Payment for environmental services Laying the ground work

Abstract

This paper seeks to examine and assess existing and planned policy, legal and institutional arrangements of the East Africa Community (EAC) for implementation of Payment for Environmental Services (PES) schemes. It reviews the various instruments of the EAC and reveals that there are adequate provisions for initiation and implementation of PES in East Africa’s ecosystems. There are examples of PES being implemented in Mt Elgon on both the Kenya and Uganda side of the border, and the Mara River Basin on both the Kenya and Tanzania sides. In the latter, the PES framework is being developed and coordinated by the EAC and Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC). Payment for Environmental Services schemes are a potential approach to of sustainable management of the environment and natural resources, while ensuring sustainable ecosystem services to meet appropriate human and ecological needs in trans-boundary ecosystems of East Africa.