UNDP funds island conservation project

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is funding conservation projects on Rusinga island, according to a UNDP press statement issued on Wednesday. UNDP would fund seven separate conservation projects there costing US $350,000 over the next three years, it said. Rusinga is one of the larger islands in Lake Victoria, it said. The projects "will benefit women's groups, fishermen in the community, over 600 farmers, youth groups and 22 schools in the area", said the statement. The projects are also expected to increase tree cover by as much as 30 per cent by planting "one million indigenous trees". Tree cover on the island, "once covered by dense forest", is now "about 5 to 10 percent", according to the statement. The projects are part of the UNDP's Global Environment Facility/Small Grants Programme. "The Small Grants Programme on an annual basis initiates about 20 community-based projects throughout the country", David Maingi, the UNDP information and communications officer, told IRIN. Each project costs around US $50,000, he said. The Rusinga projects would be implemented through the local NGO Africa Now, while the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry would help in planting and raising of the seedlings, the statement said.