Gideon Muendo, the Co-Founder of SEMC, participated in a two-day workshop to develop the Taita Taveta County Climate Information Services (CIS) Plan that provides mechanisms for early warning systems in the scope of increased incidences of extreme weather events. The workshop was held on 21st and 22nd August, 2024 at Avid Hotel, Voi.

Muendo emphasized the importance of incorporating Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSPs) in the CIS Plan as it is critical for ensuring that climate services are relevant and effective. It’s worth noting that, IKSPs is deeply rooted in local environments and offers context-specific insights and practices that complement modern scientific approaches.

Accordingly, the integration of IKSPs with science enhances adaptation and mitigation strategies by combining time-tested practices with cutting-edge research thus creating more resilient communities. This supports the preservation of cultural heritage which in turn fosters greater community engagement, and promotes sustainable living practices aligned with long-term environmental well-being. Moreover, the integration of IKSPs and scientific data fills critical gaps in climate literacy. This synergy creates more accurate and reliable climate information, which supports better decision-making. Therefore, by recognizing and integrating IKSPs, local communities are empowered whereas their indigenous contributions towards sustainability are validated thus ensuring that climate actions are more inclusive and equitable, ultimately strengthening Taita Taveta County’s response to climate change.

Dr. Michael Wangai, a member of the SEMC, participated in the Elimu Tree Planting Day held on May 24, 2024, at the Upper Kabete Campus field station, University of Nairobi. Elimu Tree Planting Day is an environmental conservation initiative aimed at promoting sustainability and ecological awareness through tree planting activities. The initiative is part of a broader effort to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate climate change impacts. It is fashioned as a collaborative engagement between the University of Nairobi and the State Department of Higher Education and Research. Tree growing, as a strategy, aligns with SEMC’s efforts to combat climate change, enhance biodiversity, and foster sustainable development. This is premised on the vision for a sustainable and resilient environment where tree growing is an integral part of communal culture and development planning. It is on this basis that the SEMC strives to create a lasting impact that benefits both people and the planet by fostering partnerships and leveraging research and education.

Gideon Muendo, the Co-Founder of SEMC, participated in the “Gender Data Use for Policy Making Study Validation and Advocacy” study organized by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and Partnership for Statistics in the 21st Century (PARIS21), held at the Fairview Hotel on 29th - 30th May, 2024. The study explored gender data use across four (4) policy issues of interest, namely: (a) National Gender and Development Policy 2019; (b) National Policy for the Eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM); (c) Climate Change Act Amendment (2023); and (d) Makueni County Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Policy (2021). The workshop-styled engagement provided a platform for stakeholders to discuss the study’s findings, validate its findings, and advocate for the effective utilisation of gender data in policy making to ensure inclusive and informed decision-making processes in Kenya. Key lessons: (i) Gender statistics are important for raising awareness of the status of women and men, as well as guiding actions towards gender equality; and (ii) Communicating gender statistics is key to advancing the use of these statistics as evidence for policy making. In the context of SEMC’s mandate, the integration of gender data in climate change, environmental governance, and biodiversity policies is essential for crafting effective adaptation and mitigation strategies. Women and men often experience the impacts of climate change differently due to their distinct roles and responsibilities within households and communities. For instance, women in many regions are primarily responsible for water collection, agriculture, and household energy management. Additionally, environmental policies that incorporate the perspectives and knowledge of both women and men tend to be more equitable and sustainable. Correspondingly, women and men frequently have different interactions with biodiversity, with the former often being custodians of traditional knowledge related to local flora and fauna. The insights highlighted in the preceding text is evidence that gender data assists policymakers understand the different interactions among women and men and their surroundings thus facilitating the crafting of policies that leverage the full spectrum of knowledge and practices and gender roles within a community.

The MDP Program is a nature-based solution designed to sustainably seed, preserve, reap and substitute trees, while simultaneously adding shrubs of grass varieties, in degraded ecosystems. It is therefore, intended to reduce the long-term impacts of climate change in unappreciated landscapes like drylands by mitigating anticipated climate risks associated with enhancing the regeneration and recovery of biodiversity. In order to achieve observable positive benefits for adaptation, this intervention seeks to advance self-reliance for people living in the drylands of Kenya.

EAST AFRICA CIVIL SOCIETY SUMMIT 2023

SEMC Co-Founder, Gideon Muendo, participated in the East Africa Civil Society Summit 2023 held on 3rd – 5th May in Arusha, Tanzania. The high-level meeting was organised by the East Africa Civil Society Organizations Forum (EACSOF) under the theme, “Harnessing EAC’s Citizen’s Potential in Regional Integration Process”. The conference attracted participants from EAC Partner States, particularly Government, business, civil society, and development partners. Key discussion areas centered on:

• Agriculture and Climate Change— with focus on,“The Impact of Climate Change on Small Scale Farmers and The Role of Government in Supporting Adaptation and Mitigation
• Gender Inclusion and Participation in the Current Global Arena;
• Trade and Investment in the EAC Region;
• Embracing Civic Technology to Amplify African Voices; and
• Governance, Democracy, Peace and Security— Reflecting on The Realities If Civic Space in The Region.

SEMC signed a Memorandum of Understanding in “Research, Development and Innovation, and Training and Capacity Building” with the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) on 23rd August, 2021. The two institutions (i.e., SEMC and KEFRI) will work on restoration and conservation actions, as well as research and development, under the terms of the MoU. Natural Resource Management (NRM) technologies (such as biofuel regeneration and value-chain addition in vulnerable areas) and innovations for long-term biodiversity conservation and environmental protection are emphasized.

