Restoring Kenya’s Nyando River catchment: how Trust 2 Impact connects landscapes, livelihoods and long-term finance

In western Kenya, the Nyando River catchment stretches from the highlands of Nandi County, down towards Lake Victoria. It is a landscape where farming, water and livelihoods are closely connected. However, flooding, land degradation and changing rainfall patterns have reduced arable land and are putting growing pressure on water and food security for many communities living within the catchment. Trust 2 Impact, supported by Partners for Water, aims to address these challenges through a systems approach combined with innovative financing models.

Working together with local communities, governments, knowledge institutions and partners, the initiative is developing a long-term programme for landscape restoration. Pilot activities are currently taking place in the Nyando River catchment, with a focus on agroforestry and riparian rehabilitation. We spoke with Ed Vermeulen, Managing Director of Trust 2 Impact and local community member Maurice Onyango to explore how the challenges are experienced on the ground and how Trust 2 Impact is working to address them.

Living in the middle of the catchment

Maurice is a small-scale farmer from the Awasi area in the Nyando River catchment. Like many others in his community, his livelihood depends directly on the land and on the river that runs through it. Located between the highlands upstream and Lake Victoria downstream, the area is increasingly affected by seasonal flooding. During periods of heavy rainfall, water from the upper catchment flows rapidly downstream. “We are in the middle,” Maurice explains, “when it rains in the mountains, the river breaks its banks and washes away homesteads, livestock and crops.”

Until a few years ago, farming could still provide some extra income. “With the continuous flooding, the size of the farm has been reduced,” Maurice says. “We used to sell produce. Now most people farm mainly for family survival.”

The effects of climate change also affect Lake Victoria itself. Invasive water hyacinth, thriving under current climate conditions, has taken over large parts of the shoreline. “It blocks fishermen and affects the fish we used to have,” Maurice shares. “We used to get big fish that could feed several homesteads. Today we get only very small ones.”

From ambition to action

Trust 2 Impact set out with the ambition to address the interconnected challenges of water and food systems across the wider Lake Victoria region, driven by the conviction that fragmented, short-term interventions are insufficient for complex, systemic problems. As the programme developed, however, the team realised that this broad scope was difficult to operationalise. “At first our scope was too wide,” says Ed. “All the investors believed in the aspiration, none of them believed such a scope was manageable from the start.”

As a result, Trust 2 Impact chose a clearly defined starting point: the rehabilitation of the Nyando River catchment. The programme is starting with pilot activities focused on agroforestry and riparian rehabilitation, aimed at restoring degraded land, reducing upstream flood risks and improving soil and water conditions. The ambition is to restore 60,000 hectares.

“In parallel, we are developing financing models that can support long-term investment in catchment restoration,” Ed adds. “We aim to bring different types of funders together in a way that safeguards the social purpose of the programme. The idea is that those who create value through ecosystem restoration benefit most, and that these models can be replicated as the approach scales to other regions.”

Working with complexity: applying a systemic approach

According to Ed, the challenges facing the Nyando River catchment are not isolated problems but interconnected systemic issues that need to be addressed at ecosystem scale. “When ecosystems are under pressure, communities become more vulnerable and resources start to run out. That is why you must address the root causes,” he says. “Our systems approach allows us to look at the rehabilitation of an entire ecosystem with all its complexity. But this requires moving beyond organisational silos.”

He adds that this type of collaboration does not always come naturally. “We are so used to working within the protective walls of our own silo,” he notes. “The entire approach is rooted in trusted collaborations, involving all levels of society, where partners work together on one shared mission and shared key performance indicators.”

Communities at the heart of value creation

“The community has received our programme with open arms,” says Ed. “They participate in all the meetings where we ask for their input.” This involvement reflects Trust 2 Impact’s approach, which places communities at the centre of the programme and views engagement as an ongoing, iterative process.

When Trust 2 Impact was first introduced in Awasi, the response from the people was hopeful. “The first thing that came to my mind was that help is on the way to stop the flooding,” Maurice recalls. “They gave us tree seedlings along the river and for agroforestry,” he explains. “They also gave us fruit seedlings, and agronomists showed us how to plant and take care of them.”

According to Maurice, this initial support is already making a difference. “The information and technical input we receive has helped put food on the table,” he says. “We can see better harvests.” For Trust 2 Impact, this link between restoration and shared benefit is fundamental. “In our regenerative enterprise, we are all shareholders,” Ed explains.

Success measured beyond numbers

In the end, success will be measured across social, environmental, economic and governance dimensions. “When communities can lift themselves out of poverty and ecosystem functions are restored, we know we are on the right path,” says Ed. For Maurice, success is tangible and immediate. “When flooding stops, the land that was lost to water can be reclaimed,” he says. “That means a larger area to farm, and an abundance of food.”

This is the first of a series of three articles. Stay tuned for more in-depth insights.