Upper Tana – Kenya

About the project

The Upper Tana project plants trees to stabilise the Tana watershed, a water source serving approximately 9 million people, while protecting iconic species such as African elephants, Cape buffaloes, and Leopards.

The Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund Trust supports smallholder farmers with land averaging 1.6 acres. The project helps farmers to design agroforestry systems, customised to their specific farm needs. Their initial agroforestry systems include fruit orchards, alley cropping, enrichment fallows, dispersed interplanting, and boundary planting. 

The Tana watershed is an important water tower and home to rich biodiversity. It is the water source for the capital city Nairobi and powers the Masinga hydro-power system which provides 40% of the country’s electricity. The watershed is also home to some of the world’s most iconic wildlife. This includes African elephants, Cape buffaloes, Leopards, Colobus monkeys and Mountain Bongo antelopes that live in the protected parks. By reducing the pressure on these species’ habitats, the project is increasing biodiversity in the area.