COVID 19 pandemic being a global problem has threatened the social fabric and livelihoods options of many including Lembus indigenous community with direct and indirect impacts on the sustainability of environment and associated natural resources. The negative impacts noted so far include overdependence/overexploitation of the natural resources and upsurge in illegal activities. The proposed project Enhancing sustainability of Lembus Indigenous Community Conserved area for and by stakeholders to address impact of Covid 19 pandemic seeks support community and stakeholders? efforts to put the ICCA on a sustainable footing following impacts of Covid 19 pandemic. Lembus indigenous forest and associated ecosystems is a typical of ICCA based on community attachment on the forest and associated resources.
The ecosystem is key in provision of water as a water catchment for Chemususu dam (one of the biggest Dams in Rift Valley), Perkerra River which feeds Lake Baringo (a biodiversity hotspot of national and international significance) and support Perkerra Irrigation schemes. The Lembus Indigenous forest though not so much data is available host varied biodiversity including Mammals, Birds, plants, herpes among others.
The naming of the forest is based on the attachment of the indigenous Lembus community (sub-tribe of the Tugen) on the forest. Since time immemorial Lembus community have been playing an active role in championing for sustainable conservation and management of the ICCA within gazetted forest and on private farms. The ecosystem is managed under government legal system with participation of local communities through Community Forest Association (recognized under the Forest Conservation and Management Act 2016) and informally through Lembus Council of Elders and Community Based Organizations who engage in advocacy and community mobilization towards sustainability of the ICCA.
.Despite the important role the ICCA plays its ecological integrity is being threatened by several factors among them compounding social and economic impacts of COVIG 19 to local communities. The efforts to contain the spread of Covid 19 pandemic saw a general call to citizens to stay at home, embrace social distance, ban on public gathering and lockdown of high risk areas. The results were that normal social and economic operations among citizens were disrupted and negatively affecting many directly or indirectly. As part of survival strategies to meet their basic need communities engaged in activities some of which compromise of ecological integrity of the ICCA
The project target area herein referred to as Lembus ecosystem comprise of gazetted forest patches forming part of the Eastern Mau forest complex and sections under private ownership characterized by farmland, indigenous and exotic of ecological and grasslands.


The project will be implemented by Community Socio-Environmental Organization (COSEO) working with other stakeholders will be premised on the lessons learned from Covid 19 on the important linkage between human and environment health and thus the need to invest in its sustainable management to avert future pandemics. It will greatly complement efforts of an existing project Enhancing recovery of communities most affected by Covid 19 within Mumberes, Lembus and Lembus Kwen Wards of Baringo County with funding support from Kenya Community Development Foundation.