http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/15705 2026-04-05T23:44:30Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/15690 IMPACTS OF VACHELIA REFICIENS AND PROSOPIS JULIFLORA ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES, ENVIRONMENT AND INTERVENTIONS IN SAMBURU EAST SUB -COUNTY, KENYA PATRICK PUREINA LEKENIT Invasive species have been known to have enormous environmental and economic costs. In Samburu East Sub-County of Kenya, two common invasive species in the region Vachelia reficiens and Prosopis juliflora have been observed to have spread widely. The resident community and the government are concerned about the extent of the spread and establishment of the species in the area. To address these concerns, the study aimed at analyzing their impacts on socio-economic activities, on the environment and the spatial variations of impacts, and effectiveness of interventions in place. To obtain quantitative and qualitative data, sequential explanatory mixedmethod study design was used. To achieve this, multistage clustered random sampling at each stage of the administrative units was used to obtain sampling design frame. Systematic sampling method was employed to get data from the household heads in each of the Ultimate Sampling Units. Structured research instruments were used to obtain data from 138 household heads, 10 Key Informants who were knowledgeable on the subject of the research, and 3 Focus Group Discussions comprising of mature persons of both gender knowledgeable on invasive species. Household heads questionnaire were pre-tested outside the study area. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index of 0.847 and Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of 0.891 confirmed questionnaire validity and reliability respectively. Observation and photography employed to confirm species impacts and the physical environment. Data from household heads was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while that of Key Informants and Focused Group Discussions was analyzed descriptively based on the dominant themes and narratives. To assess species impact magnitudes and efficacy of interventions measures, a perception count of a five-point Likert scale was used. The results show that impact of Vachelia reficiens were higher in magnitude than of Prosopis juliflora and the effective method of interventions was prescribed cutting. The results were statistically significant based on the chi square test analysis at p < 0.05. It was concluded that the two plant species have statistically significant negative impacts on the socio-economic activities; governance, livestock keeping, income and expenditure systems, local transport services and natural resource based conflicts, and environmental components; water availability, wildlife, land productivity, grasslands and natural regeneration of indiginous plants, and impacts differ over space. The variance between the impacts of the two plant species was statistically significant. The study recommends capacity building of communities and development of a management plan to guide on sustainable eradication of invasive plants and formulation of a policy. The policy to provide incentives, promote research, education, resource mobilization and allocations for the management of the invasive plants in the sub-county. Implementation of the recommendations will enhance environmental sustainability in the sub-county. It is expected that information from the study is useful to the Kenya government, Samburu County Government, development partners, resident community, rangeland actors, policy and decision makers in understanding, prioritizing and directing strategies, plans and actions on the management of the invasive species to safeguard environment and socio-economic activities for sustainable development in the sub-county. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/15682 AN INVESTIGATION OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES PRACTISED ON URBAN GREEN SPACES IN DANDORA, NAIROBI COUNTY, KENYA NAMALWA SILVA MGUNDA Urban Green Spaces (UGS) are amongst the major controversies in the urban landscape as a consequence of conflicting interests between conservationists and developers and their depletion is taking place at an alarming rate, especially now that 4.4 billion people live in the world’s cities. The main aim of the study was to investigate the drivers, effects and policy implications of human activities on Urban Green Spaces in Dandora, Nairobi County. The objectives of the study were; to identify the diverse types and drivers of human activities carried out on Urban Green Spaces in Dandora, to determine the effects as a result of human activities in Dandora and to examine the effectiveness of existing institutional, legal and policy frameworks for sustainable management and utilization of Urban Green Spaces in Dandora in relation to the human activities. Survey research design was adopted as a method of investigation using a sample frame of 143. Stratified and simple random sampling technique was used in issuing the household questionnaires. Purposive sampling technique was used to conduct interviews on Key informant; businesses, chiefs, National Environmental Management Authority, Nairobi City Council and Community Based Organizations. The information obtained was analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS and MS Excel and presented using bar graphs, tables and pie charts. The research finding established affordability (absence of entry charges), proximity to place where they stay and work, aesthetics and beauty of these spaces, adequacy of spaces, the state of security present and lastly, availability of facilities (such as sanitary facilities, seating area, children play facilities) were drivers attracting residents to visit UGS. 16% of the residents are driven away from visiting UGS due to the following; insecurity, congestion and inadequate leisure time due to high job and family demands, high cost of visitation, and dirty and non-appealing. The finding established several human activities that are practiced in and around green spaces in Dandora which were categorized in to three, social activities and economic and environmental activities The findings established that there were a number of negative impacts arising from the human activities practiced in and around the green spaces, littering, illegal dumping, and reduced aesthetic being most significant. The study established that Kenya lacks specific policies and regulations dealing specifically with planning and management of UGS. Eighty three percent (83%) of the respondents claimed that they have never been involved in public participation and public awareness initiatives on matter that relate to the management of the UGS by the county government. The challenges in the management and maintenance of UGS included; inadequate funds, land grabbing and encroachment by private developers, increased cases of vandalism of the public facilities such as fences that surrounds the UGS, uncooperative members of the public who litter and dispose solid waste in theses spaces. Some recommendations for the study are: Development of effective and articulate UGS policy framework and management plans for UGS planning, governance and management that will be reviewed and updated after every three to five-year period; The County government in collaboration with the police department should invest in enhancing and providing security through installation of street lights in order to prevent crimes; NCC should ensure effective and timely waste collection and disposal wastes in the UGS. This study aims to address the lack of research on UGS in African literature, which is currently limited. 