Project Detail

Ha Monyollo protection and sustainable management of wetland and rangeland resources

PROJECT SUMMARY

As a grassland biome, Lesotho is faced with a major challenge of land degradation which is primarily a result of poor land management practices. This has resulted in loss of vegetative cover, biodiversity and species composition in rangelands as well as soil erosion and invasion of rangelands with shrubs and alien species including drying up of wetland areas. The phenomena has also resulted in loss of livelihoods especially as the majority of Basotho derive livelihoods from subsistence farming including both crops and livestock. The area of Ha Monyollo has not been spared of the problem of soil erosion and loss of biodiversity and other natural resources including wetlands.
The project on sustainable management of wetlands and rangelands at Ha Monyollo is intended to address land degradation and loss of biodiversity while at the same time improving livelihoods of the community of Ha Monyollo. There are four villages that collectively make up Masiasiane Grazing Association and those are Ha Monyollo, Ha Ntabanyane, Makhalong and Ha Theko Bereng. The four villages are all under the Chief of Ha Monyollo, who is assisted by headmen for administrative purposes. These villages use the same grazing areas for livestock and as a result a Grazing Association becomes a community embedded structure that helps connect the four villages and facilitates dialogue amongst all the stakeholders for well-coordinated Community-based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM).
The community of Ha Monyollo has selected areas to rehabilitate and put under management. The areas selected are within the C-Grazing areas and ideally in the Community Council?s jurisdiction, making it binding that the Grazing Association works closely with the Community Council, especially the Council members in this area. This collaboration also calls for strengthening ties with chiefs/headmen in the area as they together with the councilors form the local authority structure.
The objectives of the project are:
i. To strengthen the ongoing rangelands rehabilitation activities to improve the resilience of rangeland and wetlands ecosystems in Ha Monyollo.
ii. To build resilience of livelihoods of the members of Masiasiane Grazing Association and subsequently the community of Ha Monyollo
iii. To promote and enhance good practices in resource governance at Ha Monyollo

The key expected results are:
i. Improved rangelands and wetlands conditions of Ha Monyollo including biodiversity
ii. Improved and diversified livelihoods sources for members of Masiasiane Grazing Association and the community of Ha Monyollo
iii. Improved coordination and governance of natural resources through multi-stakeholder engagement processes

Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Masia-siane Grazing Association

Country:

Lesotho

Area Of Work:

Biodiversity
Land Degradation

Operational Phase:

OP7 ?Y2 (Jul 21-Jun 22)

Grant Amount:

US$ 22,000.00

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 4,952.00

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 39,283.00

Project Number:

LSO/SGP/OP7/Y2/CORE/LD/2021/11

Start Date:

12/2021

End Date:

4/2023

Status:

Project activities completed, final reports pending

Project Characteristics and Results

Linkages gef projects

Planning gef grant

Planning non gef grant

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

All activities are conducted in Sesotho, the local and official language, for inclusion and equal participation by all.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

Alongside rangeland and wetland resources rehabilitation for improved livestock production ad ecosystem resilience, there will be tree planting (forest and fruit trees), beekeeping and poultry projects for income generation.

Project sustainability

For sustainability the project implementation involved as much as possible the Community-embedded structures present in the area. These structures are a representation of self-organization and hence an influence to positive behavioral and mindset change in the communities. The Grazing Association has established good relationships with the District-level MFRSC and the Department of Environment to be supported with training and capacity building with regard to rangelands and environmental management going forward. The Training support to capacitate the community and members of the Grazing Association will continue to be provided even after the project has ended. The livelihoods projects initiated are meant to diversify livelihoods sources of the community and to enhance participation in the environmental management activities with benefits shared among the community. Therefore a combination of the environmental management and livelihoods projects will enable the community to make necessary linkages between healthy ecosystems that are able to support livelihoods. The gradual development of self-drive mindset among the community of Ha Monyollo will in turn encourage continuation of the project?s activities beyond the implementation period. Involvement of youth and especially the herders shall also help in instilling a sense of responsibility to take a leading role in building the resilience of the ecosystems by demonstrating that their livelihoods are dependent on these valuable resources and therefore their active participation is key. For scaling up of the activities, the Village Grazing Association proposes to begin at small scales in each of the participating villages and expand the management areas annually. This will allow for gradual expansion while improvement on the condition of the rangelands and the wetlands as well as livestock is observed. The grant from GEF SGP is a seed funding that will, in the long run, enable the community to realize the long-term benefits of environmental management for sustainable development. The seed grant has create an opportunity to capacitate the Grazing Association in building networks and partnerships for possible funding opportunities.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

Maintaining close collaboration and working relations with neighboring communities will be another important avenue in sharing the experiences and exchanging views vital for information dissemination. Thus, intercommunity exchange visits as well as field days will be used to disseminate best practices across a wide spectrum of communities. Furthermore, through the support from the Ministry of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation and GROW; the Grazing Association will produce fliers that document best practices for dissemination in the district as well as at national level. In addition, relevant radio and television programmes will be used to share experiences with the wider public.

