Our Projects

Civic and Democratic Governance

Uhai Lake Forum, with partnership support from the People of Japan, Amkeni Wakenya UNDP project is Implementing an Inclusive and Multi-Sectoral Response to COVID-19 and Addressing its Socio-Economic Impact in Kenya by strengthening the capacity of the Kisumu County Environment committee and Kisumu Court users committee to safeguarding the land, environment and property rights of vulnerable members of society in post-Covid-19. The project was pilot in Nyakach, Kisumu Central, and Seme sub-counties of Kisumu County.

Baseline Emission Inventory(BEI)And Access To Energy Assessment (AEA) -CLIMATE CHANGE PROJECT

Uhai Lake Forum is undertaking baseline studies for the three pillars, the development of a Baseline Emissions Inventory (BEI) that seeks to identify and prioritize sources of sectoral Greenhouse gases (GHG) within the County, the identification and taking stock of sectoral GHG emissions will provide vital data and information for sectors to establish long-term vision and objectives for emission reduction measures. Secondly, the Risk Vulnerability Assessment. Thirdly, the Access to Energy Assessment (AEA) to evaluate the population access to electricity and relatively clean cooking and proportion of the population without clean cooking access prioritizing on the other indicators; Affordability, Sustainability, and Security within Kisumu County.
Through     CoMSSA, with the financial support of the EU, Expertise France ear-marked Kisumu County as one of the first cities to gain technical assistance in the development and implementation of Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP). The Three cornerstones of SEACAP are Emission Inventory, Access to Energy Assessment, and Climate Change Risks and Vulnerability Assessment. These ‘triplet’ studies MUST necessarily synergize to enable SEACAP objectives to be achieved (developing robust climate change ‘ventilators’ both in planning adaptations and mitigations).
The current project is under the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa (CoMSSA) to produce and implement a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP), under the third phase of the CoMSSA initiative, which aims to strengthen the impact of the previous stages and more specifically to unlock climate finance opportunities at the local level. The project is being implemented in Kisumu County by Agence Française d’Expertise Technique Internationale (Expertise France).
The survey is supported and funded by Expertise France in partnership with the County Government of Kisumu (CGK) and elaboration and implementation of a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP).

Justice and Peace

Peace and Justice Project supported by CAFOD seeks to address t community conflicts within the borders of Nyanza and rift valley provinces by improving harmony and cohesion among communities. The project expects to empower youth on conflict mitigation strategies and as peace ambassadors.
The forms of violence that have been experienced in Kisumu county include political violence, which was mainly observed after the 2007 elections, interethnic violence has erupted in the past due to different persuasions, and political affiliations and other forms of violence witnessed include fighting over land and natural resources. Immediately After the 2007 elections, the government enacted policies to promote the peaceful coexistence of communities in Kenya. These include the draft national Peace policy and the national cohesion and integration policy; other government guidelines include the new constitution, land reform policy, police reforms program, and agenda 4 of the national accord. This project, therefore, anticipates achieving the objects of these policies.
 The project works with the youth, women, and elders to effectively participate in the new devolved system of governance and in political representation. Key activities include voter and civic education, peace forums, tree planting for peace, community debates to help foster peaceful coexistence through government and Non- governmental structures-constituency and district peace committees.

Environment

Uhai Lake Forum is involved in various environmental conservation activities within the Lake Victoria Region. A major tree-planting initiative within the Lake Region included the Greening Rusinga Island initiative, where close to 1 million trees were planted along Lake Victoria's beaches. Several community tree nurseries were developed where the community obtains their seedlings during annual tree planting events. Annually, we mobilize community participation in the Global World Environment Days every 5th June to undertake environmental talks, cleanups, tree planting, water Hyacinth removal, and waste recycling. We also carry out exhibitions on environmental conservation initiatives such as solar cookers for cooking, briquettes for cooking fuel, and the promotion of energy-saving ceramic cookstoves(Uhai stoves).
Partners in this undertaking are ICRAF-World Agroforestry Centre, LVEMP, NEMA, UNDP, ACTS, Solar Cookers International, LVRLAC, WRMA, local schools, and CBOs. We also partner with an International Environmental Conservation Organization based in Seattle, Washington (USA) for a six-month environmental training program for youth.

Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

The climate change adaptation and mitigation project came from an earlier study done by Uhai Lake Forum through JICA and WRMA in 2009. The initial study done in 24 flood-prone villages in the Kano plains resulted in a community action plan to mitigate floods. The action plans called for support from relevant partners to assist its implementation. The African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), in partnership with Uhai Lake Forum in the year 2010, undertook Action Research and piloted an adaptation to climate change in Kano plain in Western Kenya. The adaptation tool used is Local Options for Communities to Adapt and Technologies to enhance capacity (LOCATE) methodology to document the findings. The project was carried out in Oyola and Wakesi villages in Kisumu County, whose communities have been vulnerable to the effects of the flood. The communities' local options for enhancing adaptive capacity include constructing water pumps and planting sweet potatoes, grafting mangoes, and promoting renewable energy cookstoves.
UHAI also collaborated with KARI to promote indigenous food crops and enhance the cultivation of drought-resistant varieties.

Annual Lake Victoria Day Advocacy Project

Uhai annually organizes the Lake Victoria Day Advocacy Forum from 12th –14th April at selected beaches and catchment areas within the Lake Victoria basin. This was a recommendation of the 1999 elders’ forum resolution to commemorate on an annual basis the importance of Lake Victoria and its resources and the livelihoods of the communities in the Lake Region. The forum carries out sensitization, field visits, advocacy, and follow-up of movements to support water, fishery, land, and other natural resource conservation within the river and lake basins.
Lake Victoria Day commemoration was conceived in the year 2000 and is a regular platform for awareness, discussions, advocacy, lobbying, and capacity building of the local communities and resource users to shoulder their responsibilities on natural resource governance and conservation.
This forum brings together various stakeholders in the Lake Victoria region, including different resource user groups, i.e., fisherfolk, farmers, water users, local traders, researchers, CSOs, representatives from the Government (Provincial administration), civic leaders, elders, teachers, and miners to reflect on activities, ideas, and issues that affect the lake basin and its people. The forums offered an opportunity for local communities to raise and discuss their issues, propose policy directions but also enabled the development organizations and government to explain policy issues, their current interventions, and planned program of activities.
Thematic areas are developed and discussed to address poverty, conserve endangered natural resources, and emerging issues within the context of “Livelihoods at Risk,… The forum receives support from a number of partners and the community. Major partners are LVEMP, ActionAid, WRMA, UNWOMEN, VI-agroforestry, KNDF, KLA, and the fisheries department, among others.