Restoration of sacred natural forest ecosystems for enhanced carbon sequestration
Although the Ntugi and Kivaa forests in Tharaka Nithi and Machakos Counties respectively are designated as sacred natural forests under the National Museums and Heritage Act, they are seriously threatened by illegal logging and agricultural use.
This IKI Small Grants project‘s goal is to collaborate with local communities and forest officials to restore the forest systems through various measures, such as capacity building for forest management and participatory planning. Additionally, the project includes the establishment of tree nurseries to cultivate indigenous trees and the restoration of 550 hectares of degraded forest areas. The target group includes adjacent communities, the Kenya Forest Service, and relevant county governments, with about 700 people benefiting directly.
The project aims to achieve sustainability and multiplier effects by leveraging indigenous knowledge and practices, establishing forest protection guidelines, and integrating multi-stakeholder platforms into county policies.
CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT
IKI Small Grants supports Institute for Culture and Ecology in their organisational capacity development through:
- Trainings for advisory board members on resource mobilisation and internal policy development
- Development of gender and youth inclusion organisational strategy
- Trainings on GIS and remote sensing as well as GPS machines
- Trainings on legal empowerment as well as research and documentation
ABOUT THE ORGANISATION
The Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE) is a Kenyan indigenous non-governmental organisation started in 2006 and registered with the NGO Coordination Board. ICE was founded out of a visible need to promote the inherent and natural role of culture in environmental and resource management in Kenya. ICE works with community groups and schools in Tharaka Nithi, Machakos, Meru, Murang’a, Embu, Kilifi and Kiambu counties. The organisations mandate is to promote environmental conservation and natural resource management through buttressing traditional knowledge in community-based environmental and resource management initiatives.