Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, Jan 19, 2017
This article explores the implications for human health of local interactions between disease, ec... more This article explores the implications for human health of local interactions between disease, ecosystems and livelihoods. Five interdisciplinary case studies addressed zoonotic diseases in African settings: Rift Valley fever (RVF) in Kenya, human African trypanosomiasis in Zambia and Zimbabwe, Lassa fever in Sierra Leone and henipaviruses in Ghana. Each explored how ecological changes and human-ecosystem interactions affect pathogen dynamics and hence the likelihood of zoonotic spillover and transmission, and how socially differentiated peoples' interactions with ecosystems and animals affect their exposure to disease. Cross-case analysis highlights how these dynamics vary by ecosystem type, across a range from humid forest to semi-arid savannah; the significance of interacting temporal and spatial scales; and the importance of mosaic and patch dynamics. Ecosystem interactions and services central to different people's livelihoods and well-being include pastoralism and agro...
Advances of science may take much longer to translate into helpful societal actions without delib... more Advances of science may take much longer to translate into helpful societal actions without deliberate linkages among policy makers, practitioners, and scientists and an integration of their knowledge systems. Successful projects in sustainable knowledge-based action are not only multidisciplinary and holistic in their approach, they also engage consistently with the consumers of the knowledge being generated. We present a model for integrating scientific and indigenous knowledge and strongly linking that knowledge with community and policy action to balance poverty alleviation and wildlife conservation in Maasai pastoral systems of East Africa. This model uses 'community facilitators' who act as 'boundary-spanning' individuals, linking pastoralist communities, scientists, and policy makers. Our experience indicates that there can be accelerated progress if the project deliberately creates and places a boundary-spanning person or organization at the community-science-policy interfaces to facilitate and promote linking knowledge with action. We found it was critical that the facilitation process ensures that scientists focus on answering important questions from community and policy viewpoints. Key lessons include the need for frequent and strategic community engagement, careful choice of appropriate local boundary spanning persons, the central role of co-production of boundary objects, and the inclusion of incentives for the key stakeholders.
We examine livestock-wealth inequality by gender and age of the household head among Maasai house... more We examine livestock-wealth inequality by gender and age of the household head among Maasai households located in areas of contrasting land tenure and land productivity in the Amboseli, Athi-Kaputiei and Maasai Mara regions of Kenya and Tarangire-Manyara Region of Tanzania. We also investigate whether livestock-poor households are more likely to diversify their livelihood options from pastoralism to include crop cultivation. Livestock wealth inequality was high in each of the four sites. Surprisingly, the Tarangire-Manyara site in Tanzania had the highest levels of inequality despite the fact that Tanzania had recently had a socialist political system while Kenya had been capitalistic since independence in 1963. The disparities in livestock assets between the rich and the poor households were lowest in the Maasai Mara site. Also, there was no direct relationship between low livestock wealth and the probability that a household would take up crop cultivation. However, areas under cultivation were the largest in Tarangire-Manyara and the lowest in Amboseli, possibly reflecting the influence of land tenure policy in Tarangire-Manyara and low rainfall in Amboseli. Most male headed households had more livestock wealth than female headed households. In Maasailand, high livestock-wealth inequalities and a growing restriction on livestock mobility, compounded with internal and external population pressures and land fragmentation, are likely to reduce pastoral resilience to droughts that are becoming more frequent and severe due to a warming global climate and widening climatic variability.
The African pastoral farming system consists of livestock and drylands crop-based production that... more The African pastoral farming system consists of livestock and drylands crop-based production that supports an agricultural population of 38 million people of whom 13.4 million in sub-Saharan Africa are extremely poor. Human population growth has resulted in low per capita livestock and land resources, and while the farming system has options to develop agriculture, further demographic expansion will exacerbate degradation and inequality. While there is potential for agricultural development, e.g. through intensification and greater market orientation, such development needs to take into account pastoral peoples’ access rights to resources and minimize trade-offs with current land and water users. Effective drought management, a key to the success of pastoralism, relies on multiple resource management strategies and community interactions. Therefore, there is a need for policies that strengthen the resilience of agriculture and pastoralists livelihoods through, e.g. support to livest...
