Agriculture can make use of peatlands
without draining
TITUS WAMAE REGIONAL POLICY AND ADVOCACY OFFICER OFFICE: EASTERN AFRICA
such projects to be included in the country’s future climate change commitments.
Who is Titus? My name is Titus Wamae. I work for Wetlands Internation- al as the Regional Policy and Advocacy Officer in Eastern Africa supporting programmes in South-Sudan, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda since 2016. The programmes include Partners for Resilience (PfR) II, Watershed-Empow- ering Citizens, and Mangrove Capital Africa among others. I am a certified Environmental Impact Assessment/Audit Expert and hold a Master’s Degree in Environmental Law, Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Science and a PGD Environmental Journalism and Communication. Currently I am enrolled for a PhD in Environmental Law at the University of Nairobi. In 2010, I was honoured with the prestigious Kenya Head of State’s Commendation (HSC) presidential award by the President of the Republic of Ken- ya as recognition by the state for my contribution to envi- ronmental conservation and community development.
Assembly; civil society organisations such as Eye of Mercy, the War Widow Women Association; NGOs, the youth (mo- nyimijis) president; community representatives from nine payams/villages; and the private sector. KWWG is chaired by the Director General, State Ministry of Health and Environment and acts as the steering com- mittee for the development of the Kinnaite Wetlands Man- agement Plan to ensure sustainable wise use the Kinnaite wetlands resources.
Partners Greifswald University
Many peatlands are unlikely ever to be given over entirely to nature. So an important aspect of successful peatland conservation is finding ways to make productive agricultur- al use of them without draining. In 2019, we worked with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization on strategies for helping peatland people grow new “wet crops”, a tech- nique known as paludiculture. Wet crops can include reeds for biomass burning, moss for horticulture, and in tropical regions such as Indonesia the cultivation of medicinal plants. One enticing possibility is growing swamp jelutung, a tree that produces a latex valua- ble in dentistry and for making chewing gum. It is reckoned to be potentially a more valuable crop than oil palm. During the year, we worked to include incentives for palu- diculture in the Common Agricultural Policy of the Europe- an Union, where drained peatlands contribute up to a quar- ter of agricultural emissions; in Russia, where we organised a round table to further ideas; and in Indonesia, where the government’s peatland restoration plans are unlikely to succeed without considering the needs of locals.
Institute of Forest Science Michael Succow Foundation
Ministry of Natural Resources and environment of Russian Federation
Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
What is the nicest thing about working at Wetlands International?
The Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Tourism
One of the things I love at Wetlands International is that we share a lot of information and knowledge with each other around the network. There is always someone available for consultation on a specific topic. Another thing is that we work with a clear focus, vision and mission. What do you want to achieve in 2020? The PfR programme ends in 2020. My main achievement would be my contribution in building community resil- ience against disasters and livelihood improvement in PfR focus areas in Kenya, South Sudan, and the Horn of Africa through community institutional and capacity strengthen- ing, lobbying and advocacy on policy formulation and im- plementation, risk-sensitive investments and practice.
Donors International Climate Initia- tive of the Federal Ministry for the Environment Japan Fund for Poverty Re- duction funds Managed by the Asian Development Bank Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the funds managed by the KFW bank
What was your biggest personal work achievement in 2019?
I facilitated the establishment of Kinnaite Wetlands Work- ing Group (KWWG) in Torit State in South Sudan. This is a multi-stakeholder forum that provides a platform to discuss wetlands management issues affecting the Kinnaite Water- shed. The forum is comprised of representatives from sen- ior Torit State government officials; members of the Health and Environment Committee of Torit State Legislative
For the entire list see Annex
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Wetlands Annual Review 2019
Wetlands Annual Review 2019
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