Abstract:
Wetlands such as the Yala swamp in Kenya are among the most important and increasingly
threatened ecosystems globally due to their ecological significance and complexity, and the
importance of the ecosystem services (ES) they provide to wetland communities. Appropriate
governance and management of wetlands thus require the use of interdisciplinary tools that
take into account both ecological and social considerations. This study used the matrix model
combining social preferences with GIS-based maps of land use/land cover (LULC) to analyse
the capacity of the Yala swamp to supply ES (flows). We engaged a total of 132 participants
who manage and use natural resources in the wetland through a participatory process to
identify ES, map LULC, and score the flow of ES on a scale of 0 to 5 using the matrix model.
We also analysed the impacts of stakeholder characteristics (gender, environmental expertise,
and location) on the scoring of the matrix. Results showed high average scores (score of 4) for
trees and shrubs, papyrus, and water bodies across a range of provisioning, regulating and
cultural services. The study found that gender and location had little influence on the
respondents’ scores, while environmental conservation experts provided scores significantly
higher than local resource users (farmers/fishermen) across the ES types. Overall, the study
contributes to understanding: 1) the importance of linking LULC with ES provision to inform
landscape management and 2) the need to incorporate a range of stakeholder perspectives in
studies making use of expert knowledge and preferences, for inclusive management.