Land use and land cover (LULC) changes can pose profound impacts on wildlife habitats, abundance ... more Land use and land cover (LULC) changes can pose profound impacts on wildlife habitats, abundance and distribution and on human-dominated landscapes. We investigated LULC changes in the Greater Serengeti ecosystem, Tanzania, for a period of 41 years
We analyse social demography, livelihood diversification and land tenure among the Maasai people ... more We analyse social demography, livelihood diversification and land tenure among the Maasai people inhabiting Kenya (three sites) and Tanzania (one site) with contrasting land tenure policies. In Kenya, land was communally owned in the rural Amboseli, fully privatized in the peri-urban Kitengela in Athi-Kaputiei and partially privatized and communally owned in the rural Maasai Mara. In Tanzania, the government owned the land but granted user rights to local villages in rural Simanjiro in Tarangire-Manyara. We interviewed 100 households per site from May to July 2006. There were regional distinctions in social demography, livelihood diversification, hiring herding labour and settlement arrangements, portraying differential transition away from traditional pastoral Maasai society. The transition is most advanced in Kitengela located near Nairobi City, where privatization of land tenure in the 1980s triggered land sub-division, unprecedented land fragmentation and large-scale collapse of...
Rivers in the Lake Victoria Basin support a multitude of ecosystem services, and the economies of... more Rivers in the Lake Victoria Basin support a multitude of ecosystem services, and the economies of the riparian countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi) rely on their discharge, but projections of their future discharges under various climate change scenarios are not available. Here, we apply Vector Autoregressive Moving Average models with eXogenous variables (VARMAX) statistical models to project hydrological discharge for 23 river catchments for the 2015–2100 period, under three representative concentration pathways (RCPs), namely RCPs 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5. We show an intensification of future annual rainfall by 25% in the eastern and 5–10% in the western part of the basin. At higher emission scenarios, the October to December season receives more rainfall than the March to May season. Temperature projections show a substantial increase in the mean annual minimum temperature by 1.3–4.5 °C and warming in the colder season (June to September) by 1.7–2.9 °C under RCP 4.5...
The fire severity of the 2013e2014 fire season within Sudanian ecosystems in Burkina Faso was eva... more The fire severity of the 2013e2014 fire season within Sudanian ecosystems in Burkina Faso was evaluated from Landsat 8 images using derivatives of the Normalized Burn Ratio algorithm (NBR). The relationship between the image-derived severity and the field observed severity i.e. Composite Burn Index (CBI) was best described by a nonlinear model of the form y ¼ a þ b*EXP(CBI *c) (R 2 ¼ 0.66). Classification of the image-derived burned area into burn severity classes achieved a classification Kappa accuracy statistic of 0.56. Highly severely burned areas were mapped with the highest accuracy (user's accuracy 77%, producer's accuracy 86%). The severity of the burn varied across phyto-geographical zones, protected status, land cover regimes, and forest management practices. The south Sudanian zone burned with a higher severity (low ¼ 7%, moderate ¼ 16% and high ¼ 13%) than the north Sudanian zone (low ¼ 5%, moderate ¼ 10% and high ¼ 5%). The mean of the highly severely burned areas differed significantly among the forest management practices (P ¼ 0.005). A pair-wise comparison of the severity mean area indicated that the highly burned areas within forests managed for wildlife purposes differed significantly with that of both forests under the joint management (P ¼ 0.006) and those under no management (P ¼ 0.024). Among the management practices, forests jointly managed by the local communities and the government had the highest unburned area and the least highly severely burned areas reflecting the impacts of bottom-up forestry management where the local communities are actively involved in the management.
