ABSTRACT Recent studies have indicated that Bischofia javanica Blume (Euphorbiaceae), a tree species that was introduced in Kakamega forest as a restoration species in the early 1960s, is gradually recruiting and dominating its secondary and plantation forest stands. It is not clear whether this is a transitional succession process or a permanent takeover of the forest. The species has been reported to be invasive in other parts of the world such as Bonin forest and Oceanic Islands in West P...
ABSTRACT Herbal medicine, commonly referred to as alternative medicine, has been treated with a lot of skepticism among the conventional medicine practitioners. It has been described as inferior to conventional medicine with no proven safety and efficacy, perhaps only associated with rural areas where conventional medicine is not easily accessible. Thus, with economic progress and advancements in conventional medicine, one would expect decline in herbal medicine consumption. In Kenya, 70% of...
ABSTRACT Forests are valuable for environmental, ecological, cultural, social and economical support to natural systems and improvement of human welfare. The world‟s forest cover is estimated to be about 3.6 billion ha. Out of this portion, 57% is located in developing countries and indirectly supports about 1.6 billion people where at least 400 million are directly dependent on forest resources for their livelihood. Kenya is classified as a low forest cover country, where the closed canopy...
ABSTRACT Many developing countries have been decentralizing some aspects of natural resource management. Governments justify decentralization as a means of increasing access, use, management, and decision making on natural resources. In Kenya, decentralisation points to conflict resolution whether explicitly or implicitly. However, the questions of to what degree and in what ways decentralization affect conflict in management of natural resources in Kenya have largely been overlooked. Thus, t...
ABSTRACT Forests cover approximately 30% of the earth‘s land surface area and provide critical ecosystem goods and services to mankind. However, forest cover in Kenya is among the lowest in the world, currently at around 7.6%. The Mau Forest Complex is the largest water tower in Kenya, but is threatened because of land use change and rapid human population growth in the adjoining areas. The overall objective of this study was to assess community attitudes and perception towards conservatio...
ABSTRACT The Mau Forests Complex (MFC) is considered the most important of the five main watershed areas in Kenya because of its economic, social and environmental contribution to the country. The forest is under increasing threat from irregular and ill‐planned settlements, encroachments and illegal forest resource exploitation. In recent years, the Government of Kenya (GoK) has taken significant steps towards addressing the threat of rapid ecological degradation of its forest resources. A...
ABSTRACT Mangroves occupy only 0.4% of forested areas globally but are among the most productive ecosystems on earth. They account for about 11% of the total input of terrestrial carbon into the oceans. The above ground carbon stock in mangroves in some parts of the World has been estimated to be as high as 8 kg C m -2 ; with a similar amount reported for below ground components. Although a lot of research has been done on estimates of mangrove biomass in Kenya, there is no information on bi...
ABSTRACT Trees provide both direct and indirect benefits to humans, who depend on them for their livelihoods. Forest ecosystems are vulnerable to over-utilization and exploitation due to the sensitivity of its complex and highly diverse ecosystem. The aim of the study was to determine the human impact on tree species diversity, abundance, plant population structure and uses of forest trees by local communities adjacent to Chemususu forest Reserve in Koibatek Sub-County, Baringo County. Ques...
ABSTRACT The current global pollination crisis and the importance of insects in pollination service that maintains the native plant populations, agricultural enterprise, ecosystem resilience and food security do motivate the concern to conserve insect pollinators. Kaya forests are rich in biodiversity and endemism; they are potential sites for conservation of these pollinators in the coastal region of Kenya. However, they are threatened by illegal deforestation, charcoal burning, settlement ...
ABSTRACT African rainforests are lost at a high rate every year and most of the cleared areas are transformed to agricultural land. Such anthropogenic influences potentially result in biodiversity changes of major conservation concern. In ecosystems near Kakamega Forest, the conservation of some fauna depends on their survival in adjacent agricultural lands. Therefore, understanding the biodiversity potential of field margin vegetation or hedgerows and the interior of agricultural fields was...
ABSTRACT It is evident that forests have been managed for several years in the world, but in most cases especially in the developing world, various regimes have tried to come up with an institutional framework to guide forest management with no much success due to lack of forest monitoring systems. The study entailed detecting forest degradation and modeling forest future scenarios. Analysis of Satellite imagery provided spatial temporal data with ground truthing exercise using Global positi...
ABSTRACT Climate change impacts have been exacerbated by extreme weather events among others and have led to disappearance of certain species of both food crops and trees. The adaptive capacity of the local community has mainly been on mitigation by basic methods that are mostly traditional in practice and knowledge. An investigation on how different institutions work together towards mitigating climate change through decentralization of forest resources was conducted among communities l...
ABSTRACT Biodiversity values at forest ecosystem depend on how people use, manage and interact with the forest trees and trees outside the forest. Between 1990 and 2010 Kenya‟s forest cover significantly reduced by 6.5%. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of human activities on vegetation characteristics in Chepalungu Forest (CF). Specifically, the objectives were to establish human activities affecting vegetation in CF, determine vegetation characteristics, establish local com...
ABSTRACT In Kenya, the forest ecosystem has undergone such considerable degradation that the country’s forest cover is only 3% of the total land area, way below the internationally recommended level of 10% cover. From independence, only the government was involved in forest management. Despite this, the country’s forest cover continued to deteriorate. To stem this decline, the Kenyan Government enacted the Forests Act, 2005, which allows for the participation of both government and commun...
ABSTRACT Over the past five decades, global forest area has been diminishing rapidly due to deforestation. Over 1.6 billion rural people globally depend on forests for their livelihoods, with about 70% of the African population relying on forests for their survival. In Kenya, many communities rely on forests for their everyday needs, yet they are diminishing yearly at an approximate 12,000 hectares per year. Projects such as the Afforestation Reforestation Clean Development Mechanism project ...