Shunya Yetana Community Based Organisation is a local organisation working around the landslides degraded areas of Mt. Elgon Ecosystem. The Mt.Elgon ecosystem is one of the surviving montane fragile systems in Africa that is threatened with degradation. It is a unique ecosystem and home to a number of threatened and endangered species such as the iron wood.The mountain is also internationally recognized for its biodiversity and its being an important catchment area controlling the hydrology of the River Nile system.

The mountain provides various resources such as water and further supports dense populations that are dependent on agricultural activities.Current trends however, point towards increasin stress on the ecosystem resulting from growing population, rural poverty coupled with inappropriate production technologies. The livelihoods of many of people living aound the slopes of the mountain arrea are at stake due the escalating problems of land degradation such as landslides

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and soil erosion that undermines land productivity. Continued degradation will thus have far reaching consequencies including the regional hydrology.

The project therefore is working to wards the improvement of the livelihoods of the local community through sustainable approaches of conserving the mountain resources and rehabilitation of the landslides degraded areas to avert far reaching environmental consequencies. The project also inends to promote sustainable livelihood options for the local community to improve on their household incomes thereby reduceing on the problems of increasing rural poverty and improving on their living standards.

This is because Mt. Elgon has become increasingly susceptible to accelerated landslides which contribute to the rapid loss of habitats and biodiversity and affects the livelihoods of people living on the slopes of the mountain. such people get displaced and increase pressure on the existing agricultural land and the protected areas such as the Mt.Elgon national Park. As a result people end up getting trapped between degarded and protected areas.

The GEF focal areas addressed are land degradation (OP15) and biodiversity conservation in volcanic mountain ecosystems. The local community is actively involved in supporting the promotion of the project activities.

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