Factors determining community participation in afforestation projects in River Nyando basin, Kenya

Factors determining community participation in afforestation projects were investigated. Data was collected from 150 respondents who were selected from a sample population of 1,928 households using systematic random sampling technique. Data was collected using a standardized questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Chi-square (χ2) test was used to establish the relationship between community participation (dependent variable) and socio-cultural, economic and environmental factors (independent variables) and also to test the strength of the relationship. The results of the study indicated that there was a strong positive relationship between community participation and the benefits obtained from the afforestation projects (χ2 α 0.05 = 0.000). There was also a positive relationship between environmental degradation and community participation in the afforestation projects (χ2 α 0.05 = 0.001). However, there was no relationship between community participation and cultural factors (χ2 α 0.05 = 0.824). There was also no relationship between respondents’ household status and community participation in the afforestation projects (χ2 α 0.05 = 0.156). The study concluded that for conservation projects to succeed, socio-economic benefits must be tangible to the project participants/ beneficiaries.Key words: Community participation, afforestation projects, Nyando river basin, Kenya

Spatial patterns of species diversity in Kenya

The most striking feature of Earth is the existence of life and the most striking feature of life is its diversity. Explaining patterns of species diversity is one of the most complex problems in ecology. This is because diversity is usually the outcome of many contributing factors whose relative importance varies with spatial and temporal scales. However, carefully framed questions about species diversity can provide insight into a wide variety of processes on spatial and temporal scales. This doctoral thesis investigates ecological processes responsible for the spatial variability of mainly species richness of birds and large mammals, and to a lesser extent plants in Kenya.Chapter 1 gives a brief general introduction on biological diversity, the aim of the study, description of the study area and the outline of the thesis. Chapters 2 and 3 introduce two new indices of diversity based on animal body size. In chapter 2, an index of diversity for large herbivores is derived from the inverse relationship between the body size of species and its local abundance. This diversity index has an advantage of incorporating information on species abundances without the need for time-consuming surveys. In addition, by estimating the abundance of every species from its body mass, differences between species are also incorporated in the proposed index. Chapter 3 proposes an index of diversity for large grazing mammals derived from a measure of variation in body size among species. This diversity index also has an advantage of treating species of different sizes as being essentially different. Practically, the two proposed indices (Chapters 2 and 3) may be ideal for rapid appraisal of large herbivore species diversity over large areas because species sampling is on the basis of presence and absence within a sampling unit.Chapters 4 and 5 focus on the use of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer-Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (AVHRR-NDVI) as a means of estimating relevant environmental factors influencing patterns of species richness at landscape scale. In chapter 4, species richness of vascular plants and large mammals were correlated with interannually integrated maximum average NDVI and its variability (standard deviation and coefficient of variation). Species richness correlated negatively with maximum average NDVI and positively with variability of NDVI. Chapter 5 demonstrates the relations between net primary productivity (NPP) derived from maximum average NDVI and biodiversity indicators (species richness and number of individuals). The biodiversity indicators related positively to variability of NDVI (standard deviation) and unimodally to maximum average NDVI, with highest number of species and individuals occurring at intermediate levels of maximum average NDVI (productivity). Given assumptions of the close relationship of NDVI to NPP and variability of NDVI to heterogeneity, this study concludes that both the productivity and spatial heterogeneity hypotheses are important in understanding the potential of remotely sensed data for explaining patterns of species richness.Chapter 6 explores the relationship between large mammal species richness and indices of habitat diversity derived using spectral reflectance from high resolution satellite (Landsat TM). The influence of spatial scale on the relation between species richness and indices of habitat diversity was also tested. Species richness related positively to habitat diversity and changes of spatial scale in calculations of habitat diversity influence the strength of the correlation with species richness. However, the influence does not change the direction of the relationship between habitat diversity and species richness. This implies that before starting to manage for high levels of species diversity, the spatial scale at which species richness are to be protected must be determined.Chapter 7 examines environmental correlates of bird species richness at regional (a quarter degree) scale. Mean annual potential evapotranspiration emerged as the overriding environmental factor influencing bird species richness confirming the hypothesis that energy is partitioned among species such that environmentally available energy limits regional species richness. In chapter 8, bird species richness is predicted from multi-temporal data of vegetation reflectance (AVHRR-NDVI) at regional scale. Species richness was correlated with interannually integrated maximum average NDVI and its variability (standard deviation and coefficient of variation). Species richness related positively to maximum average NDVI and negatively to variability of NDVI. Hence, the study establishes that maximum average NDVI relates to environmental factors favoring high bird species richness whereas variability of NDVI represent factors limiting the distribution of bird species. Since high maximum average NDVI may reflect stable vegetation cover, the study concludes that high bird species diversity occurs in stable and predictable environments in Kenya.Chapter 9 relates regional patterns of large herbivore species richness to remotely sensed data reflecting current ecoclimatic stability. The study reveals that high large herbivore species richness occurs in regions with current ecoclimatic stability. However, persistence of stable regional conditions may also have enhanced development of stable human cultures and agricultural development. Consequently, the pressure on nature is often particularly great in the biologically most unique regions. In view of this, distinctions must be made between stable and unstable regions concerning conservation priorities and management approaches.</p

