News

Plastic pollution is a global crisis, with animals, plants, and human life being affected by waste mismanagement

This Mothers ’Day ReNOKA features ‘Mathuso Tanka, an amazing woman actively involved in the protection of natural resources to improve her family’s well being and the livelihoods of other Basotho

Community-based initiatives under ReNOKA are starting to bear fruits

This Mothers ’Day ReNOKA features ‘Mathuso Tanka, an amazing woman actively involved in the protection of natural resources to improve her family’s well being and the livelihoods of other Basotho

ReNOKA continued engaging with different stakeholders in a bid to raise awareness about pertinent issues concerning land and water resources, while also calling for the protection of these resources.

ICM Coordination Unit briefs MPS and the Members of Senate on the status of the work of ReNOKA

Exploring pathways to make the Metolong Dam infrastructure and the entire ecosystem more resilient to climate risks

Soil erosion is currently one of the biggest problems facing both Lesotho’s grasslands and its natural wetlands.

3 Ways that alien plants impact the land around them Alien plants (or invasive species) refer to plant life that does not grow naturally in a local habitat. These plants […]

ReNOKA calls on all Basotho to collaborate in the protection of wetlands as Lesotho observes World Wetlands Day

The Minister of Natural Resources and Development Partners’ Forum Group for Environment, Natural Resources Management and Resilience in Lesotho met to discuss the government’s vision of the priorities for natural resources management.

Ha-Khabo is one of the priority intervention areas where high levels of soil erosion and land degradation are evident and being rehabilitated under ReNOKA

National ICM Coordinator, Makomoreng Fanana says all stakeholders will need to work together to ensure the success of integrated catchment management (ICM) activities

Climate change and resource scarcity are exacerbated by the lack of land-use and disaster risk management knowledge and resources needed to build resilience

Helping farmers identify a market and access it is the best way to assist them reap the benefits of their farming activities.

Adaptive water and land governance built around multi-level, integrated and participatory arrangements enhance the adaptive capacity of social and ecological systems to global changes.

Restoring land and water together in the mountain Water Tower: Ecosystems Services and their continued provision fortify livelihoods support and natural resources conservation

There is a need to transmit education on range management into a common public knowledge and practice.

Developing solutions to the planet’s greatest water-related challenges such as poverty, climatic crises and biodiversity loss

Unlocking the potential of sustainable water resources development in contributing to regional integration, poverty eradication and socio-economic development in the SADC region

Encouraging fodder production on sloping fields to reduce soil erosion by minimising frequency of tilling the land

  ReNOKA (‘we are a river’) is a national programme and citizen movement for the restoration of land and water in Lesotho and the Orange-Senqu basin. Support for ReNOKA is […]

"Bringing about change in the approach to environment conservation and best field practices is a long and arduous process, but it is happening"

Ecosystems benefits society to a variety of services for agriculture, food security and mitigating disaster risks

A new partnership between the Government of Lesotho and the Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management

Taking positive steps to ensure that youth are positively engaged in dialogues of environment conservation

Societal gender roles and norms contribute largely to the influence of access and use of natural resources by men and women, as well as the young people in the communities.

ReNOKa launches ICM small grants to CBOs to implement specialised and niche watershed management activities in the six Priority Sub-Catchments in Khubelu, Hlotse, Likhetla, Makhalaneng, Maletsunyane and Senqunyane.

ReNOKa facilitates the first of a series of 12 planned professional courses on ICM concepts and approaches.

ReNOKA is excited to present a short animated video highlighting the national programmes objectives and goals of implementation.

Facilitated visit to regional best practices of ICM/ IWRM in Kenya and Tanzania for directors and senior officers of Lesotho line ministries.

A meta-review of the interventions for sustainable natural resources management in Lesotho from 1970 to 2020 to contribute to the skills and knowledge management of natural resources in the country.

Over the years, local herders have gained a negative reputation, as culprits who allow their animals to graze on protected rangelands, burning grass misguided by the notion that burning improves the new grass crop and not practicing sustainable herding. As custodians of natural resources, herders were addressed to highlight their significant contribution to management and protection of natural resources.

