Gender differentiated preferences for a community-based conservation initiative

Community-based conservation (CBC) aims to benefit local people as well as to achieve conservation goals, but has been criticised for taking a simplistic view of "community" and failing to recognise differences in the preferences and motivations of community members. We explore this heterogeneity in the context of Kenya's conservancies, focussing on the livelihood preferences of men and women living adjacent to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Using a discrete choice experiment we quantify the preferences of local community members for key components of their livelihoods and conservancy design, differentiating between men and women and existing conservancy members and non-members. While Maasai preference for pastoralism remains strong, non-livestock-based livelihood activities are also highly valued and there was substantial differentiation in preferences between individuals. Involvement with conservancies was generally perceived to be positive, but only if households were able to retain some land for other purposes. Women placed greater value on conservancy membership, but substantially less value on wage income, while existing conservancy members valued both conservancy membership and livestock more highly than did non-members. Our findings suggest that conservancies can make a positive contribution to livelihoods, but care must be taken to ensure that they do not unintentionally disadvantage any groups. We argue that conservation should pay greater attention to individuallevel differences in preferences when designing interventions in order to achieve fairer and more sustainable outcomes for members of local communities

Decision to delivery interval of emergency caesarean section and associated maternal and neonatal outcomes in a county hospital in Kenya

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the decision to delivery interval and the associated maternal and neonatal outcomes at Thika level five hospital.Design: Ambidirectional studySetting: Secondary Level Hospital in KenyaSubjects: Four hundred and nineteen mothers who underwent emergency caesarean section and their newbornsMain outcome measure: Decision to delivery interval, maternal and neonatal outcomes.Results: The median decision to delivery interval was 248 minutes. Only 1% attained the recommended decision to delivery interval of ≤30 minutes. Majority of the participants (40.1%) had a decision to delivery interval above 300 minutes. Six percent of the mothers developed complications among which postpartum haemorrhage accounted for 1.9% (n=8), wound sepsis 0.7% (n=3), ruptured uterus 0.5% (n=2) and maternal deaths recorded were 0.5% (n=2). There was no significant association between DDI and maternal complications. Of the newborn admissions, meconium aspiration syndrome accounted for 17.6%, respiratory distress syndrome 17.6% and birth asphyxia 12.0%. Perinatal deaths recorded were 1.4%, fresh and macerated still births were 2.6% and 1%, respectively. There was a significance association between prolonged DDI and neonatal outcome (p=0.024)Conclusions: Decision to delivery interval at Thika Level Five Hospital was longer than the recommended. There was no significant association between the decision to delivery interval and the maternal complications and prolonged duration of hospital stay. Prolonged decision to delivery interval significantly influenced the neonatal outcome

The DesertMargins Programme Approaches in Upscaling Best-Bet Technologies in Arid and Semi-arid Lands in Kenya

Kenya’s land surface is primarily arid and AQ1 semi-aridlands(ASALs)whichaccountfor84%ofthe totallandarea.TheDesertMarginsProgramme(DMP) inKenyahasmadesomecontributiontounderstanding which technology options have potential in reducing land degradation in marginal areas and conserving biodiversity through demonstrations, testing of the most promising natural resource management options, developing sustainable alternative livelihoods and policy guidelines, and replicating successful models. In extension of sustainable natural resource management, two types of strategies were used: (i) strategies for the promotion of readily available technologies and (ii) approaches for participatory learning and action research. Thus DMP-Kenya initiated upscaling of four ‘best-bet’ technologies. Under the rangeland/livestock management options, scaling-up activities include improvement of rangeland productivity, rangeland resource management through communitybasedrangeresourcesmonitoring/assessment,andfodder conservation for home-based herds. Restoration of degraded lands included rehabilitation of rangelands using the red paint approach in conservation of Acacia tortilis, control of Prosopis, planting of Acacia senegal trees in micro-catchments, and rehabilitation of degraded areas through community enclosures. Improved land, nutrient, and water management involved upscaling water harvesting and integrated nutrient management (INM) technologies. Activities A.O. Esilaba ( ) Desert Margins Programme, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya e-mail: [email protected] under tree-crop/livestock interactions included upscaling of Melia volkensii and fruit trees (mangoes) and enhancing biodiversity conservation through support of beekeeping as a viable alternative livelihood. Participatory learning and action research (PLAR) was used for technology development and dissemination. Capacity building and training was a major component of upscaling of these best-bet technologies