Kenya 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Tourism Development (K10YFPSTD)

The main objective of K10YFPSTD is to support cooperation between all tourism stakeholder, the national and the 47 devolved County Governments of Kenya for the development and implementation of innovative projects and good practices in resource efficient and low carbon tourism planning to reduce loss of biodiversity, conserve Eco-systems, preserve cultural heritage, alleviate poverty, improve sustainable livelihoods and adaption to the reality of climate change by build climate resilience through sustainable consumption and production patterns, Eco-innovation, resource efficiency and innovative financing mechanisms for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the 47 Devolved counties of Kenya. The objective of the project is to build national, region and specific County Governments capacity for accessing innovative financing mechanisms and implementation of cost effective adaptation interventions focused on natural resources, ecosystems for communities, the tourism sector and biodiversity which are vulnerable to climate change in Kenya. The project will: 1. Support integration of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) principles and patterns in tourism related policies, objectives and frameworks for sustainable development. 2. Promote collaboration among all tourism stakeholder, the national and devolved county governments for the improvement of the tourism sectors SCP performance to promote data sharing and exchange of information, foster stakeholder collaboration and joint action, provide training and capacity building and establishment of effective monitoring frameworks. 3. Foster the application of guidelines, instruments and technical solutions to improve, prevent and mitigate negative tourism impacts to mainstream SCP patterns, among tourism stakeholders by developing integrated tools for use at tourist destinations and community based tourism enterprises, promoting research and priority issues along the tourism value and supply chain to influence consumer choice and behavior. 4. Enhance sustainable community based tourism investment and financing through innovative financing mechanisms 5. Enhance the national and devolved County Governments capacity to mainstream adaption using innovative financing into policy and planning 6. Demonstrate the use of innovative financing mechanisms to fund adaptation interventions. 7. Increase adaptive capacity and decrease sensitivity of vulnerable communities through low-carbon pilot projects K10YFPSTD Consortium has already set up a National Steering Committee composed of eight organizations and headed by the Chairperson supported by Secretary, Treasure and trust fund.. A lean Secretariat / Project Management Unit spearheaded by Rural tourism Network as the vision bearer has been established to oversee project coordination, protocol and systems development, technical expertise, knowledge management and learning. Regional Committees have been established comprising of regional tourism associations relevant County departments, key stakeholders and development partners to support and monitor K10YFPSTD Project implementation at local level. The K10YFPSTD Consortium is in the processes of: 1. supporting integration of climate change concerns into the 47 devolved County Integrated Development Plans (CIDP) and tourism development policies 2. Developing proposals on climate change risk reduction and adaptation for the Lake Victoria Basin Kenya, Mt. Kenya and the Kenya Coast regions with an aim to strengthen institutional and technical capacity for climate change response. K10YFPSTD Consortium Members have already started project coordination, protocol and systems development by providing technical expertise, knowledge management and learning in the Lake Victoria basin as a pilot region . The K10YFPSTD Consortium has taken an all inclusive multi-stakeholder systematic approach to enhance sustainable tourism development and operations by envisaging detailed attention towards rural and community based tourism development and ow carbon tourism planning as well as community based natural resource management, investment, operations & management, promotion & marketing, consumption and production of sustainable low carbon tourism products and services and effective monitoring and evaluation frameworks . This approach will be embedded within a cycle of learning, doing and continuous improvement. This envisages a detailed attention to tourism planning, investment, operations & management, promotion & marketing, consumption and production of sustainable tourism products and services, monitoring and evaluation. This approach will be embedded within a cycle of learning, doing and continuous improvement. All project components will be built upon this cycle. Awareness creation and collaboration will provide synergy with other programmes henceforward ensure constant exchange of information and knowledge to ensure shifts in consumer behavior K10YFPSTD Consortium Members have Achieved the following: 1. Development of guidelines for integrating SCP principles in tourism related policies, strategies, plans and legal frameworks 2. Conducted a situational analysis exercises in the Lake Victoria, Mt. Kenya and the Kenya Coast Regions to identify the current status of sustainable tourism policies and legal frameworks 3.Developed materials for awareness raising and multi-stakeholder engagement in sustainable policy-making and good governance approaches 4. Encouraged and enhanced a constant exchange of information and knowledge , enhanced and promoted collaboration, networking, joint ventures as well as development of cost-effective climate change adaptation and mitigation measures and project proposals to upscale adaptation interventions. 5. Instigated an Eco-innovative Pro-Poor Tourism-Led Social Enterprise Business Model with well defined benefit sharing mechanism to reduce economic leakage in the tourism sector and as a financing mechanism for funding climate adaptation and mitigation interventions in the Kenya Tourism Sector. 6. Demonstrated adaptation interventions focused on community based tourism, biodiversity and Eco-systems and cultural heritage preservation to reduce vulnerability of local communities. 6. The programme is in the process of supporting and building institutional and technical capacities of devolved county governments to enable them identify, implement, maintain, and upscale climate change adaptation and mitigation interventions 7. The programme is in the process of strengthening Target county Governments Knowledge base for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Community based tourism enterprise development and providing technical assistance for knowledge building on SCP principles and objectives in County tourism policies and legal frameworks 8. The programme is collaborating with 12 Pilot County Governments to develop realistic short- and mid-term rural and community based tourism operational plans indicating low carbon tourism planning, measurable outcomes, responsibilities and timelines 9. The programme is already providing technical advice to relevant stakeholders towards an effective implementation SCP and effective tourism policies and application of legal frameworks 10. K10YFPSTD Consortium members have developed performance indicators to assess long-term sustainability impacts of tourism policies and legal frameworks Interested stakeholders can get involved in this initiative by : 1. Enhancing the capacity of technical personnel of K10YFPSTD Consortium Members, The Secretariat / Project management Unit,and relevant National and target county government departments to implement adaptation interventions in the Kenya tourism sector, including accessing funding from innovative financing mechanisms. 2. Supporting the development of strong operational guidelines to reassure private investor that their money will be properly managed 3.Support assessment of the capacity requirements and constraints facing target pilot County governments to improve community based natural resource management and community based tourism enterprise development. 4. Analysis of sytematic, institutional and sectoral requirements related to climate change adaptation. 5. Analysis of the institutional capacity framework for the target pilot county governments in line with the global environmental management oblication such as the UNFCCC paris decalation on climate change. 6. coordination of activities involving use, protection and conservation of national biodiversity and enforcement of policies, regulations, and legislation affecting sustainable consumption and production patterns in the tourism sector. 7. Knowledge sharing and awareness on biodiversity conservation. 8. identifying potential funding flows that could contribute to financing adaptation in the future and establishment of innovative financing mechanism to fund adaptation interventions, including cost-effective adaptation interventions focused on biodiversity, ecosystems and cultural heritage preservation. 9. Support knowledge building and provide technical advice for the establishment and ongoing use of national and devolved county monitoring systems based on defined indicators to measure implementation impacts of sustainable tourism policies and legal frameworks and promote the communication of monitoring results 10. Provide systematic approaches, guidelines and background assessments which facilitate the integration and mainstreaming of sustainable consumption and production principles, practices and policies into tourism planning and decision making over long-term development horizons 11. Supporting the establishment of monitoring frameworks and systems to measure the tourism sector´s general progress towards sustainability 12. support research and exchange of best-practices and experiences