The livelihoods of East Africans largely depend on access to and protection of their natural resources, including wildlife. When those resources are threatened, poverty grows. Rising temperatures, fluctuating rainy seasons and extreme weather events affect many in the region, especially those engaged in agriculture, fishing and pastoralism. These factors diminish incomes and impair access to food, health care, electricity, safe drinking water and sanitation services – undermining and potentially reversing development progress.

Watershed conservation contributes to the long-term sustainability of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. Protecting watersheds and free-flowing river systems, lakes, streams, intact wetlands, and groundwater recharge areas not only bolsters ecosystem resilience, but also helps protect WASH infrastructure from the impacts of natural disasters.

Water is a vital resource not just for humans, but also for a variety of aquatic ecosystems, including wetlands, watersheds, rivers, estuaries and coastal areas. The misuse and over-exploitation of water resources is hastening their degradation, and threatening human settlements and the natural resources they depend on.