Maseru, 12 May
Lessons from dozens of NRM interventions
An overview and analysis of the main interventions on sustainable natural resource management in Lesotho between 1970 and 2020 by the GoL and its international partners was launched by Green-Chakela and Associates at Victory Hall on Wednesday, 12 May. In attendance were civil society organisations, line ministries, youth-led organisations, representatives of the ReNOKA programme for integrated catchment management in Lesotho, and international development partners.
In her opening remarks, ‘Mats’olo Migwi from the ICM Coordination Unit said she was honoured to be a part of such an important national movement that is impacting the lives of Basotho. She highlighted that it was important to conduct this study in order to provide a benchmark for the future projects and support climate change adaptation principles. She further added that a lot of support has come to Lesotho in the previous years intended to curb the severity of land degradation but not a lot of progress has been made but with this study, she hopes the results and recommendation will be taken to heart to inform planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of upcoming initiatives.
Prof. Chakela from Green-Chakela and Associates Consulting; an independent consulting firm contracted to undertake this study presented the findings of the review whose main question was: What are the relevant factors that determine the successes and failures of interventions for the sustainable management of natural resources in Lesotho. In his presentation, he indicated information collected will provide ReNOKA and future projects with knowledge about problems encountered by past NRM projects. This will bring to light what many evaluators and observers of past projects have provided as advice on what should be done to avoid the pitfalls that were encountered by the past projects. It will enable ReNOKA and other future projects to take careful steps in design, planning and implementation to assess where problems are likely to occur and to take corrective actions.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Limomane Peshoane of UNDP reiterated that ReNOKA is setting an excellent tone for management of natural resources using the ICM principles. He further made a plea to partner organisations to heed the call and make sure they are conversant with the ICM principle in order to adopt them in their individual projects.
A youth climate activist attending the event said; “In my view, ReNOKA is about integrating all natural resources and human beings to be able to absorb shocks and be resilient in order to develop adoptive measures for livelihoods.