In response to an invitation from the County Government of Taita Taveta, the Sustainable Environmental Management Centre (SEMC) accepted thus attended the Inception Workshop to Develop the County Climate Change Information System (CCIS) on February 26th - 27th, 2024, at the Avid Hotel in Voi, Taita Taveta County. The topic of discussion of SEMC’s presentation was “Rediscovering Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSPs) for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Taita Taveta County”, and it was delivered by MUSYOKI Peter and Gideon Muendo. The address highlighted the importance of IKSPs in adapting and mitigating climate change, emphasizing the imperative for their rediscovery and documentation. In addition, the intervention underscores the intent of digitizing IKSPs and integrating them with modern science in order to tackle climate change related challenges in Taita Taveta County in a way that is more thorough and culturally conscious.

On 29th January, 2020, the Wangari Maathai Institute (WMI) hosted a seminar which featured the screening of a documentary dubbed “Thank You for the Rain” by Mr. Kisilu Musya and Julia Dahr — Mr. Kisilu is a farmer from Kitui county while Julia is a Norwegian filmmaker. In attendance was Gideon Muendo, a Co-Founder SEMC.

Building on lessons learnt from past experiences — i.e., the focusing of conservation efforts mostly on (i) ex-situ conservation of major food crop genetic resources and (ii) in-situ conservation of natural systems in protected areas; as well as the characterization of the resultant relative achievement of tangible results in both cases by the recording of serious limits and conspicuous outright failures — SEMC contends that dryland conservation strategies must prioritize people as end-users of genetic resources, whether for present or future generations. In this context, and in conformity with the precepts of the Convention on Biodiversity, the management of drylands depends on our collective ability to formulate and implement appropriate policies, as well as design and conduct appropriate field activities. The main objective is to maintain and restore dryland ecosystems through conservation, the sustainable use of biodiversity and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits.

Ecosystem restoration is increasingly being seen as critical to preserving biodiversity and stabilizing the Earth’s climate. SEMC creates and implements a multicriteria optimization approach for identifying restoration priorities in dryland ecosystems. It does so to improve the state of ecosystems by promoting healthy populations of all species, lowering the proportion of threatened species, and increasing nature's ability to provide benefits to people, known as ecosystem services. This process entails bringing back lost species that are found naturally in drylands.

The majority of the earth’s land surface has been impacted by humans, resulting in a loss of environmental function and services. SEMC works on a variety of programs that result in the rehabilitation and restoration of degraded landscapes using integrated and multi-sectoral approaches. This manifests itself in a variety of ways, including new tree plantings, managed natural regeneration, agroforestry, or improved land management to accommodate a wide range of land uses, such as agriculture, protected wildlife reserves, and controlled plantations. In this regard, SEMC recognizes landscape restoration as a critical step in restoring ecosystem health and functionality.

Climate change is not a future menace; it is already here. Climate change has caused more severe weather and natural catastrophes, as well as chronic dry spells and economic uncertainty. To complement the urgency of this disaster, SEMC adopts innovative and sustainable approaches that optimize nature’s ability to combat climate change while strengthening resilience in our most valuable ecosystems and vulnerable groups by working in collaboration with indigenous peoples and local communities. Climate change adaptation and mitigation must be integrated into policy, planning, and investment. The government, business, and community need to recognize the relationship between climate change and energy, water, agriculture, food, and health. SEMC conducts greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories and determines appropriate mitigation measures in order to develop emissions reductions masterplan.

Indigenous Knowledge, Systems and Practices (IKSPs) as well as practitioners’ knowledge can provide valid and useful knowledge to enhance our understanding of governance of biodiversity for human well-being. There is, therefore, a great need within emerging ecosystem assessment programs to develop working mechanisms for legitimate, transparent, and constructive ways of generating synergies across knowledge systems. SEMC presents the Multiple Evidence Base (MEB) as an approach that proposes parallels whereby indigenous and scientific information sources are viewed to generate different manifestations of knowledge, which can yield new insights and innovations through complementarities. MEB on natural resource management creates an enriched picture of understanding for emphasizing evidence-based and evidenceproducing models with respect to our overarching RECOGAplusSEM approach for triangulation and joint assessment of knowledge to facilitate practice change

Humans influence and are influenced by ecosystems. Thus, humans are an integral part of today’s ecosystems and fully depend on ecosystems for their wellbeing. SEMC is concerned about the human condition and its relationship with ecosystems (i.e., aspects of human/ecosystem interaction) especially regarding the role humans have in ecosystems and the latitude the human race should assume for manipulating ecosystems for its own purposes. The guiding principles informative of our evaluation (i.e., needs assessment and ecosystem analysis) centres on the objective and problem of balancing the short-term provision of or demands for goods and services by ecosystems and humans, respectively — including livelihood; vis-à-vis, the long-term requirement for persistence of ecosystems if they are to continue delivering the same opportunities for later generations.

We are emphatic that Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) should be used for more than just obtaining authorizations. SEMC employs ESIA to add value to initiatives by identifying alternatives and preparing them for the future by ensuring climate resilience and sustainability. In addition, we assess the impact of environmental initiatives on wellbeing and resilience outcomes in dryland ecosystems to inform future initiative design. This is done to better understand how the initiatives affects the outcomes such as household livelihoods, diversification of income generating activities, agricultural productivity and resilience to extreme weather and natural catastrophes.

SEMC has partnered with leading specialists in the field of technical training and course content allowing us to offer our clients programs that promote learning and optimize the impact of our mandate — i.e., Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSPs). In addition, our institutional support expertise ranges from advising on training and capacity building for institutions in Natural Resources Management (NRM), to hands-on field training and training of trainers to ensure a transfer of know-how and an optimal integration of projects into their environment.