A documentary about the vital role that Lesotho plays for water security in Southern Africa. It includes a protrayal of ReNOKA efforts to restore land and water across the country.

ReNOKA joins Lesotho government and SADC at World Water Forum in Senegal.

ReNOKA (‘we are a river’) organises screenings of internationally acclaimed film “This is Not a Burial, It’s A Resurrection” and documentary “The Great River Orange-Senqu”

Indigenous knowledge is a powerful tool for restoration of land and water: A new research study for ReNOKA presents the value of mainstreaming indigenous knowledge systems to address catchment degradation and improve climate resilience.

Following a comprehensive external review of Lesotho’s policy framework for integrated catchment management (ICM), ReNOKA stakeholders gathered on 8 March to hear the main findings from the consultants and to deliberate on the next steps towards establishment a legal and policy framework that will enable an effective governance of land and water resources.

Palesa Lefojane - Junior Advisor Catchment Operations & Gender Mainstreaming - ReNOKA programme sharing her thoughts on International Women's Day 2022 under the theme Gender Equality today for a Sustainable tomorrow

Visit to Makhalaneng catchment area demonstrated efforts by local communities to combat environmental degradation and advance climate resilience.

For the first time, governmental and non-governmental institutions, regional and international partners agree on joint activities to protect Lesotho’s land, water resources.

Sharing the commemorative message for World Wetlands Day, Mme Sebabatso Sedia Catchment Manager in the Integrated Catchment Management Coordination Unit, highlighted the importance of community involvement in the process of catchment management, urging communities to work in protecting wetlands as this is where resources Basotho depend on can be found such as herbs for medicinal purposes.

Mr Khotso Mathafeng, National GIS Expert under FAO, giving insight on the Land cover status of Lesotho a survey conducted by FAO under ReNOKA. As an option to add: He highlighted, "that as humans and animals encroach into the wetlands, this leads to degradation, leading to the wetlands drying up so much that one can see footpaths and tracks due to encroachment on the lands."

Summer is here, the sun is up early and goes down much later. The ReNOKA team overseeing the implementation of emergency rehabilitation measures in some of the degradation hotspots around the country took great advantage of the changing season to engage with prospective contractors at these hotspots in the Priority Sub-Catchment areas to show them the work at hand.

This year marked the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 76) opening in New York on 14th September 2021. The UNGA High-Level Week took place from 20-24 September 2021 under the theme: “Building resilience through hope – to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainability, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalize the United nations”.

In 2021, Lesotho launched ReNOKA (“We Are a River”), a national and active citizen movement to advance integrated catchment management (ICM) in Lesotho and the Orange-Senqu River basin. A kick-off event in Maloraneng on 16 September marked the beginning of operations in the Khubelu subcatchment, a vital water source area of the Senqu basin.

A strategic partnership between the National University of Lesotho (NUL), the Integrated Catchment Management Coordination Unit (ICU) and Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) was signed on Tuesday the 21st September 2021 at the National University of Lesotho through a Memorandum of Understanding. The partnership will strengthen professional education, applied science and innovative research for integrated catchment management in Lesotho. The signed Memorandum of Understanding provides, for the first time, a framework for collaboration involving all faculties and institutes of NUL for the purpose supporting integrated catchment management in Lesotho.

August is recognized as Womens’ month in neighbouring South Africa, which is part of the Orange-Senqu river basin. In this month, ReNOKA is spotlighting and celebrating women participating and contributing in the restoration of our natural resources in the catchments., ‘Me’ Mahali Bulane, a member of the Kolo community watershed team (CWT) in Likhetla-Mafeteng area tells us her story:

Shweshwe is one of the most iconically Southern African fabrics. Like ReNOKA, it marries traditional with contemporary.

The world-renowned Basotho tribal blankets have a deep cultural significance and history. They are unique in terms of the layout of the design, the various symbols used, the bold colour combinations and the characteristic pin-stripe.

As a subsistence farmer, ‘Maliako noticed the negative impact the environment was having on crop yields. By problem-solving together with other women in her community, ‘Maliako now employs better farming practices and hopes to reverse the effects of climate change.

By using learnings from the present and the past, herder Phate was able to bring his community together to take meaningful steps to mitigate the soil erosion he had noticed.