AN ASSESSMENT OF IMPACTS OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES ON LAND USE AND LAND COVER CHANGES IN NAROK NORTH SUB COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

h-western Kenya and covers an area of 17,921km². It is the thirteenth largest county in Kenya. Large tracks of land initially under group ranch tenure system have been converted into freehold tenure. Agriculture and livestock production are the main land use practices followed by wildlife conservation areas. The highland areas of Mau Escarpments provide fertile ground for large scale production of maize, barley and wheat while beans, potatoes and peas are grown in small scale. Wool and dairy farming is practiced in the areas of Melili, Olpusimoru and Olokurto. In the rangelands, livestock production is the main source of livelihood followed by tourism from wildlife conservation. Current understanding of changes in uses of land in Narok County is not adequate. In order to understand the causes of change, it is necessary to carry out studies that explicitly reveal the variations in these changes. This research sought to assess impacts of socio-economic activities on land use and land cover changes in Narok North Sub-County, Kenya. The study objectives were to analyze land use and land cover changes between the year 1986, 2000 and 2019, to determine the main causes of land use and land cover changes and to determine the effectiveness of existing initiative and interventions for sound land use practices in Narok North Sub County. For social survey the study employed descriptive research design. The study targeted 59,996 Households out of which 100 households were selected using stratified random and systematic random sampling methods. The study obtained primary data for images for 1986 and 2000 using satellite images from Landsat 5 and 7 satellites whereas for 2019 epoch the study used Sentinel 2B. Sub- County boundary shape file acquired was used to show the extent of the study area. Also, for household survey, primary data was obtained using both open ended and closed questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted using quantitative and qualitative techniques for household survey where inferential statistics was used to test the association between the variables of interest. Images were processed through; resampling, layer stacking, mosaicking, sub-setting Image Classification, normalized deferential vegetation index (NDVI) and finally accuracy assessment. The study revealed there was significant changes in forested area based on the three images analyzed. There was a decrease from 45% in 1986 to 23% in 2019 while settlement and farm land area increased from 25.2% in 1986 to over 40.6% in 2019. The study revealed that among the causes of changes were belief systems, pastoralist lifestyle, urbanization, poverty, human population pressure, politics, weak laws and regulations among other factors. The response was considered very significant following the results obtained from the ANOVA test and the chi square test of association which revealed that the association between drivers and land use and land cover was very significant given (χ2 calculated of 28.29 > critical value of 2.26; and a P value < 0.05). In regard to the impacts of socio-economic activities on land use and land cover, the study established that there is a significant association between the key variables. The responses were statistically significant as (χ2 calculated of 14.002 > critical value of 2.02; and a P value < 0.05). This study concluded that there is a remarkable decrease in the area under forest cover with more of the forest land being converted to farm land and settlements. This conversion has affected the land cover in the area. The study also concluded that most of the causes of land use and cover changes are as a result of the socio-economic factors (population, believes, culture, politics, poverty, urbanization among others). Finally, the study concluded that, despite the existing land initiatives and interventions, development control in the land use has been inadequate and ineffective. For instance, the existing framework for land administration and management is highly centralized, complex and exceedingly bureaucratic, consequently leading to corruption and failure to deliver efficiently. The study v recommends that all relevant stakeholders should develop a sustainable land use policy in Narok North Sub-County and zone different areas for different land use practices. The study further suggests that stakeholders should implement existing policies and laws in protection of forested areas as they are ecologically significant areas.