KENYA | ELDORET-ITEN WATER FUND

Context
The Eldoret-Iten Water Fund (EIWF) was established in August 2022 with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD) to provide a proof-of-concept by 2023 and to attract downstream funders starting in 2024. The Fund is implemented by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Eldoret Water and Sanitation Company (ELDOWAS). EIWF focuses on three key water towers—Cherangany Hills, Elgeyo Hills, and the northern Mau Forest—which supply water to Eldoret and Iten. The Fund’s interventions span three ecosystems, with about 80% of efforts dedicated to tree planting:

1. Protected Areas: Tree planting for rehabilitation of degraded areas and working with communities to install enclosures that facilitate natural regeneration.
2. Riparian Areas: Collaborating with communities, including Water Resource User Associations (WRUAs), to create buffer zones along riparian areas, plant trees, and enclose spring areas to prevent livestock disturbance.
3. Farmlands: County extension assistants work with farmers to develop farm-specific action plans balancing conservation measures with income-generating activities. These measures include terraces, windbreak trees, grasses and shrubs for livestock feed, and water pans for rainwater harvesting.

Community Engagement
During the feasibility stage, EIWF hired a consultant to develop a stakeholder map for the service area, including Indigenous Peoples and other interested parties. The consultant led the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) process. EIWF engages all identified communities, prioritizing upstream communities during the initial execution phase. The Fund works with four community categories, tailoring engagement approaches to each. In the first year, EIWF engaged roughly 15,000 households, providing tree seedlings and water pans. Additionally, 18 youths have been trained to use drones for landscape monitoring.

The social context of EIWF’s operations is heavily influenced by Kenya’s colonial history. Indigenous Peoples in Kenya, such as traditional hunter-gatherer communities, have ancestral ties to forest land but were forcibly removed when the British colonial government designated these lands as protected areas in the early 20th century.

This history has contributed to the greater social and economic vulnerability of Indigenous Peoples compared to other groups. Consequently, Indigenous Peoples are a focus for specific development efforts in the country.

GEF and IFAD funding requirements include the FPIC process with Indigenous Peoples, necessitating direct engagement to communicate project activities and obtain written consent ensuring no harm. This process forms the basis for developing an Indigenous Peoples Action Plan (IPAP). The Kenyan Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources supports this through national FPIC guidelines. Initial funding from GEF and TNC allowed EIWF to engage Indigenous Peoples and conduct the FPIC process during the pre-feasibility stage.

In 2020, EIWF engaged the Cherangany and Sengwer IP groups during the pre-feasibility phase to undergo the FPIC process, formalizing their involvement. A third group, the Ogiek, was identified and considered for FPIC during the project household survey. The FPIC process ensures project ideas are communicated to Indigenous Peoples, allowing them to adjust these ideas and self-determine potential impacts.

A formal FPIC document was signed between each community and an EIWF Steering Committee representative. Engaging these Indigenous communities resulted in an IPAP for each, implemented jointly by the communities and EIWF, with allocated budgets, implementation plans, and dispute resolution mechanisms. Ongoing budget decisions are made in consultation with the IC.

Beyond the FPIC process for the Ogiek and Cherangany, EIWF engages all community groups through community meetings and a volunteer Stakeholder Steering Committee. Community meetings, central to the engagement approach, are informal and frequent, led by a Field Conservation Coordinator and other ELDOWAS-hired staff using project funding. Each community group typically has monthly meetings to discuss project implementation and community concerns.

The success of EIWF has introduced challenges. Increasing demand for interventions, such as avocado trees, has left some communities feeling excluded due to project limits. Additionally, some communities feel left out because the FPIC process was exclusive to Indigenous Peoples, and initial focus was on upstream areas. To address this, EIWF shares its work plan with communities to demonstrate how work is planned and distributed.

The project area was mapped based on hydrological boundaries, leading to some community members being excluded from the project footprint. EIWF addresses this by coordinating with partners who can meet community needs outside the project area, as EIWF resources are limited to the established catchment area.
Future work includes improving gender equity by better engaging women, the primary users of firewood. TNC funded a survey to collect data on women’s empowerment using the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI).