Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania
Previous regional Katoomba meetings in Uganda (2005) and South Africa (2006) demonstrated that Africans have become increasingly interested in market-based conservation strategies, including payments for ecosystem services (PES). While a number of projects are underway, PES in the East and Southern African region primarily occurs on an ad hoc basis through small-scale pilot projects. Information, capacity to design and manage PES deals, and institutions to support on-the-ground implementation are all lacking and have hindered efforts to scale up.
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Yet, carbon markets, both regulated and voluntary, have grown very rapidly and offer opportunities for new investment in rural regions of Africa. The emergence of opportunities for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) makes it even more important for the countries to build their capacity in order to put in place a readiness strategy. In addition, East and Southern African nations face a range of water-related challenges, including pollution and threats to reliable flows from forested catchments.
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The 2008 East and Southern African Katoomba Group meeting offered an opportunity to discuss the development of both REDD readiness strategies as well as payment for watershed services schemes. The meeting also provided hands-on capacity building combined with strategy discussions about scaling up PES in the region.
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The 2008 East and Southern African Katoomba Group meeting took stock of both existing PES deals in the region that could be expanded or replicated in other sites, as well as potential sites for broadening and deepening payments for ecosystem services (PES) in East and Southern Africa.
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The meeting was focused on assessing the development and potential for PES initiatives in select countries within the East and Southern Africa region and exploring “proof of concept” related to PES applications within the region.
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The East and Southern Africa Katoomba Group shared findings from on-going assessments of PES in the region, including potential sites for scaling up PES. The assessments are one component of a longer process that aims to chart a course for expanding the number and reach of PES deals and engagements with environmental markets across the East and Southern Africa region. The end goal is to contribute both to conservation and rural economic development, including poverty alleviation objectives.
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The meeting brought together the full range of actors interested in markets and PES, including potential buyers, sellers, and intermediaries from throughout the East and Southern Africa region. It enabled an exchange of market information as well as ongoing learning about diverse PES policy and project models and the making of PES deals. The meeting opened with a "PES Trade Fair" - the first of its kind in East Africa. Sellers from the region exhibited the ecosystem services at their sites, and potential buyers were invited to meet with the sellers and explore potential PES deals.
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We look forward to more fruitful discussions on how to scale up PES in East and Southern Africa and how to shape a vibrant regional Katoomba Group network.