Capacity - Building Component

Prior to formation of Masiasiane Grazing Association, the community of Ha Monyollo participated in catchment rehabilitation (cash for work/fato-fato) program. This is a program within the Ministry of Forestry Range and Soil Conservation employing communities on a temporary and rotating basis for the rehabilitation of catchments while at the same time creating temporary relief to households. The program exposed the community to catchment rehabilitation although it in general lacks the education and training for communities to understand the fundamental principles and benefits of Integrated Catchment Management as the communities look at it more as a job creation activity than it is about environmental management. As a result, with the grant from GEF SGP the Grazing Association will receive the necessary technical support from the Ministry of Forestry Range and Soil Conservation as well as the Department of Environment and other departments to sustainably manage the land. This, in essence is envisaged to refine and strengthen the capacity of the Grazing Association as well as other key stakeholder groups such as chiefs, community councilors, herders and livestock owners to collaboratively implement the integrated catchment management activities. Masiasiane Grazing Association has received training in rangelands and wetlands management from the Ministry of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation. The training laid a foundation to equipping the Grazing Association with knowledge and understanding of management of natural resources. However, similar training events are incorporated in the proposal to target all stakeholder groups for capacity building and to help build social cohesion. In addition, capacity building in the following areas is envisaged: - climate change awareness - development of grazing management plans - wetlands rehabilitation and rainwater harvesting - alternative livelihoods and income generation.

Gender Focus

The proposed project takes into consideration gender and social inclusion of all marginalized and vulnerable groups such as women and people with disability. Among the greatest challenges women face is feeding families and hence the amount of time they spent in activities that will provide for this basic need. The livelihoods supporting activities proposed in the project will help women meet household food security. Similarly youth and persons with disabilities will participate in different ways depending on the nature of their disability as the proposed activities are open to their inclusion at different levels of implementation process. The training activities will include women, youth and people with disabilities with an objective to build their capacities in environmental management as well as in participating in the development agenda.

Policy Impact

The proposed project therefore directly relates to Community-based conservation of threatened ecosystems and species and is embedded on GEF SGP primary strategic initiative and primary focal areas of land degradation and sustainable land management. In addition, the project addresses loss of biodiversity while at the same time promotes sustainable agriculture and food security through activities that will stabilize the land and prevent soil erosion in agricultural land. The project further contributes to climate change mitigation by increasing land cover through planting of indigenous trees that do not only prevent soil erosion but are carbon sinks for climate change mitigation. In addition to responding to GEF SGP Country strategy, the proposed project is also embedded on the Country?s development priorities outlined in national plans such as the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP II) and sectoral policy frame work in various departments, for example the National Range Resources Management Policy, Water and Sanitation Policy and the National Climate Change Policy. There are therefore a number of projects and initiatives being implemented in the different sectors including Wool and Mohair Promotion Project (WAMPP), Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) Project, Regeneration of Livelihoods and Landscapes (ROLL). There are other projects such as Smallholder Agricultural Development Project (SADP II) which link with the proposed project as they promote climate smart agriculture. While some of these projects are not directly implemented in the project area, they all provide an opportunity for networks necessary to build the capacity of the CBOs such as Masiasiane Grazing Association either in the form of exchange visits for learning and sharing of experiences and ideas and/or for further financial support where possible

Inovative Financial Mechanisms

With the support from GROW and the Ministry of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation (MFRSC) the CBO shall document the success stories for dissemination in the district as well as at national level. As the baseline situation on selected parameters has been documented those will be compared with the end of the project so that positive changes are shared with the neighboring communities in order to influence behavioral change in natural resources management.

Notable Community Participation

Youth and persons with disabilities will participate in different ways depending on the nature of their disability as the proposed activities are open to their inclusion at different levels of implementation process. The training activities will include women, youth and people with disabilities with an objective to build their capacities in environmental management as well as in participating in the development agenda.

Project Results

Like in all other mountain districts where livestock farming is the main economic activity, Destruction of wetlands by livestock was identified as one of the major challenges. A grazing management plan has been developed and construction of livestock watering points at strategic locations is underway. Thus far, one completed and two more to be constructed.

Following sustainable range resources management training by the Departments for Range Resources Management and Environment, and procurement of requisite tools for range rehabilitation, support was secured for the Wool and Mohair Procurement Project (WAMPP) where Association members and other community members were hired for brush control in the targeted project site. A Total of 174 people were engaged for brush control - 29 people weeks each over a period of three months. Thus far, about 4 ha have been covered and the work is continuing but on self-help basis as was originally planned.

The mountain region has proved to be very suitable to fruit production, apples and pears in particular. a site for establishment of an orchard has been acquired and piloting done with 500 peach trees. Another site has been allocated for establishment of a village woodlot.

Through the project Association members have been equipped with the following skills that are being put to test through the various income generation activities implemented:

- Sustainable range and wetland resources management

- Fruit production and preservation, with the preservation skills already going on with available fruits using solar driers.

- Beekeeping and egg production that is already self-sustaining as chicken feed is financed with proceeds from egg sales.

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