Many projections of the impact of climate change on the crop, livestock and fishery production se... more Many projections of the impact of climate change on the crop, livestock and fishery production sectors of African agriculture are reported in the literature. However, they may be arguably too general to understand the magnitude of impact and to inform adaptation strategies and policy development efforts that are tailored to promoting climatesmart agriculture in the West African region alone. This paper was synthesized from several scholarly literature and aimed at providing up-to-date information on climate change impacts, adaptation strategies, policies and institutional mechanisms that each agriculture subsector had put in place in dealing with climate change and its related issues in West Africa. For each subsector (crop, fishery and livestock), the current status, climate change impacts, mitigation and adaption strategies have been analyzed. In addition, we reviewed recent policy initiatives in the region that foster the development and adoption of climate-smart agricultural options to improve resilience of farming systems and livelihoods of smallholder farmers to climate change risks. From community to national and regional levels, various strategies and policies are also being taken to guide actions and investment for climate-smart agriculture in West Africa.
Generally, drylands cover about 41% of Earth’s land surface and are inhabited by more than 2 bill... more Generally, drylands cover about 41% of Earth’s land surface and are inhabited by more than 2 billion people. In Eastern Africa, drylands occupy 75% of the land – ranging from 90% in Kenya, 75% of Ethiopia and 67% of Tanzania ; in total, covering an area of about 2 million square kilometres. More than 60 million or 40% of the population live here. These drylands are productive and contribute to national economies and to society. They support agriculture, livestock rearing, tourism and wild resource harvesting, and play a critical role in ensuring national food sufficiency. Kenya has the highest growth rate (2.7%), followed by Ethiopia (2.5%) and Tanzania (2%). Measuring multiple values of dryland systems provides a means for valuing, comparing and making policy decision based on various benefits of ecosystem services, and can be a powerful tool to support wise use and management of dryland environment.
There is mounting concern about declines in wildlife populations in many protected areas in Afric... more There is mounting concern about declines in wildlife populations in many protected areas in Africa. Migratory ungulates are especially vulnerable to impacts of changing land use outside protected areas on their abundance. Range compression may compromise the capacity of migrants to cope with climatic variation, and accentuate both competitive interactions and predation. We analyzed the population dynamics of 11 ungulate species within Kenya's Nairobi National Park, and compared them to those in the adjoining Athi-Kaputiei Plains, where human settlements and other developments had expanded. The migratory wildebeest decreased from almost 30,000 animals in 1978 to around 5,000 currently but the migratory zebra changed little regionally. Hartebeest, impala, eland, Thomson's gazelle, Grant's gazelle, waterbuck, warthog and giraffe numbers declined regionally, whereas buffalo numbers expanded. Bimonthly counts indicated temporary movements of several species beyond the unfenced park boundaries, especially during very wet years and that few wildebeest entered the park during the dry season following exceptionally wet conditions in 1998. Wildebeest were especially vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts in their wet season dispersal range on the plains. Deterioration in grassland conditions in the park following high rainfall plus lack of burning may have discouraged these animals from using the park as a dry season refuge. Our findings emphasise the interdependency between the park and the plains for seasonal wildlife movements, especially in exceptionally dry or wet years. To effectively conserve these ungulates, we recommend implementation of the new land-use plan for the Athi-Kaputiei Plains by the county government; expansion of the land leasing program for biodiversity payments; collecting poacher's snares; negotiation and enforcement of easements, allowing both wildlife and livestock to move through the Athi-Kaputiei Plains, providing incentives for conservation to landowners; and improving grassland conditions within the park through controlled burning so that more wildlife can gain protection there.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013
A systematic review was conducted by a multidisciplinary team to analyze qualitatively best avail... more A systematic review was conducted by a multidisciplinary team to analyze qualitatively best available scientific evidence on the effect of agricultural intensification and environmental changes on the risk of zoonoses for which there are epidemiological interactions between wildlife and livestock. The study found several examples in which agricultural intensification and/or environmental change were associated with an increased risk of zoonotic disease emergence, driven by the impact of an expanding human population and changing human behavior on the environment. We conclude that the rate of future zoonotic disease emergence or reemergence will be closely linked to the evolution of the agriculture–environment nexus. However, available research inadequately addresses the complexity and interrelatedness of environmental, biological, economic, and social dimensions of zoonotic pathogen emergence, which significantly limits our ability to predict, prevent, and respond to zoonotic diseas...
