Aboud, Abdillahi A.

Mutinda, Mark

English

University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky UKnowledge International Grassland Congress Proceedings XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress Community Perceptions Concerning Key Ecological Resources at Risk in Baringo District, Kenya Mark Mutinda Egerton University, Kenya Abdillahi A. Aboud Egerton University, Kenya Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc  Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/20-1/9 The XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House This Event is brought to you for free and open access by the Plant and Soil Sciences at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Grassland Congress Proceedings by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu. 　 Multifunctional Grasslands in a Changing World 　 Volume Ⅱ 　 瞯 ]1005　 瞯Grasslands/Rangelands People and Policies ——— Institutional Innovations for the Conservation of Grasslands/Rangelands BiodiversityCommunity perceptions concerning key ecological resources at risk in Baringo district ,KenyaMutinda , Mark , A bdillahi AboudDepartment o f Natural Resources , Egerton University , P .O . Box 536 , N joro (20115) , Kenya , L ayne Cop pock , , UtahState University , Logan , Utah , USA 84322‐5215 , E‐mail : lnmutinda＠ yahoo .comKey words : Indigenous knowledge , inventory and monitoring , rangeland conservationIntroduction key ecological resources in arid and semi‐arid lands are often characterized by small patches of seasonal grazing andimportant water points that lend critical support to entire production systems ( Scoones , １９９１ ) . When these are lost ,production systems are badly compromised . The Baringo District of north‐central Kenya has endured decades of resource abusedue to breakdown of traditional system of resource management and conservation and increase in human population that putpressure on grazing and wood resources ( Little , １９９２) . The overall project goals were to map and characterize key ecologicalresources at risk throughout the district , this phase of study was used to : (１) identify the vulnerable and lost key resources inthe district ; (２) rank key resources in order of their degree of vulnerability ; (３ ) note major factors influencing vulnerability andloss of resources ; (４) suggest possible means of restoration .Materials and methods One hundred and thirty six key informants were interviewed from seven divisions in Baringo . Four of thedivisions were in the arid pastoral zones while three were semi‐arid agro‐pastoral zone . The repeatability in ranking wasassessed using Friedman摧s test , while descriptive statistics were used to identify the factors affecting resource vulnerability .Results Pastoralists were more concerned about the vulnerability of dry‐season grazing and water ( p ＜ .０５ ) , while agro‐pastoralists were concerned with water and cropland respectively ( Table １) . Overall water was found to be the most vulnerablekey resource .Table 1 key resources at risk , their descrip tion , and ranked vulnerability to loss by pastoral and agro‐p astoral communities inBaringo districtKey resource DescriptionOverall ranking on vulnerability to riskPastoral( n ＝ ７０) Agro‐pastoral( n ＝ ６６) Districtn ＝ (１３６)Grazing land Dry season grazing , swamps , depressions , valleybottoms , high elevation pastures １ 晻３ R２ 照Water Springs , rivers , boreholes , wells ２ 晻１ R１ 照Arable land Rainfed and irrigated lands ４ 晻２ R３ 照Livestock Cattle , sheep and goats ３ 晻４ R４ 照The communities identified climatic factors ( ９６％ ) , insecurity ( ５６％ ) , expansion of crop cultivation ( ４５％ ) , lack of grazingguards (２６％ ) , invasion of unpalatable bush (１９％ ) , sedentarization (１３％ ) , invasion of Prosop is j uli f lora (１３％ ) , increasedlivestock numbers (６％ ) and breakdown of traditional resource management systems (４％ ) as the factors influencing the loss ofkey grazing resources . Factors affecting water resources were identified as drying and silting of pans ( ９８％ ) , climatic factors(９６％ ) , insufficient sources of water (６６％ ) , animals using human water ( ５５％ ) , destruction of watersheds ( ５１％ ) , damageof water structures ( ４７％ ) , river changing course ( ２２％ ) , pollution ( １９％ ) , and overuse of water supplies ( １４％ ) . Landresources were negatively influenced by population increase ( ５１％ ) , riverine area cultivation ( ３２％ ) , increase in soil salinity(２２％ ) , scarcity of land for irrigation ( １９％ ) and soil erosion (６％ ) .The respondents when asked to suggest possible opportunities of restoring vulnerable or lost resources , they responded byplacing all the responsibility to the Government . This included that the government should develop new water sources ( １００％ ) ,provide more security ( ９８％ ) , restock herds ( ９４％ ) , control noxious bush ( ９０％ ) , employ grazing guards ( ８５％ ) , providefood relief (８２％ ) , and give title deeds to farmers (５２％ ) . In contrast , very few respondents ( only ２ to ８％ ) suggested ways ofrestoring key resources that involved community leadership or involvement .Conclusion The Baringo communities are well aware of the state of their key ecological resources . Their perception on thefactors causing vulnerability and loss of the key resources was found to be limited as majority emphasized on climatic factors butdownplayed important human influences such as population increase , sedentarization , and lack of traditional managementsystems . The opportunities suggested for restoring the key resources by the community lacked community‐led interventionsdepicting a dependency on outside help . Partnership between the government and local resource users are needed for effectiverestoration of the lost key resources in Baringo .ReferencesLittle , P . D . １９９２ . The Elusive Granary . Herder , Farmer , and State in Kenya . Cambridge University Press . London .Scoones , １ . １９９３ . Wetlands in drylands : Key resources for agricultural and pastoral production in Africa . Ambio ２０(８) : ３６６‐３７１ .

Community Perceptions Concerning Key Ecological Resources at Risk in Baringo District, Kenya

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Community Perceptions Concerning Key Ecological Resources at Risk in Baringo District, Kenya

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