity, lowered soil fertility, and loss of biodiversity. Degradation is undermining ecosystem functions and services and the welfare of rural people dependent upon these services for their subsistence and for their livelihoods. The most important water catchment areas are the Eastern Arc Mountains, which are also amongst the most affected by degradation of ecosystem services. The project aims to achieve improved sustainable land and natural resource management to alleviate land degradation, maintain ecosystem services and improve livelihoods in the Ruvu and Zigi sub-catchments through the following two components: 1) Support to enhance the enabling framework for Water Catchment Offices and districts to plan, monitor and adapt land management and leverage national and district baseline investments for SLM; and 2) Landscape level uptake of SLM measures to avoid and reduce land degradation.

Objectives

Sustainable land and natural resource management alleviates land degradation, maintains ecosystem services and improves livelihoods in the Ruvu and Zigi sub-catchments of the Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania.

USD $3,748,858

Grant amount

USD $24,000,000

Leveraged amount (co-financing)

1

Source(s) of fund

Sources of fund

 

  • Global Environment Facility – Trust Fund ($3,748,858)

Implementing partner(s)

  • Government of Tanzania

Project metrics

Related resources

Geospatial information

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Project reports and documentation

 

FEATURED STORY

Securing watershed services through SLM in the Ruvu and Zigi catchments (Eastern Arc Region).