Department of Environmental Studies
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Item Environmental Determinants of Choice of Sustainability Strategies Adopted by Group Ranches in Samburu County, Kenya(2017) Kithumbu, Eustace N.; Huho, Julius M.; Omondi, Humphrey R.The group ranch system is one of the best land ownership and livestock production strategies Page | 153 in the dry lands of the world where the potential for rain-fed agriculture is limited. This has resulted in numerous studies on the establishment of group ranches, their dissolution and coping strategies but with less focus on the sustainability of the group ranches. It is against this background that this study investigated environmental characteristics influencing choice of sustainability strategies adopted by group ranches in Samburu County, Kenya. The investigation adopted a descriptive survey research design employing use of Questionnaires, Key Informant Interviews, Focus Group Discussions and observation as primary data collection methods. The study used content validity and Cronbach’s alpha methods to measure validity and reliability of the research instruments, respectively. The target population for the study was the 16,611 registered members in 38 group ranches spread out in the County. The study sampled twelve group ranches with approximately 5,643 members from which 374 respondents were systematically sampled. Purposive sampling was used to select Key Informants and the participants in the Focus Group Discussions. The study employed Multi-linear Regression to analyse environmental characteristics determining choice of sustainability strategies. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the hypothesis and p-value of 0.00 was obtained, indicating that environmental characteristics significantly determined choice of sustainability strategies adopted by group ranches in the County. Overall, rainfall patterns were the predominating environmental characteristic with a regression coefficient of 0.317 while diseases had the least influence on choice of sustainability strategies adopted by group ranches in Samburu County, with a regression coefficient of 0.029. The study recommended integration of environmental characteristics in formulating policies for sustainability of group ranches.Item Assessing Climate Variability Adaptation and Coping Strategies Among Rural Households in Kenya(Journal of Water Sciences & Environment Technologies, 2018-08) Nduru, Gilbert M.; Musyimi, Peter Kinyae; Huho, Julius M.; Opiyo, Francis E.The aim of this study is to assess the adopted water scarcity adaptation and coping strategies of rural households to climate variability. It also identifies suitable strategies that minimize the impact of climate variability on water sources in arid and semi-arid (ASALs) in Kenya. The study was carried out in Makindu Sub-county, Makueni County, Kenya. Data collection techniques such as questionnaires and in-depth interview with 370 households, key informants interviews were used to assess the adaptation and coping strategies of rural households and identify the most suitable strategies for the study area. Rainfall data was collected from Makindu Meteorological station and used for meteorological drought characteristics analysis. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was used to analyze drought severity in the study area between 1980 and 2011. SPI was used to quantify precipitation deficit for various time scales. Drought Intensity (DI) was used to determine decadal drought intensities. SPI results showed that 18 years out of 31 with negative SPI values an indication of drought severity occurrence. The year 2005 was the driest in the area with an SPI of -1.76. The study also showed increasing drought intensities from 1990s to 2000s. The study showed that the rural households had adopted varied adaptation and coping strategies to cope with impact of drought extremes on water sources. However, increase in drought characteristics occurrences minimized their resilience and adaptive capacities. The study observed that the strategies employed are unlikely to enable them cope with recent climate change and variability regimes, therefore need for most suitable and viable ones. The study identified viable strategies such as rainwater harvesting and sinking boreholes as long term measures that can enhance rural households’ resilience to climate change extremes in ASALs of Kenya.