Digital monitoring for healthy ecosystem

Eden Environmental Association with other partners is committed to restoration of over 1000 hectares of highly degraded land within the lower River Malewa Sub-catchment. There is lack of baseline data and monitoring tools to help in assessing the ecological restoration efforts. Lack of data on existing biodiversity leads to the ecosystem not having no attached value hence the high degradation. The proposed project aims at embracing use of digital tools and technology to collect, collate and analyze data that will be essential in decision making, build capacity and promote citizen science to enhance biodiversity assessment and stock taking. The solution will enable proper valuation of ecosystem services and benefits to local communities as well as open up opportunities for nature based enterprises such as ecotourism and sustainable tree products like essential oils.(e.g. Leleshwa oil)

The UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) calls for action across the world to restore and reverse ecosystem degradation through various actions. The Bonn Challenge calls for countries worldwide to restore 350M hectares of degraded forested land by 2030.Kenya in 2016 committed to restore 5.1M hectares by 2030. Eden Environmental Association is targeting to restore 1000 hectares within the R. Malewa low sub-catchment . As restoration begins there is lack of adequate documented data on how the target ecosystem was 10-20 years ago and the current status inorder to assess the impact of the restoration in future. Thus the proposed project aims at addressing this gap of collecting, collating, analyzing, documenting and storing data that can be used 10 or more years to come. The local community also lacks capacity in ecosystem management especially when it comes to information and knowledge management which will be another essential gap the project will be addressing. The project targets a population of about 5000 persons who will not only benefit capacity building but the provision of information that can be used to attach a value to the ecosystem services as well as identify other opportunities that can benefit the community while enhancing conservation.

The project intends to address the identified problem by adopting use of digital ecosystem monitoring tools and citizen science. The project will use photo technology to document current ecological status followed by periodic documentation of ecological changes as a way of tracking actions that contribute to unsustainable natural resource use. The use of photographs will also help us develop an inventory/database of the wildlife in the project area that will help us monitor the numbers of wildlife in the area through which we will be able to identify ecological hot-spots and suitable strategies to address the challenges. This will be complimented by use of GIS and drone technology for comparative data.Setting up of permanent sample plots for annual biodiversity assessment will be set up and teams trained to collect data on annual basis.

Apart from the use of digital hardware for enhanced ecosystem monitoring, we will also use citizen science through training on the role of communities in managing their resources. The community will also be trained on how their role in natural resource management including community resource mapping,policing of natural resources and taking up alternative nature-based practices to relieve pressure on natural ecosystems. 

The project targets a local community composed of about 5000 small holder farmers and large scale land owners to develop a collaborative approach that enhances biodiversity conservation through promoting community based conservation actions in restoring community and private lands. The project will also loop in at least 1000 children under the biodiversity conservation training component data management and use of technology in conservation. The project will provide the community with an opportunity to diversify their livelihoods and improve their environment. With the target restoration land being privately owned, there has been no government efforts to protect this fragile ecosystem which hosts wildlife out of protected area and serves as a buffer zone for River Malewa which is the main feeder of L. Naivasha an Important Biodiversity Site in Kenya. Thus this project will provide an opportunity to provide information to both the County and national government which is essential for in policy making as well as in developing long term development plans.

The community has limited access to public services like health, infrastructure, extension services, markets among others. To better understand the community needs, we have been conducting community meetings and discussions to evaluate and map out community ecological hot-spots, resources, opportunities, problems and ways of improving service delivery in the community. Community representatives and leaders have been involved in getting suggestions from the wider community on potential nature-based enterprises that are suitable for the area. 

Reversing deforestation and promoting wildlife conservation through use of ground photo-monitoring, GIS and drone technology for rural communities; will help provide scalable and verifiable monitoring and data collection that will help track ecosystem changes in biodiversity conservation as well as identifying economic opportunities for the local communities as well as help in informed future actions to conserve the ecosystem

Investing in citizen science on ecosystem-based management of natural resources and natural resource community policing will help entrench community-based conservation in the area that is key to conservation of natural systems.       

ThThe solution has never been tried in the project area or locally which provides with an opportunity to put into practice. We hope to model future efforts for biodiversity conservation around it based on its success in the project community. 

Our solution cleverly infuses modern technology and local knowledge in management of natural resources. By employing community driven natural resource and ecosystem policing makes our solution unique in that strategies to manage natural resources are derived from data and information developed in a participatory way modeled on observable ecological changes.

Our solution uses community members to monitor their ecosystems through digital photography and collaboratively develop actions that are sensitive to local ecological, economic and cultural situations.  

The project targets a population of about 5000 persons who will not only benefit capacity building but the provision of information that can be used to attach a value to the ecosystem services as well as identify other opportunities that can benefit the community while enhancing conservation.

We hope to serve up to 10,000 people in the next 5 years

Full-time staff: 4

Part-time staff: 2

Our team is made up of individuals on natural resource management, community development, wildlife conservation,environmental  communication and advocacy and monitoring and evaluation. Our team members have been working in the field of conservation for a combined period of over 25 years with adept experience in community development and environmental experiential learning. 

Our team is led by a woman with  passion for conservation  and community development. We are committed to diversity and equity in terms of recruitment and allocation of duties. On our team of 6, four people are women with 2 being men. 

We need funds put our concept into practice and enhance our capacity in digital monitoring of the ecosystem. We wish to be a lead expert in this field and scale up the solution across Kenya

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MIT faculty and Solve Members