The Mountains ADAPT: Solutions from East Africa booklet showcases adaptation solutions proven to be successful in response to specific issues caused or accelerated by climate change that negatively affect mountain communities’ livelihoods and ecosystems. The publication includes Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda.
The event brought together 31 participants including representatives from the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat, the members of the Climate Change Technical Working Group (CCTWG) from the partner states and other key stakeholders from East Africa, and suggested establishing an East Africa Mountains Stakeholder Platform under the EAC.
Under the People Partner with Nature Program, which aims to "reduce the destruction of forested Kenya’s Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and contribute to the realization of best participatory forest management practices for the benefit of all", Nature Kenya is supporting communities in the Taita Hills to increase their resilience to climate change, including through the use of greenhouses as a solution to climate change and increased food productivity.
The Water for Eastern Equatoria (W4EE) project, implemented between 2013 and 2019 in the Kenneti basin, South Sudan, aimed to develop integrated water resources management that was conflict-sensitive, climate-resilient, and that contributed to different local sectors.
The Climate-Resilient Altitudinal Gradients (CRAG) project, from which this solution is part, was initiated in 2017 with the objective of strengthening local ecosystems as a means to improve resilience in a number of communities located at elevations above 1000 meters above sea level in the highlands of north-western Burundi. It aimed to decrease erosion and landslide risk through the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices on steep slopes.
This solution, whose implementation began in 2009, consists of using cow manure to generate biogas through household biodigesters, supported by the Kenya Biogas Programme. Its objective is to help local farmers reduce their dependence on firewood and fossil fuels as energy sources, thus reducing both the economic expenses for families and the impact on local forests resulting from fuelwood harvesting.