Kapkatet Wetland is a vital ecosystem in Kenya that supports rural livelihoods through the provision of various ecological goods and services. However, this ecosystem has been undergoing rapid degradation arising from...Kapkatet Wetland is a vital ecosystem in Kenya that supports rural livelihoods through the provision of various ecological goods and services. However, this ecosystem has been undergoing rapid degradation arising from competing land uses. It’s important to document these changes to obtain insights that can aid decision-making for effective restoration and conservation. This study, therefore, sought to assess the extent and patterns of land use and land cover changes in Kapkatet Wetland between 1986 and 2019, and their driving forces. The study followed a mixed-method research approach involving a combination of remote sensing and descriptive surveys. To quantify the wetland changes, remotely sensed imageries for 1986, 2000, and 2019 were utilized in classifying land use and land cover maps through the Maximum Likelihood algorithm. Household questionnaires and focus group discussions were used to obtain information about peoples’ perceptions of the driving forces of landscape change within the wetland. Results generally showed that Kapkatet wetland declined by 24.77% over the past years (1986-2019). Wetland vegetation declined drastically as open grounds increased while tree cover and disturbed reeds showed a fluctuating trend. These changes were majorly driven by land conversion activities within the wetland. The study recommends a community-based enforcement approach to existing laws and policies by both National and Local governments to curb the continuous loss of this wetland.展开更多
The Mau Forest has in the recent past elicited serious political and environmental debates regarding its conservation status, as the forest is fast dwindling and the repercussions felt widely across the country. The f...The Mau Forest has in the recent past elicited serious political and environmental debates regarding its conservation status, as the forest is fast dwindling and the repercussions felt widely across the country. The forest, regarded as the largest indigenous montane forest in east Africa, has been hard hit by land-use changes mainly extensive and ill-planned human settlements. To save the forest, the government has resorted to forced evictions of the settlers. We sought to understand the drivers and causes for the observed illegal settlements in the Mau Forest. To collect data, we conducted focus group discussions and administered household questionnaires on evictees in the South-West and Eastern Mau. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results of the binary logistic regression model indicate that Poverty (p = 0.000), Agricultural production (p = 0.000) and Land Given by Government (p = 0.018) contributed significantly to the prediction of people’s motivation of settling in the Mau Forest. In conclusion, population pressure, laxity in forest law enforcement and insecure land tenure and politics were identified as some of the factors that motivated the observed rise in illegal settlements in Mau Forest. Such information on the factors that led to the illegal settlements in Mau Forest would be useful for forest conservation policy makers and managers. It will be a basis upon which interventions can be undertaken to enhance sustainable forest management in Kenya and beyond.展开更多
文摘Kapkatet Wetland is a vital ecosystem in Kenya that supports rural livelihoods through the provision of various ecological goods and services. However, this ecosystem has been undergoing rapid degradation arising from competing land uses. It’s important to document these changes to obtain insights that can aid decision-making for effective restoration and conservation. This study, therefore, sought to assess the extent and patterns of land use and land cover changes in Kapkatet Wetland between 1986 and 2019, and their driving forces. The study followed a mixed-method research approach involving a combination of remote sensing and descriptive surveys. To quantify the wetland changes, remotely sensed imageries for 1986, 2000, and 2019 were utilized in classifying land use and land cover maps through the Maximum Likelihood algorithm. Household questionnaires and focus group discussions were used to obtain information about peoples’ perceptions of the driving forces of landscape change within the wetland. Results generally showed that Kapkatet wetland declined by 24.77% over the past years (1986-2019). Wetland vegetation declined drastically as open grounds increased while tree cover and disturbed reeds showed a fluctuating trend. These changes were majorly driven by land conversion activities within the wetland. The study recommends a community-based enforcement approach to existing laws and policies by both National and Local governments to curb the continuous loss of this wetland.
文摘The Mau Forest has in the recent past elicited serious political and environmental debates regarding its conservation status, as the forest is fast dwindling and the repercussions felt widely across the country. The forest, regarded as the largest indigenous montane forest in east Africa, has been hard hit by land-use changes mainly extensive and ill-planned human settlements. To save the forest, the government has resorted to forced evictions of the settlers. We sought to understand the drivers and causes for the observed illegal settlements in the Mau Forest. To collect data, we conducted focus group discussions and administered household questionnaires on evictees in the South-West and Eastern Mau. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results of the binary logistic regression model indicate that Poverty (p = 0.000), Agricultural production (p = 0.000) and Land Given by Government (p = 0.018) contributed significantly to the prediction of people’s motivation of settling in the Mau Forest. In conclusion, population pressure, laxity in forest law enforcement and insecure land tenure and politics were identified as some of the factors that motivated the observed rise in illegal settlements in Mau Forest. Such information on the factors that led to the illegal settlements in Mau Forest would be useful for forest conservation policy makers and managers. It will be a basis upon which interventions can be undertaken to enhance sustainable forest management in Kenya and beyond.
