Last updated: June 2024
The Nyashishi wetland is located on the western side of Lake Victoria some 15 km from Mwanza, a port city of the lake. The area is characterized by a double maxima rainfall, with heavy rains occurring during October to December. The wetland is traversed by the Nyashishi River, which is an intermittent river draining stormy waters and domestic waste water into Lake Victoria. Increased human socio-economic activities in Mwanza, such as horticulture, overgrazing and discharge of industrial effluents, have degraded the Nyashishi wetland. As a result, vegetation specifically elephantiasis and papyrus that used to flourish in the wetland and provide fish breeding grounds have disappeared. The crocodiles, large lizards and a host of other creatures that used to populate those areas cannot be seen today. Since the wetland and the river are part of the Lake Victoria Basin, both have been subjected to floods and droughts, impacting livelihoods, public health and the environment. The root causes of floods are irregular seasonal and year to year variability in rainfall patterns, combined with mismanagement of land and water resources, leading to soil erosion and increased run-off. Therefore restoration efforts in the area are much needed. (1, 5)
https://www.sportencommun.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/brochure-secca-tanzania.pdf
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- In-land wetlands, peatlands, swamps, and moors
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Green space creation and/or management
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Environmental education
Focus
Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas, Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Improved governance of green or blue areas
Project objectives
The project's primary objective was to contribute to the conservation of Nyashishi wetland with the view of restoring fish breeding grounds and prevent biodiversity loss under a vision of fighting climate change, and protecting and restoring natural biodiversity for social economic sustainability. This project also intended to contribute to the restoration of the Nyashishi wetland through strong advocacy, awareness creation actions, grass seeding and planting of indigenous trees.In this sense, the specific objectives of the intervention were:
1. Reducing the destruction of the wetland
2. Reduction of the soil erosion (in direct connection with agricultural work in the region)
3. Creating awareness for the marginalised communities that inhabit the area
4. Empowering local communities in environmental activities.
5. Enhancing capacity building for fisherfolks to manage marine resources in a sustainable manner
6. Plant indigenous trees (1,2,3)
Implementation activities
The wetland has two distinct components: an extensive floodplain and a permanent swamp abutting the waters of the Mwanza Gulf. The Wetland is compact, surrounded by hills, with a relatively well-defined edge. It has one obvious seasonal river inflow, the Nyashishi River, subtending two different vegetation zones, i.e. that of the floodplain vegetation and that of the permanent swamp. The surrounding communities have converted the seasonal wetland to agricultural and grazing land.
The project activities started in February 2014 and ended in December 2015. They included: organisation of workshops with the involvement of the communities in the area and planting native local trees involving local people (the number of trees is not mentioned in the sources). The objective in planting trees was to establish a forestation process applicable to the area, considering local species and climatic conditions (1,2).
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Implement measures that prevent/manage desertification, soil erosion and landslides
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
- Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)
- Public engagement
Main beneficiaries
- Non-government organisation/Civil Society
- Citizens or community groups
- Marginalized groups: Socio-economically disadvantaged populations (e.g. low-income households, unemployed)
Governance
Management set-up
- Led by non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Dissemination of information and education
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
Sustainable for Environmental and Climate Change Association (SECCA) is an NGO who implemented the project. SECCA started as a community-based organization in 2007. It was registered as NGO in 2012. The main objective of the NGO is to support marginalized communities to improve their livelihoods and conservation of environment around them. SECCA was supported in this project by UNDP through the GEF Small Grants Program. (1,2)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
€10,000 - €50,000
Source(s) of funding
- Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)
- Multilateral funds/international funding
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of labour
- Provision of expertise
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
- Other
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Environmental quality
- Improved soil quality
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Reduced biodiversity loss
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
1. SGP/UNDP (2015), PROTECTION AND CONSERVATION OF WETLANDS AT NYASHISHI ON LAKE VICTORIA IN MWANZA, available at Source link (accessed 10.09.2021)
2. SECCA (2015), Protection and Conservation of Nyashishi Wetlands Project Mwanza jan-December 2014, available at Source link (accessed 10.09.2021)
3. SECCA (2015), - Brochure, Protection and Conservation of the Nyashishi Wetland Project, available at Source link (accessed 10.09.2021)
4. (Please note that reference 4 has been used for geographical reasons to understand location of the wetland and surrounding communities) - The East African Community (EAC) Information Repository (EACIR), (no date), Summaries of research findings under buffering capacity of Wetlands sub-component, available at Source link (accessed 10.09.2021)
5. UNEP (2012), Lake Victoria Basin, a
2. SECCA (2015), Protection and Conservation of Nyashishi Wetlands Project Mwanza jan-December 2014, available at Source link (accessed 10.09.2021)
3. SECCA (2015), - Brochure, Protection and Conservation of the Nyashishi Wetland Project, available at Source link (accessed 10.09.2021)
4. (Please note that reference 4 has been used for geographical reasons to understand location of the wetland and surrounding communities) - The East African Community (EAC) Information Repository (EACIR), (no date), Summaries of research findings under buffering capacity of Wetlands sub-component, available at Source link (accessed 10.09.2021)
5. UNEP (2012), Lake Victoria Basin, a
https://www.sportencommun.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/brochure-secca-tanzania.pdf
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the UNA global extension project funded by the British Academy.