Appraisal of Rural and Urban Land Uses Suitability in Wetland Conservation: a Case of Ondiri Swamp, Kikuyu Sub-county

Abstract

Wetlands are regions where water have existence on or near the earth's surface, covering the soil completely. The environmental amenities that wetlands offer to immediate communities and distant users, as well as tangible and intangible economic and ecological values regionally and even globally, are immense. However, they are now at risk as they have been endangered by agriculture, invasive species, developments in housing, agricultural run-offs, wastewater affluence, and stormwater. These threats cause changes within the fragile environmental ecosystem. The study's ultimate goal was to evaluate the effects of rural and urban land use on wetlands, namely the Ondiri Swamp in Kikuyu, Kenya. The study focused on rural land use activities in the Ondiri Swamp community and urban land use activities in Kikuyu town, both of which have an impact on the wetland's ecological functions. The study also evaluated, ranked, and prioritized the elements that influence rural and urban land use activities, forming the basis for intervention proposals. The study employed a descriptive research design that incorporated both quantitative and qualitative methods in a mixed strategy. Archival approach was employed to collect secondary data. The original data was constructed using household and key informant questionnaires. The process of content analysis was employed to extract theme categories from source datasets. Remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) analysis were employed to evaluate the spatial extent, morphological characteristics, and different forms of encroachment on the wetland. Results of the data analysis, especially the land use land cover analysis, show that the increased population in the study area practices intensive agricultural activities. Built-up areas have also shown an increasing trend which is a result of an increase in residential areas, commercial activities, education centres, and industries. The study found that the land used adjoining the wetland affected the wetland negatively by introducing pollutants and abstracting water uncontrollably from the natural resource. The study also established that one of the factors contributing to the negative rural and urban land use activities affecting the wetland is the overexploitation of natural resources. Besides that, the study also found that there were uncoordinated stakeholder efforts both from the state and non-state organizations and that has led to a lack of clear and common vision to guide and protect the wetland. The study concludes that research has not informed the planning and utilization of water, land, and vegetation resources at the Ondiri Swamp. Also, the presence of weak institutional capacity and weak law enforcement contributes to its continued ecological degradation. This study, therefore, recommends strategies and land use planning interventions to arrest and reverse this trend toward environmental recovery and restoration.