Interpersonal Influences in the Scale-up of Male Circumcision Services in a Traditionally Non-circumcising Community in Rural Western Kenya

Promoting male circumcision (MC) is now recognized as an additional, important strategy for the prevention of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men, and plans are underway to scale-up this intervention especially in non-circumcising communities, with generalized HIV pandemic. This qualitative study identifies and characterizes the role of social and interpersonal factors in the scale-up of MC services in a rural non-circumcising community in western Kenya. Twenty-four sex-specific focus group discussions were conducted with a purposive sample of Luo men and women (15-34 years). Peer and youth groups, girlfriends and women, parents, and cultural political, religious, school leaders were identified as key influences in the scale-up of MC services. The study concludes that social and interpersonal forces create opportunities and constraints for scaling up the MC intervention. Planners of MC projects should therefore harness the power of informal networks and social structures to enhance community engagement, motivate behaviour change and increase demand for MC services

Psychosocial Factors Influencing Promotion of Male circumcision for HIV Prevention in a Non-circumcising Community in Rural Western Kenya

Male circumcision (MC) is now recommended as an additional HIV preventive measure, yet little is known about factors that may influence its adoption, especially in non-circumcising communities with generalized HIV pandemic. This qualitative study explored factors influencing MC adoption in rural western Kenya. Twenty-four sex specific focus group discussions were conducted with a purposive sample of Luo men and women (15-34 years). Perceived barriers to circumcision were pain and healing complications, actual and opportunity costs, behavioral disinhibition, discrimination, cultural identity, and reduced sexual satisfaction; perceived facilitators were hygiene, HIV/STI risk reduction, ease in condom use, cultural integration, and sexual satisfaction. To enhance MC adoption, community education, and dialogue is needed to address the perceived fears

Mapping the species richness and composition of tropical forests from remotely sensed data with neural networks

The understanding and management of biodiversity is often limited by a lack of data. Remote sensing has considerable potential as a source of data on biodiversity at spatial and temporal scales appropriate for biodiversity management. To-date, most remote sensing studies have focused on only one aspect of biodiversity, species richness, and have generally used conventional image analysis techniques that may not fully exploit the data's information content. Here, we report on a study that aimed to estimate biodiversity more fully from remotely sensed data with the aid of neural networks. Two neural network models, feedforward networks to estimate basic indices of biodiversity and Kohonen networks to provide information on species composition, were used. Biodiversity indices of species richness and evenness derived from the remotely sensed data were strongly correlated with those derived from field survey. For example, the predicted tree species richness was significantly correlated with that observed in the field (r=0.69, significant at the 95% level of confidence). In addition, there was a high degree of correspondence (?83%) between the partitioning of the outputs from Kohonen networks applied to tree species and remotely sensed data sets that indicated the potential to map species composition. Combining the outputs of the two sets of neural network based analyses enabled a map of biodiversity to be produce

