SUMAWA Objectives

There are two primary long-term goals of the SUMAWA project:

Research: Improve the understanding of biophysical and social dynamics governing watershed health in rural areas

Development: Improve the health of threatened or degraded upland watersheds in East Africa on a sustainable basis.

Impact indicators regarding SUMAWA's overall success are subdivided as a function of these goals:

A. Research:

1. Publications in scholarly journals and presentation of results to symposia.

2. Research findings citation and recognition by other scientists.

3. Use of findings by research scientists and land managers.

B. Development

1. Biophysical, ecological and human health indicators and trends are improved and sustained.

2. Productive, beneficial and equitable water uses are increased and sustained.

3. Stakeholder have an increased willingness to protect and sustain critical aquatic and terrestrial habitats in the watershed.

4. Improved livelihoods and overall household performance (resilience, time in poverty) result from SUMAWA conservation implementations in the the watershed.

Research

SUMAWA team efforts are geared toward assembling representative conceptual and mathematical models of biophysical and human dimensions of the watershed as they relate to watershed and human health and sustainability. Watershed health is defined as having the capability of supporting short- and long-term hydrologic and ecologic function. Human aspects of the project are aligned with minimizing risk to economic instability and health hazards associated with waterborne diseases. Livestock are a central component to both the biophysical and human models with which SUMAWA is working and will ultimately be embedded in the modeling tools for inclusion in decision support and outreach products generated. SUMAWA researchers are developing a full suite of biophysical and human-related research for the purpose of creating a comprehensive watershed model that may be translated and transferred to stakeholders and policy makers who are the primary determinants of watershed and human health in the Njoro watershed.

The stakeholder group is actively engaged with stakeholders and managers within the watershed. Previous and planned activities such as workshops, PRA, school outreach, and watershed interventions continue to enhance project visibility. By integrating stakeholders into the watershed plan coupled appropriate interventions chances are greatly increased for success in improving watershed health. Outreach activities are designed to engage local land managers and disseminate biophysical findings to interested parties.

Development

Long-term goals of improving watershed health in threatened or endangered East African ecosystems will be achieved through incremental improvements and demonstrable successes within the Njoro watershed. These successes will result in transferable models and practices for other watersheds in the region.

Water resources in the Njoro watershed are critically import to several stakeholders. SUMAWA researchers have observed that water quality and quantity, both in the surface and groundwater supplies, has decreased incrementally over the past decade. The stakeholder involvement group is focusing on developing good relations with stakeholders and managers within the watershed, and policy makers who have control over the manner in which the watershed is governed. These foundations of strong stakeholder interaction and outreach will support the short- and long-term success of implementation of interventions and knowledge transfer. The SUMAWA project was instrumental in the formation of the River Njoro Water User Association, which will serve as the primary point of contact for linking watershed stakeholders with scientists and policy makers. In addition, formal linkages have been made between the project and key policy makers and management agencies operating in the watershed, including the Ministry of Health and the Rift Valley Water Management Authority. These linkages will enable us to more directly link scientific outcomes with policy makers in order to stimulate positive changes.