Maseru, 01 September 2022
World Bank supports training on ecosystem services for ReNOKA
The ReNOKA programme, with the support of the World Bank’s PROGREEN initiative held a 4-day workshop from the 14th – 19th August 2022 for technical and non-technical experts involved in integrated catchment management (ICM) to discus how the Ecosystem Services Approach can be incorporated in Lesotho.
Ecosystem Services draw attention to the benefits that ecosystems generate for society and raises awareness for biodiversity conservation. A substantial part of the human well-being is dependent on the sustainable flow of the Ecosystem Services.
However, the climate change, economic growth and an increasing human population continue to place more pressure on global ecosystems.
Therefore, understanding the interactions between the ecosystem properties and human activities is important to map and manage the finite ecosystem services.
The purpose of the workshop was to equip participants with the high-level understanding of the value and potential of the ecosystem services approach for improved decision making with an emphasis on integrative catchment planning, with the focus being on the impact of land-use change and management, policy and governance issues.
The workshop commenced on the 16th August with Mrs Mats’olo Migwi, Deputy Coordinator of the ReNOKA programme presenting achievements to date and assessment of available options to achieve the ICM goals using the Ecosystem Services Approach framework.
On day 2, Technical participants gained an introductory understanding of the tools available to assess two priority ecosystem services (water quality and regulation) and the associated co-benefit services such as carbon sequestration, grazing, and tourism. Furthermore, the participants learned how to select the best tools for their context, evaluate scenarios with stakeholder input, and inform policy with results from spatial models.
The participants then visited the Puete watershed in the Makhalaneng Priority Sub catchment Area on Thursday 18th August, to familiarize themselves with the catchment area and discuss the mitigation measures to protect the catchment.
On the last day of the workshop, both technical and non-technical participants learned the best practices for interpreting the results, engaging stakeholders for feedback and input, exploring scenarios, and understanding the policy implications for Lesotho.
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 provided through a partnership between the Government of Lesotho, the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The EU and BMZ contributions are implemented through a technical assistance project “Support to Integrated Catchment Management in Lesotho” by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
For more information
Visit the ReNOKA website at www.renoka.org
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Press contacts
Makomoreng Fanana
National ICM Coordinator, ICM Coordination Unit
makomoreng.fanana@renoka.org
Stephan Huppertz
GIZ Programme Manager, Support to Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) in Lesotho
stephan.huppertz@giz.de
‘This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Integrated Catchment Management unit and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)’