Interpersonal Influences in the Scale-up of Male Circumcision Services in a Traditionally Non-circumcising Community in Rural Western Kenya

Promoting male circumcision (MC) is now recognized as an additional, important strategy for the prevention of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men, and plans are underway to scale-up this intervention especially in non-circumcising communities, with generalized HIV pandemic. This qualitative study identifies and characterizes the role of social and interpersonal factors in the scale-up of MC services in a rural non-circumcising community in western Kenya. Twenty-four sex-specific focus group discussions were conducted with a purposive sample of Luo men and women (15-34 years). Peer and youth groups, girlfriends and women, parents, and cultural political, religious, school leaders were identified as key influences in the scale-up of MC services. The study concludes that social and interpersonal forces create opportunities and constraints for scaling up the MC intervention. Planners of MC projects should therefore harness the power of informal networks and social structures to enhance community engagement, motivate behaviour change and increase demand for MC services

Sexual practices among unmarried adolescents in Tanzania

\ud Sexual activities are increasingly changing from the cultural point of view what they used to be. Knowledge of these practices among adolescents may be a basis to create awareness among adolescents on practices that involve risks. This study aims to assess sexual practices among unmarried adolescents in Tanzania. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among in-school and out-of-school but unmarried adolescents aged 10 to 19 in five locations in Tanzania. A questionnaire was used to collect information and to characterize sexual practices among these adolescents. About 32% of adolescents reported being sexually active; a higher proportion being males than females. The only inquired and reported sexual practices include vaginal sex, masturbation, oral and anal sex. About 15% of sexually active adolescents reported having multiple sexual partners. Significantly more males reported having multiple partners than females. Nearly 42% of sexually active adolescents reported having used a condom during most recent sexual act. Females reported older partners at first sexual act. Adolescents experience several sexual practices that include penetrative and non-penetrative. More males reported being sexually active than females. Despite adolescents reporting having multiple sexual partners, reported condom use during the most recent sexual act was low. We advocate for a more enhanced approach of reproductive health education that includes safer sex to adolescents without forgetting those in-schools.\u

Contraception and sexuality among the youth in Kisumu, Kenya

Background: A significant proportion of youth is infected by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections mainly through sexual intercourse, while the prevalence of unwanted pregnancies is rising. Objective: To describe knowledge, attitude and practice and factors influencing sexual relationships and contraceptive practice among the youth in Kisumu town in western Kenya. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study using a semi-structured questionnaire, key informant interviews, focus group discussions and informal conversations was carried out. The sample population of 388 youth aged 15 24 years was determined by simple random cluster sampling. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS computer package. Results: The majority of the youth are sexually experienced (73.5%) with most of the first sexual experiences occurring within the 15-19 years age group. There is a high level of knowledge (99.2%) of contraceptive methods and a positive attitude towards contraception. However, the level of contraceptive use is relatively lower (57.5%) even for the sexually active. Factors influencing this practice are associated with the individuals background as well as health delivery systems and policy. Conclusion: There is a wide disparity between contraceptive knowledge and practice, which needs to be bridged. There is need to review policies and practices regarding reproductive health, sexuality and family life education. African Health Sciences 2002; 2(1): 33-3

Body size and measurement of species diversity in large grazing mammals

Species are by definition different from each other. This fact favours ranking rather than additive indices. However, ecologists have measured species diversity in terms of species richness, or by combining species richness with the relative abundance of species within an area. Both methods raise problems: species richness treats all species equally, while relative abundance is not a fixed property of species but varies widely temporally and spatially, and requires a massive sampling effort. The functional aspect of species diversity measurement may be strengthened by incorporating differences between species such as body size as a component of diversity. An index of diversity derived from a measure of variation in body size among species is proposed for large grazing mammals. The proposed diversity index related positively to species abundance, indicating that the use of body size as a surrogate for diversity is adequate. Because the proposed index is based on presence or absence data, the expensive and time consuming counting of individuals per species in each sampling unit is not necessar