International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 2013
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the potential for pastoral communities inhabiting K... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the potential for pastoral communities inhabiting Kenyan Masailand to adapt to climate change using conservancies and payments for ecosystem services.Design/methodology/approachMultiple methods and data sources were used, comprising: a socio‐economic survey of 295 households; informal interviews with pastoralists, conservancy managers, and tourism investors; focus group discussions; a stakeholder workshop. Monthly rainfall data was used to analyse drought frequency and intensity. A framework of the interactions between pastoralists' drought coping and risk mitigation strategies and the conservancy effects was developed, and used to qualitatively assess some interactions across the three study sites. Changes in household livestock holdings and sources of cash income are calculated in relation to the 2008‐09 drought.FindingsThe frequency and intensity of droughts are increasing but are localised across the three study sites. The propor...
Transhumant pastoralism is one of the dominant livestock production systems in West Africa, and i... more Transhumant pastoralism is one of the dominant livestock production systems in West Africa, and it is characterized by seasonal and cyclical movement of varying degrees between complementary ecological areas. The common pattern of transhumance is moving herds from areas with pasture and water scarcity such as the Sahelian zone to areas where the forage and water are found, often in the sub-humid zone. Whereas the transhumant herds from the Sahel are mainly Zebu breeds, endemic ruminant livestock (ERL) are the dominant breeds in sub-humid zone of West Africa because of their tolerance to tsetse-borne trypanosomosis disease. These livestock fulfill different functions in the livelihood of rural communities in the region. To identify potential areas of interventions for sustainable natural resource management to improve ERL productivity, a desk study that included spatial mapping was performed to review and document the existing knowledge on transhumance in West Africa. Additionally, group discussions were held to analyze the (actual or potential) effects of transhumant herds on natural resource management and ERL in the sub-humid zone. This study covered sub-humid zone in The Gambia, Guinea, Mali and Senegal. The key question we addressed in this study was as follows: What are the key trends and changes in transhumant pastoralism and how do these impact sustainable management of natural resources including endemic livestock? The results of the desk study and group discussions showed that there have been more southerly movements by transhumant pastoralists into the sub-humid zone over the past three decades and this has contributed to growing competition for grazing resources. The presence of transhumant herds in the sub-humid zone has a potential impact on management and conservation of ERL through crossbreeding with transhumant Zebu breeds from the Sahel but only study sites in Mali showed a high risk.
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, Jan 19, 2017
This article explores the implications for human health of local interactions between disease, ec... more This article explores the implications for human health of local interactions between disease, ecosystems and livelihoods. Five interdisciplinary case studies addressed zoonotic diseases in African settings: Rift Valley fever (RVF) in Kenya, human African trypanosomiasis in Zambia and Zimbabwe, Lassa fever in Sierra Leone and henipaviruses in Ghana. Each explored how ecological changes and human-ecosystem interactions affect pathogen dynamics and hence the likelihood of zoonotic spillover and transmission, and how socially differentiated peoples' interactions with ecosystems and animals affect their exposure to disease. Cross-case analysis highlights how these dynamics vary by ecosystem type, across a range from humid forest to semi-arid savannah; the significance of interacting temporal and spatial scales; and the importance of mosaic and patch dynamics. Ecosystem interactions and services central to different people's livelihoods and well-being include pastoralism and agro...
