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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