Today, on International Day of Forests, the groundbreaking Partnerships for Forests (P4F) programme concludes its journey with an event celebrating 1 million hectares of land sustainably managed, £375 million (63.3 billion KSH) of private investment channelled into forests, and 200,000 livelihoods benefitted.
The British High Commission’s Development Director, Leigh Stubblefield, today joined Murang’a County Senator Hon. Murango James Kamau and the Nyeri Town Member of Parliament Hon. Mathenge Duncan Maina, for a ceremony to mark the end of the programme at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi.
The P4F programme, which in East Africa works across Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar, aimed to create transformational change in traditionally environmentally harmful industries.
It used grants and technical assistance to support public-private-community partnerships that increase the value of forests, restore degraded landscapes, and support forest communities.
In East Africa alone, around one million hectares of land was brought under sustainable management. In Nyeri County, Kenya, for example, P4F has worked with the Global Coffee Platform and their country facilitator Kenyan Coffee Platform (Sauti Ya Kahawa Trust) to embed agroforestry into the coffee value chain.
The initiative upskilled 50 young people to become trainers on agroforestry best practices, reaching around 1000 farmers and establishing a self-sustaining community nursery in Nyeri County. This project exemplifies the programme’s commitment to engaging youth in sustainable businesses and implementing climate-smart agricultural practices.
The P4F closing ceremony and seminar will reflect this year’s International Day of Forests theme, ‘Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World’. P4F supports innovative nature businesses with social and environmental sustainability at their core – using models such as agroforestry, non-timber forest products, biodiversity credits, and more efficient use of existing agricultural lands. These strategies help create an environment in which smallholders have less incentive to encroach on forests, as forests are worth more standing than they are being cut down.
The event will strengthen networks within the forestry and sustainable finance sectors in East Africa, bringing together key players in the private sector, government, smallholder communities, civil society and finance.
In her remarks Leigh Stubblefield, Deputy High Commissioner and Development Director, British High Commission said:
“The Partnerships for Forests programme has shown that it is possible to protect and restore forests, tackle climate change, create better livelihoods and still make a profit. A UK investment of £8.8 million across East Africa has unlocked over £375 million in private investments, brought just under 1 million hectares of land under sustainable management, and improved the lives of over 200,000 people, of whom half are women.
“We are proud of what this programme has achieved by working in partnership with business, civil society and government across East Africa. There is much more to be done and we’re delighted to be launching a second phase of forestry projects in the near future.”
P4F East Africa Regional Director, Feker Tadesse, said:
“For every hectare of forest protected by P4F, for every dollar channelled into forests, there is a story behind it. More than 200,000 people have access to greater skills, support, training and income as a result of the innovative projects we’ve backed in East Africa.
“Collaboration is at the heart of P4F, and we’re very grateful for every person in East Africa who has contributed to the partnerships that have driven our results. One million hectares of forest has been protected and restored, and that’s all down to the cooperation between businesses, government, investors, civil society, and critically, forest communities.