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/12365 CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY ON THE BIOPHYSICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC SYSTEMS USING GEO-INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AT THE MAU FOREST COMPLEX, NAROK COUNTY, KENYA SIMEON ORUKO OYIEKO Climate change and variability are immediate and severe threats to the environment and socio-economic systems. The study was carried out within the Mau Forest Complex (MFC), Narok County to characterize the effects of climate change and variability (CCV) on biophysical and socio-economic systems. The MFC is the largest remnant closed canopy Afromontane forest in East Africa and a critical catchment area for many river basins. Unfortunately, this socio-ecological system is faced with unprecedented onslaught threatening its existence. The study was undertaken based on the premise that such resources are highly susceptible to climatic variations and unsustainable anthropogenic activities triggered by such variations and extreme weather events. Longitudinal and cross-sectional research designs with mixed methods were used to infer results on Landsat imagery, climate variables and household survey data. Climate and satellite imagery data spanning 26 years were obtained from Kenya Meteorological Department and United States Geologic Survey respectively. The satellite images were processed and subjected to unsupervised classification and NDVI thematic maps creation. Change detection analyses were performed through post classification and NDVI image differencing methods to produce land cover/use thematic maps. Household survey sample size was calculated based on probability proportional to estimated size. Proportionate stratified multistage clustered sampling and snowball sampling for key informant interviews were used to determine the sample respondents. Evidence of association and significance tests between variables were measured using Spearman’s Chi-square (χ2 ) test of independence and generalized linear model. The results indicated increasing precipitation variability and declining overall precipitation trend. The observed variability in extreme temperature events indicated warming tendencies with an increasing overall trend in mean annual temperature. Satellite imageries classification results showed that dense forest cover significantly reduced while other land cover/use showing an increasing trend. NDVI thematic maps revealed a reduction in vegetation vigour. Household survey results revealed that majority of the respondents were aware of CCV while the socio-economic systems are vulnerable to the impacts of CCV as evidenced by existence of extreme climate related events such as flash floods, droughts, land/mudslides and extreme temperatures leading to environmental degradation, deforestation, agricultural land expansion and other unsustainable land uses. The resulting impacts to the biophysical and socio-economic systems in the area were linked to crops yield failure, land use conflicts, high prices and shortage of farm produce, food insecurity, diseases and deaths. The national and Narok County government must devote their resources in educating and informing the communities about all CCV’s aspects in all sectors through tailor made educational programmes, awareness and sensitization campaigns, incentive environmental conservation programmes, strengthening adaptive capacity and mitigation strategies, formulation and implementation of adequate adaptation and mitigation policies such as afforestation and reforestation, relocating people from the encroached and areas with contested settlement, enhance sustainable charcoal production, boost food production with minimum impacts, agroforestry, enhance the use of traditional knowledge, poverty alleviation and livelihoods improvement strategies, invest in social capital systems and adopt measures to curb soil erosion and climate smart technologies to help cope with the adverse impacts of CCV. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/12364 EFFECTS OF LIQUID WASTE MANAGEMENT APPROACHES ON WATER QUALITYIN SEKENANI, MAASAI MARA GAME RESERVE, NAROK IN KENYA JILANI CHIGULU CHIRO The Maasai Mara Game Reserve is experiencing expansion in tourist facilities to accommodate increasing traffic. A major impact of this being wastewater released to the fragile environment. The objective of this study wasto examine effects of wastewater management methods on quality of wastewater in 4 purposively selected tourist facilities located in Sekenani by assessing seasonal quality of effluent discharged. Samples were collected randomly from the effluent during wet and dry seasons and analyzed for: pH, Temperature, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Phosphates, Nitrates, Electrical Conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen, Turbidity, Total Suspended Solids and Coliforms. Data were analyzed using SPSS and tested using ANOVA at 0.05 confidence level. Water quality index of the effluent was used to examine the efficiency of the treatment approaches. Quality of wastewater was generally poor. Dissolved Oxygen (p=0.006; p=0.001); TSS (p=0.005; p=0.001), and phosphates (p=0.006; p=0.001) showed variation between seasons. Single septic tank (26) and septic tank and soak away treatment (27) approaches produced water with the lowest quality based on Water Quality Index. This threatens the health of the communities down stream as it may cause water borne diseases such as cholera and disruption of food chains. To mitigate against discharge of poor quality wastewater to the environment, we recommend adoption of sustainable wastewater management technologies e.g. constructed wetlands and robust enforcement of national environmental regulations. Further studies should include monitoring changes in macroinvertebrate species diversity and abundance along the recipient streams to provide a more holistic and integrated assessment of the ecological impact of the wastewater on the receiving lotic environments. 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z