Giving a lifeline to the critical Cherangani water tower in Kenya 

By Caroline Chebet and John Mwacharo 

Barnabas Ngesemwo stands at the precipice of the valley facing the Kiptaber forest. His face, seemingly lined with tales and time, turns towards a hill perched on the furthest end of the forest. 

“On the far end is Kiptaber Hill. It has many stories linked to the existence of the Cherangani as indigenous people. Why we are here as a community”, Ngesemwo says while pointing to the hill with his walking stick, a testament to his years as the community’s Council of Elders chairman. 

Ngesemwo’s many tales refer to Kiptaber Hill. His tales seem to paint delicate yet close links to the forest, which he is worried are slowly disappearing in the face of what the community terms wanton degradation. 

“We still want to see the fog creeping out of Kiptaber and engulfing the forest in a shroud of white. We want to experience the rains from Kiptaber so our crops can grow and rivers can flow again. We want to see the forests lush again so that the women can collect the herbs and medicine for the community”, Ngesemwo says, his voice trailing off.   

Kiptaberr Forest, one of thirteen fragments of the Cherangani Hills Forest water tower spanning Trans-Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties, is part of a montane global biodiversity hotspot and Key Biodiversity Area (KBA). Cherangani, vital for biodiversity and local communities, provides critical ecosystem services as a water catchment for the Kerio Valley (Lake Turkana) and Lake Victoria Basins, supporting domestic use, irrigation, industry, and hydropower. Restoration efforts are essential to protect its unique and endangered species, such as De Brazza’s Monkey, Crowned Eagle, Mountain Bongo, Bearded Vulture, and to sustain the communities relying on this lifeline. 

The situation in Kiptaberr reflects a broader trend across the Cherangani ecosystem. Forest degradation, driven by rising poverty and increased encroachment for settlement, farming, timber, charcoal, firewood, and grazing, threatens the quality and quantity of essential ecosystem services, particularly water resources, despite the Indigenous communities’ deep connection to the forest. 

Local women say that local herbs, a part of traditional medicine, are slowly disappearing, a trend that they find worrying. 

“Unlike in the 1970s, 80s and early 90s, where we could easily get the herbs without going deeper into the forests, it is becoming challenging. This is because of rampant felling of trees whose parts are vital to medicine,” Caroline Kiplangat, the treasurer of the Cherangani Cultural Group, says. 

Caroline says that while the elders dispensed a set of unwritten rules to protect the forests some years ago, the rules are no longer being applied, and illegal tree felling and forest land clearing have led to significant ecosystem degradation. 

“The forests are degraded because people are getting in randomly and cutting down trees prohibited by the elders. Some of these rare trees are sadly used to produce charcoal”, she notes. 

The forests and hills within the Cherangani ecosystem are also sources of food, firewood, and traditional medicine, and they are highly culturally significant to Indigenous communities. 

To the local communities, not only the disappearing trees and herbs are alarming. They also say unpredictable weather patterns, intense droughts, and floods are worrying. 

“Indigenous weather forecasting knowledge is on the verge. Traditional weather forecasters can no longer predict anything right. This is because of the significant changes that have altered the local weather patterns,” Solomon Cherongos, the coordinator of Cherangani Indigenous People, says. 

Solomon says unpredictable weather patterns, coupled with the degradation of the landscapes due to poor farming practices and tree felling in Cherangani, have affected several communities in the past few years.  

“Almost five years ago, we experienced massive floods that swept several homesteads. People have been clearing parts of the forests for agriculture and felling trees. We have also experienced prolonged seasons of intense droughts, a trend not often common within these highlands”, Solomon says. 

Cherangani communities are, however, hopeful as a Global Center on Biodiversity for Climate (GCBC)-funded project takes root to restore rivers and forests in the Cherangani ecosystem. Led by Nature Kenya in partnership with the National Museums of Kenya (NMK), Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), Kenyatta University, and the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), the project, titled “Understanding Cherangani Links to Human Well-being,” examines the ties between people, forests, biodiversity, and climate resilience.  

With additional support from TerraFund for AFR100, Nature Kenya is also engaging six community forest associations (CFAs) to plant 400,000 assorted indigenous trees across six state forests in the landscape. As of October 2024, the CFAs had planted 239,165 indigenous trees to restore 239 Ha of degraded forest landscapes. Over 300 locals are directly benefiting from the initiative, with a further 1,965 benefiting indirectly.  

Joseph Mzozo, the GCBC-funded project coordinator, says that the consortium of agencies will work together to identify highly degraded areas for restoration.  

“We are keen on the Cherangani Hills ecosystem because it is a major water tower that is heavily impacted by impacts of climate change. We are looking at how the ecosystem can balance the needs of the people it serves while maintaining its ability to provide ecosystem services in the face of climate change”, Mzozo says. 

He says the research project will also assess the ecosystem services, which will keenly evaluate the services the communities benefit directly from the forest. Restoration Opportunity Assessment and Mapping (ROAM) and Ecosystem Services Assessment (ESA) led by Kenyatta University with inputs from NMK, KEFRI, and Indigenous people have been initiated.   

“We want to look at the benefits that people are getting from this ecosystem. Are they increasing or decreasing, and how can we help sustain the steady flow of these benefits? We will then be able to identify approaches to ensure that the ecosystem regains its ability to provide the services and develop an action plan”, Mzozo says. 

KEFRI has constituted an implementation team of 29 experts to conduct socio-economic and resource assessments to inform the ROAM, ESA, and Participatory Forest Management Plans. In April, fieldwork and data collection on socio-economic and ecological assessments of the Cherengani landscape were conducted. The National Museums of Kenya, under the leadership of 16 taxonomic experts, also undertook biodiversity studies.  

Nature Kenya also conducted a water study in October to identify, map, and understand water dependencies upstream and downstream of Cherangani. The study involved consultative stakeholder meetings, focused group discussions, and key informant interviews with government officials, water and sanitation service providers, community forest associations (CFAs), and water resources users’ associations (WRUAs) across three counties (Elgeyo Maraket, Trans Nzoia, West Pokot). The participatory approach aimed to gather insights on water utilisation, abstraction levels, and the challenges these groups face regarding the sustainability of water access. 

Dr Paul Muoria, the project’s lead expert and a lecturer at Kenyatta University, says that once the cultural, social, and economic values of Cherangani have been established, it will be easy to create awareness among different stakeholders, including the communities. 

“Some of the ecosystem services we are evaluating include the water services used in homes and in industries that rely on dams and rivers within the ecosystem. We are also evaluating the goods harvested from the forest, such as firewood and fruits”, Dr Muoria says. 

Muoria adds that a report about the ecosystem services provided by the water tower will evaluate and value these services monetary. 

Locals are elated about the research currently underway within the ecosystem. The research project relies on them to provide data and indigenous conservation knowledge, which will be fused with science to inform what can be done to restore this ecosystem. Some community members have already been trained in data collection and will undertake surveys of the communities living around the water tower. 

“This research project involves us as communities, and we are working together with researchers to come up with solutions that will help us conserve Cherangani Hills forests better”, Cherongos says. 

The research part of the project is expected to be completed by March 2025. The results will then inform the following processes.  

^{Header image: A picturesque view of the Cherangani Hills forests © Caroline Chebet}

Once the cultural, social, and economic values of Cherangani have been established, it will be easy to create awareness among different stakeholders, including the communities. Dr Paul Muoria, project’s lead expert

This research project involves us as communities, and
we are working together with researchers to come up
with solutions that will help us conserve Cherangani
Hills forests better. Joseph Mzozo, the GCBC-funded project coordinator