The Trend and Impacts of Forest Resources Utilization on Marsabit Mountain Ecosystem
Abstract
The aim of the research is to establish the causes and trend of Marsabit forest depletion, its impacts on the human livelihood and recommend innovative and sustainable ways of utilizing the forest for optimum reward and posterity.To collect the data, forest surveys and transect walks were made within the study area. Photographs were taken to illustrate the observed disturbances. Way point during the ground survey was recorded by use of Global Positioning System (GPD).Data on forest resource utilization, forest, management; trend of food production, and water situation on the mountain was collected using a questionnaire, stockholder’s discussions and personal observations. Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) method adopted from Kaburu and Mwaura (2004) was used to assess forest condition using assessment score.
Citation
Master of Arts degree in environmental planning and managementSponsorhip
The aim of the research is to establish the causes and trend of Marsabit forest depletion, its impacts on the human livelihood and recommend innovative and sustainable ways of utilizing the forest for optimum reward and posterity. To collect the data, Forest surveys and transect walks were made within the study area. Photographs were taken to illustrate the observed disturbances. Waypoint during the ground survey was recorded by use of Global Positioning System (GPS). Data on forest resource utilization, forest management, trend of food production, and water situation on the mountain was collected using a questionnaire, stockholder's discussions and personal observations. Rapid Environmental Assessment (REA) method adopted from Kaburu and Mwaura (2004) was used to assess forest condition using assessment score. The research findings on the causes of forest depletion included policy deficiencies relating to the forest management and conservation, establishment of settlement schemes on the mountain by the policy makers, which has led to sedentarization and population growth, which has triggered overgrazing, increased demand for, agriculture land, firewood energy and building poles. The amount of firewood, building poles and charcoal extracted by the residents from the forest was quantified. The negative impacts of forest depletion were classified as environmental, social-economic and climatic impacts. The environmental impacts noted include receding forest cover, soil erosion and increasing pressure on the forestland and increasing demand on forest products, the social economic impacts included human-wildlife conflicts and the declining food production while climatic impact is seen as declining rainfall, which result into mist reduction and adverse local climatic changes. To address these shortcomings, suggestion was made on forest management under a harmonized forest policy that advocate for local community participation. Energy saving technologies need to be adopted at household level to reduce wood fuel demand and there is need to utilize renewable sources of energy like solar and wind energy, which is readily available while pastoralism should be perceived as viable option for arid lands by policy makersPublisher
University of Nairobi faculty of Arts