Advances of science may take much longer to translate into helpful societal actions without delib... more Advances of science may take much longer to translate into helpful societal actions without deliberate linkages among policy makers, practitioners, and scientists and an integration of their knowledge systems. Successful projects in sustainable knowledge-based action are not only multidisciplinary and holistic in their approach, they also engage consistently with the consumers of the knowledge being generated. We present a model for integrating scientific and indigenous knowledge and strongly linking that knowledge with community and policy action to balance poverty alleviation and wildlife conservation in Maasai pastoral systems of East Africa. This model uses 'community facilitators' who act as 'boundary-spanning' individuals, linking pastoralist communities, scientists, and policy makers. Our experience indicates that there can be accelerated progress if the project deliberately creates and places a boundary-spanning person or organization at the community-science-policy interfaces to facilitate and promote linking knowledge with action. We found it was critical that the facilitation process ensures that scientists focus on answering important questions from community and policy viewpoints. Key lessons include the need for frequent and strategic community engagement, careful choice of appropriate local boundary spanning persons, the central role of co-production of boundary objects, and the inclusion of incentives for the key stakeholders.
We examine livestock-wealth inequality by gender and age of the household head among Maasai house... more We examine livestock-wealth inequality by gender and age of the household head among Maasai households located in areas of contrasting land tenure and land productivity in the Amboseli, Athi-Kaputiei and Maasai Mara regions of Kenya and Tarangire-Manyara Region of Tanzania. We also investigate whether livestock-poor households are more likely to diversify their livelihood options from pastoralism to include crop cultivation. Livestock wealth inequality was high in each of the four sites. Surprisingly, the Tarangire-Manyara site in Tanzania had the highest levels of inequality despite the fact that Tanzania had recently had a socialist political system while Kenya had been capitalistic since independence in 1963. The disparities in livestock assets between the rich and the poor households were lowest in the Maasai Mara site. Also, there was no direct relationship between low livestock wealth and the probability that a household would take up crop cultivation. However, areas under cultivation were the largest in Tarangire-Manyara and the lowest in Amboseli, possibly reflecting the influence of land tenure policy in Tarangire-Manyara and low rainfall in Amboseli. Most male headed households had more livestock wealth than female headed households. In Maasailand, high livestock-wealth inequalities and a growing restriction on livestock mobility, compounded with internal and external population pressures and land fragmentation, are likely to reduce pastoral resilience to droughts that are becoming more frequent and severe due to a warming global climate and widening climatic variability.
The African pastoral farming system consists of livestock and drylands crop-based production that... more The African pastoral farming system consists of livestock and drylands crop-based production that supports an agricultural population of 38 million people of whom 13.4 million in sub-Saharan Africa are extremely poor. Human population growth has resulted in low per capita livestock and land resources, and while the farming system has options to develop agriculture, further demographic expansion will exacerbate degradation and inequality. While there is potential for agricultural development, e.g. through intensification and greater market orientation, such development needs to take into account pastoral peoples’ access rights to resources and minimize trade-offs with current land and water users. Effective drought management, a key to the success of pastoralism, relies on multiple resource management strategies and community interactions. Therefore, there is a need for policies that strengthen the resilience of agriculture and pastoralists livelihoods through, e.g. support to livest...
Land use and land cover (LULC) changes can pose profound impacts on wildlife habitats, abundance ... more Land use and land cover (LULC) changes can pose profound impacts on wildlife habitats, abundance and distribution and on human-dominated landscapes. We investigated LULC changes in the Greater Serengeti ecosystem, Tanzania, for a period of 41 years
We analyse social demography, livelihood diversification and land tenure among the Maasai people ... more We analyse social demography, livelihood diversification and land tenure among the Maasai people inhabiting Kenya (three sites) and Tanzania (one site) with contrasting land tenure policies. In Kenya, land was communally owned in the rural Amboseli, fully privatized in the peri-urban Kitengela in Athi-Kaputiei and partially privatized and communally owned in the rural Maasai Mara. In Tanzania, the government owned the land but granted user rights to local villages in rural Simanjiro in Tarangire-Manyara. We interviewed 100 households per site from May to July 2006. There were regional distinctions in social demography, livelihood diversification, hiring herding labour and settlement arrangements, portraying differential transition away from traditional pastoral Maasai society. The transition is most advanced in Kitengela located near Nairobi City, where privatization of land tenure in the 1980s triggered land sub-division, unprecedented land fragmentation and large-scale collapse of...
