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Understanding the Role of Local Management in Vegetation Recovery Around Pastoral Settlements in Northern Kenya

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Abstract

The recent greening of the Sahel region and increase in vegetation cover around pastoral settlements previously described as “man-made deserts”, have raised important questions on the permanency of land degradation associated with the over-exploitation of woody plants. Evidence presented is mostly on increased wetness, while management by local communities has received limited attention. This study evaluated changes in woody vegetation cover around the settlements of Kargi and Korr in northern Kenya, using satellite imagery (1986/2000), ecological ground surveys and interviews with local elders, in order to understand long-term changes in vegetation cover and the role of local community in vegetation dynamics. At both settlements, there were increments in vegetation cover and reduction in the extent of bare ground between 1986 and 2000. At Kargi settlement, there were more tree seedlings in the centre of settlement than further away. Mature tree class was more abundant in the centre of Korr than outside the settlement. The success of the regeneration and recovery of tree cover was attributed to the actions of vegetation management initiative including stringent measures by the local Environmental Management Committees. This study provides good evidence that local partnership is important for sustainable management of resources especially in rural areas where the effectiveness of government initiative is lacking.

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Notes

  1. The camps are semi-permanent because the relocations (abandonments) only occur occasionally and within short distances.

  2. ‘Over-exploitation’ is used here to mean continuous excessive localized extraction of woody vegetation without allowing natural regeneration.

  3. Kargi and Korr are located in the lowland, about 50 km from Marsabit rainfall stations and normally receive lower annual rainfall (Fig. 2a). Marsabit rainfall station is used only to represent regional rainfall pattern because Korr and Kargi lack complete rainfall records.

  4. We did not conduct assessment around the pastoral camp. Information is based on interview with elders and personal observation by one of the authors.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Mr Hussein Wallaga, Peter Geykuku and Diba Guyo of the Kenya Agriculture Research Institute (KARI), Marsabit, for their assistance in the surveys. Mr Jacob Kimani of DRSRS, Kenya, is acknowledged for providing and assisting in the interpretation of the satellite imagery. Fieldwork was supported by a grant from the Research Council of Norway through project no 16139/S30 awarded to G.O. UNIFOB Global (University of Bergen, Norway) supported the writing of the article through a research fellowship to H.R. Finally we thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 40658 00100, Nairobi, Kenya

    Hassan G. Roba

  2. Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, 1432, Ås, Norway

    Gufu Oba

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  1. Hassan G. Roba
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  2. Gufu Oba
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Correspondence to Hassan G. Roba.

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Roba, H.G., Oba, G. Understanding the Role of Local Management in Vegetation Recovery Around Pastoral Settlements in Northern Kenya. Environmental Management 51, 838–849 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-013-0020-1

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