A community-GIS supported dryland use and cover change assessment: The case of the Njemps flats in Kenya

• Published in: Cogent food & agriculture 2021, Vol.7 (1)
• Main Authors: Karaya, Rebecca N., Onyango, Christopher A., Ogendi, George M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Agricultural practices; Arid lands; Arid zones; Climate change; Community involvement; Community participation; Drought; drylands; Environmental degradation; Flats (landforms); Focus groups; GIS; Government policy; Grasses; Land cover; Land degradation; Land use; land use and land cover change; Landsat; Livestock; Pasture; Population growth; Public policy; Rehabilitation; Remote sensing; Rift valleys; Satellite imagery; Shrublands; Soil conservation; Soil water; Sub-Saharan Africa; Sustainable development; Water conservation; Watershed management
• ISSN: 2331-1932; 2331-1932
• DOI: 10.1080/23311932.2021.1872852

Land use and Land Cover Changes (LULCC) are a major cause of environmental degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) drylands and hence a serious problem to sustainable utilization and development of those lands. Involving communities in their detection and identification can empower and convince them of the importance of adopting practices that minimize their undesirable impacts. In this study, we applied a GIS assisted community participatory approach to detect LULCC, their drivers and effects in the drylands of mid rift valley Kenya. Focus group discussions, key informant and household head interviews were corroborated with three Landsat images for three periods of 1980, 1995 and 2019. Results from community interviews and focus group discussion reported increasing trends in cropland and shrubland, Declining trend were reported in livestock mobility, livestock herd size, forest land and natural grasses. The GIS analysis reported increase of cropland from 370 Ha to 2889 Ha, increase in shrubland by 4.2%, expansion of Lake Baringo by 1.4%, decrease in forest cover by 1.2% and decrease in natural grass pastures by 1.1%. Major driving forces for LULCC were identified as population growth, insecurity caused by cattle rustling, government policies and interventions, poor agricultural practices, drought and climate change. From the outcomes of this study, we recommended government policy strategies and interventions that support adoption of practices that mitigate adverse effects of LULCC including sustainable grazing schemes, rehabilitation of already degraded land, community participation in watershed management and adoption of soil and water conservation measures.