Preparation of these projects took about two years and involved extensive consultations with beneficiaries and others.
"These projects reflect our commitment to continue supporting policies that target more aggressively the most vulnerable people with assistance that equips them to help themselves," says Colin Bruce, the Country Director for Kenya. Western Kenya is rich in natural resources but the local communities remain poor and vulnerable to flooding, disease and natural resource degradation. Poverty is aggravated by perennial flooding, natural resource mismanagement, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and malaria. Women and children, particularly orphans and widows, are especially vulnerable.
The Western Kenya CDD and Flood Mitigation Project will provide technical support and funding for demand-driven, income-generating micro projects in 600 communities, including 200 projects earmarked for youth groups in Siaya and Bondo, Western Kenya. There is also funding for the fight against malaria. Over one million community members will directly benefit from CDD activities. Another 1,000 communities will receive support for economically viable investments which encourage the sustainable use of water and other natural resources in the upper catchment of the Nzoia and Yala river basins. The project will also invest in a flood early warning system and improved flood mitigation infrastructure.
"The Western Kenya CDD and Flood Mitigation Project supports key livelihood investments such as bee keeping, dairy goat keeping and poultry farming that can be managed by the most vulnerable men and women," says Robert Namunyu, the Regional Program Coordinator for International Christelijk Steunfonds (ICS) Africa—a Dutch non governmental organization working in Busia.
The Natural Resource Management (NRM) Project will be used to reduce Kenya's vulnerability to floods and droughts arising from mismanagement of water and forests. The project will strengthen key national institutions. It will also target communities in the critical Upper Tana catchment and key ecosystems in the Nzoia and Yala river basins, linking with the Western Kenya project.
Under the NRM project, communities organized in Water Resource User Associations and Community Forest Associations will benefit from funding to improve catchment management and efficient water use. As an alternative to forestry, communities will also receive support for asset building and income generating micro-projects which encourage the sustainable use of natural resources. About 1,000 communities will receive this assistance which will generate benefits for over 2 million people.
In approving the credit, the World Bank welcomed the Kenyan Government's initiatives to reduce depletion of natural resources, and to partner with the private sector and local communities to better manage forest, water and other natural resources. The Bank noted that these approaches are anchored in a sound legal framework in The Water Act of 2002 and the Forest Act 2005. They also welcomed the formulation of a National Land Policy—through a broad consultative process—that aims to guide the country towards sustainable and equitable land use.
The credits are provided on standard International Development Association (IDA) terms, with a commitment fee of 0.35 percent (currently waived for Kenya), and a service charge of 0.75 percent over a 40 year period of maturity which includes a 10-year grace period. They also include several transparency initiatives, enhanced fiduciary arrangements and support for proactive community monitoring of expenditures and results, aimed at ensuring that funds are used for the intended purposes.
Source: World Bank
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