Mau fund gets Sh770m from donors

By NATION Reporter
Posted Sunday, May 9 2010 at 22:46

The Mau Forest restoration campaign has received a Sh770 million ($10 million) boost from donors.

The cash injection is part of the Sh7.6 billion ($99 million) needed to restore the forest, the country’s largest water tower.

A total of Sh539 million ($7 million) was pledged by the US Government to finance a watershed conservation pilot project in the upper catchment of the River Mara.

The European Union is expected to contribute Sh230 million ($3 million) for the Mau over three years.

Made pledges

The donors made the pledges during a forum that was attended by the government and the United Nations Environment Programme on Wednesday.

The appeal, launched last September, aims to mobilise resources for the rehabilitation of the Mau, which in recent years, has lost more than 25 per cent of forest cover.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the government had started the third phase of Mau evictions after repossessing more than 25,000 hectares of forest land.

Report Courtesy- Daily Nation