53 / 100
53
hand, decentralization is from the central government
to the district directly, where district councils are in
charge of district level governance. Below the district
councils are sub-county and lower level councils,
which are supposed to facilitate effective community
participation. In Kenya, the management of natural
resources is decentralized from provinces to districts,
which enables participation of local communities
(Kithika, 1999; GoK, 2013).
The implementation of policies and laws on
sustainable development in the mountains of East
Africa has often been constrained by a lack of
human resource capacity, limited financial resources,
corruption, a lack of access to information, political
meddling and political instability at all levels
(Rwakakamba, 2009; NEMA, 2010; GVTC, 2014).
While there is a lack of policies with a direct focus on
mountain ecosystem management, many of the East
African countries have a number of sectoral policies and
laws that address issues relevant to mountains. These will
have to be properly integrated into the implementation
of a regional mountain agenda. Experience on the
ground reveals that there is lack of coordination and
collaboration among sectoral institutions and political
leaders. This tends to create rivalry and conflict in the
implementation and enforcement of the policies (e.g.
Wetlands policy, National Policy on Water Resources
Management and Development; National Land Policy,
National Agricultural policy; Forests Act). However,
it should be noted that institutional frameworks are
good; it is only distortions and misinterpretations of
the roles and responsibilities.
Civil society plays roles in lobbying and awareness-
raising on mountain development issues, and their
great contribution should not only be recognized,
but also built on in further pursuance of mountain
development issues and climate change.
It is important to note that mountain ecosystems,
cultures and economies are usually not contiguous
with international frontiers and domestic boundaries
created by central governments. Most of the
mountain ecosystems in the East Africa countries
transcend national borders. To be able to manage
such ecosystems as well as provide improved
community livelihoods, subregional approaches
are required either to complement or feed into
national programmes. In this respect, existing or
past subregional programmes need to be reviewed
to determine whether they fit these requirements.
Mountain communities on one side of the border
are often part of the communities on the other side.
This raises the question of national identity and the
affiliation of particular mountain communities to a
particular country. This calls for intergovernmental
cooperation. Cooperation between neighbouring
states is necessary for promoting the wellbeing of the
mountain peoples and ecosystems. This cooperation
can also promote peace between states and a
recognition of shared values and objectives (Owen
and Maggio, 1997).
The impacts of mountain ecosystems also extend
beyond mountain boundaries to the surrounding
areas. This brings in the concept of highland-lowland
interactions. Highland and lowland interactions can
be social, ecological, economic or political in nature,
and may include flows of resources, trade and people.
These linkages also need to be taken into account.
In addition, efforts have to be made to build the
capacity and awareness of mountain communities
to understand and appreciate the uniqueness and
importance of their native habitat. In particular,
Turmi market, Ethiopia