Lessons learned for improving policies affecting forest conservation and climate change adaptation in Kenya's water tower communities Key points • Biodiversity conservation and livelihood policies are poorly integrated, undermining the implementation of both. • National strategies for CC adaptation and mitigation follow traditional ministerial silos, risking the replication of problems associated with isolated portfolio approaches. • Successful ecosystem-based adaptation on Mount Elgon requires

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... greater cooperation between ministries, decentralized (local) governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and local communities to: -Integrate conservation (CC mitigation) and development (CC adaptation) objectives and activities. -Build coherence in spatial planning to achieve biodiversity conservation, watershed protection, disaster mitigation, and agricultural intensification across landscapes. • Decentralized governments have the potential to serve as coordinating bodies for jurisdictional EbA strategies and lead development of subnational CC initiatives.