Rivers in the Lake Victoria Basin support a multitude of ecosystem services, and the economies of... more Rivers in the Lake Victoria Basin support a multitude of ecosystem services, and the economies of the riparian countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi) rely on their discharge, but projections of their future discharges under various climate change scenarios are not available. Here, we apply Vector Autoregressive Moving Average models with eXogenous variables (VARMAX) statistical models to project hydrological discharge for 23 river catchments for the 2015–2100 period, under three representative concentration pathways (RCPs), namely RCPs 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5. We show an intensification of future annual rainfall by 25% in the eastern and 5–10% in the western part of the basin. At higher emission scenarios, the October to December season receives more rainfall than the March to May season. Temperature projections show a substantial increase in the mean annual minimum temperature by 1.3–4.5 °C and warming in the colder season (June to September) by 1.7–2.9 °C under RCP 4.5...
The fire severity of the 2013e2014 fire season within Sudanian ecosystems in Burkina Faso was eva... more The fire severity of the 2013e2014 fire season within Sudanian ecosystems in Burkina Faso was evaluated from Landsat 8 images using derivatives of the Normalized Burn Ratio algorithm (NBR). The relationship between the image-derived severity and the field observed severity i.e. Composite Burn Index (CBI) was best described by a nonlinear model of the form y ¼ a þ b*EXP(CBI *c) (R 2 ¼ 0.66). Classification of the image-derived burned area into burn severity classes achieved a classification Kappa accuracy statistic of 0.56. Highly severely burned areas were mapped with the highest accuracy (user's accuracy 77%, producer's accuracy 86%). The severity of the burn varied across phyto-geographical zones, protected status, land cover regimes, and forest management practices. The south Sudanian zone burned with a higher severity (low ¼ 7%, moderate ¼ 16% and high ¼ 13%) than the north Sudanian zone (low ¼ 5%, moderate ¼ 10% and high ¼ 5%). The mean of the highly severely burned areas differed significantly among the forest management practices (P ¼ 0.005). A pair-wise comparison of the severity mean area indicated that the highly burned areas within forests managed for wildlife purposes differed significantly with that of both forests under the joint management (P ¼ 0.006) and those under no management (P ¼ 0.024). Among the management practices, forests jointly managed by the local communities and the government had the highest unburned area and the least highly severely burned areas reflecting the impacts of bottom-up forestry management where the local communities are actively involved in the management.
Many projections of the impact of climate change on the crop, livestock and fishery production se... more Many projections of the impact of climate change on the crop, livestock and fishery production sectors of African agriculture are reported in the literature. However, they may be arguably too general to understand the magnitude of impact and to inform adaptation strategies and policy development efforts that are tailored to promoting climatesmart agriculture in the West African region alone. This paper was synthesized from several scholarly literature and aimed at providing up-to-date information on climate change impacts, adaptation strategies, policies and institutional mechanisms that each agriculture subsector had put in place in dealing with climate change and its related issues in West Africa. For each subsector (crop, fishery and livestock), the current status, climate change impacts, mitigation and adaption strategies have been analyzed. In addition, we reviewed recent policy initiatives in the region that foster the development and adoption of climate-smart agricultural options to improve resilience of farming systems and livelihoods of smallholder farmers to climate change risks. From community to national and regional levels, various strategies and policies are also being taken to guide actions and investment for climate-smart agriculture in West Africa.
Generally, drylands cover about 41% of Earth’s land surface and are inhabited by more than 2 bill... more Generally, drylands cover about 41% of Earth’s land surface and are inhabited by more than 2 billion people. In Eastern Africa, drylands occupy 75% of the land – ranging from 90% in Kenya, 75% of Ethiopia and 67% of Tanzania ; in total, covering an area of about 2 million square kilometres. More than 60 million or 40% of the population live here. These drylands are productive and contribute to national economies and to society. They support agriculture, livestock rearing, tourism and wild resource harvesting, and play a critical role in ensuring national food sufficiency. Kenya has the highest growth rate (2.7%), followed by Ethiopia (2.5%) and Tanzania (2%). Measuring multiple values of dryland systems provides a means for valuing, comparing and making policy decision based on various benefits of ecosystem services, and can be a powerful tool to support wise use and management of dryland environment.
