Who we are

FOMAWA is a registered non -profit organisation that is committed to reversing the degradation occurring in the Mau watershed. Membership of the organisation is drawn from within the watershed and is composed of farmers, government departments, saw millers and representatives of the tea industry. Recognizing that the degradation of the Mau watershed stems from a number of causes, FOMAWA has utilized the limited funds it collects from members and well wishers to raise public awareness of the issues confronting the Mau, support litigation against unlawful excisions in the Mau forest and lobby government to halt further excisions and amend its forest and environmental policies. FOMAWA is also actively involved in promoting forestry on public land and on large and small-scale farms within and beyond the Mau watershed.FOMAWA recognizes that some of the worst impacts on the forest and watershed arise from the depletive farming and resource extraction practices of subsistence farmers.The organisation appreciates that these practices arise from lack of information, organization and access to skills and resources needed for sustainable natural resource management. The mutually reinforcing roles of poverty and environmental degradation are recognized and FOMAWA subscribes to the view that economic development is an essential prerequisite for environmental conservation -only when farmers livelihoods are secured can they afford the relative luxury of caring about the environment.FOMAWA promotes conservation in the Mau watershed by adopting a broad approach that fully involves local communities as active participants and links the achievement of sustainable livelihoods with conservation of the environment.                                                                                                                        

Implementation Strategy

FOMAWA works in collaboration and in partnership with:-

• Relevant government departments
• Private sector (Tourism, Tea, Timber, Service and Manufacturing)
• Large and small scale farmers
• Primary schools and Institutions of higher learning
• Local communities living  around Mau Forest

PROGRAMME GOAL: To protect the Mau Forest, Conserve its valuable resource and sustain the environmental services it provides for the benefit of present and future generations.

Objective 1:  Effective protection of the Mau Forest against   
                     unwarranted excisions, disturbances and 
                     conversion to other uses.                                Objective 2: Reduction in resource extraction pressure on
                      the forest to sustainable levels.                       Objective 3: Rehabilitation of disturbed and degraded
                     areas within the Mau Forest.                            Objective 4:  Adoption of sustainable natural resource
                      management practices in the Mau watershed.