There is mounting concern about declines in wildlife populations in many protected areas in Afric... more There is mounting concern about declines in wildlife populations in many protected areas in Africa. Migratory ungulates are especially vulnerable to impacts of changing land use outside protected areas on their abundance. Range compression may compromise the capacity of migrants to cope with climatic variation, and accentuate both competitive interactions and predation. We analyzed the population dynamics of 11 ungulate species within Kenya's Nairobi National Park, and compared them to those in the adjoining Athi-Kaputiei Plains, where human settlements and other developments had expanded. The migratory wildebeest decreased from almost 30,000 animals in 1978 to around 5,000 currently but the migratory zebra changed little regionally. Hartebeest, impala, eland, Thomson's gazelle, Grant's gazelle, waterbuck, warthog and giraffe numbers declined regionally, whereas buffalo numbers expanded. Bimonthly counts indicated temporary movements of several species beyond the unfenced park boundaries, especially during very wet years and that few wildebeest entered the park during the dry season following exceptionally wet conditions in 1998. Wildebeest were especially vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts in their wet season dispersal range on the plains. Deterioration in grassland conditions in the park following high rainfall plus lack of burning may have discouraged these animals from using the park as a dry season refuge. Our findings emphasise the interdependency between the park and the plains for seasonal wildlife movements, especially in exceptionally dry or wet years. To effectively conserve these ungulates, we recommend implementation of the new land-use plan for the Athi-Kaputiei Plains by the county government; expansion of the land leasing program for biodiversity payments; collecting poacher's snares; negotiation and enforcement of easements, allowing both wildlife and livestock to move through the Athi-Kaputiei Plains, providing incentives for conservation to landowners; and improving grassland conditions within the park through controlled burning so that more wildlife can gain protection there.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013
A systematic review was conducted by a multidisciplinary team to analyze qualitatively best avail... more A systematic review was conducted by a multidisciplinary team to analyze qualitatively best available scientific evidence on the effect of agricultural intensification and environmental changes on the risk of zoonoses for which there are epidemiological interactions between wildlife and livestock. The study found several examples in which agricultural intensification and/or environmental change were associated with an increased risk of zoonotic disease emergence, driven by the impact of an expanding human population and changing human behavior on the environment. We conclude that the rate of future zoonotic disease emergence or reemergence will be closely linked to the evolution of the agriculture–environment nexus. However, available research inadequately addresses the complexity and interrelatedness of environmental, biological, economic, and social dimensions of zoonotic pathogen emergence, which significantly limits our ability to predict, prevent, and respond to zoonotic diseas...
International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 2013
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the potential for pastoral communities inhabiting K... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the potential for pastoral communities inhabiting Kenyan Masailand to adapt to climate change using conservancies and payments for ecosystem services.Design/methodology/approachMultiple methods and data sources were used, comprising: a socio‐economic survey of 295 households; informal interviews with pastoralists, conservancy managers, and tourism investors; focus group discussions; a stakeholder workshop. Monthly rainfall data was used to analyse drought frequency and intensity. A framework of the interactions between pastoralists' drought coping and risk mitigation strategies and the conservancy effects was developed, and used to qualitatively assess some interactions across the three study sites. Changes in household livestock holdings and sources of cash income are calculated in relation to the 2008‐09 drought.FindingsThe frequency and intensity of droughts are increasing but are localised across the three study sites. The propor...
Transhumant pastoralism is one of the dominant livestock production systems in West Africa, and i... more Transhumant pastoralism is one of the dominant livestock production systems in West Africa, and it is characterized by seasonal and cyclical movement of varying degrees between complementary ecological areas. The common pattern of transhumance is moving herds from areas with pasture and water scarcity such as the Sahelian zone to areas where the forage and water are found, often in the sub-humid zone. Whereas the transhumant herds from the Sahel are mainly Zebu breeds, endemic ruminant livestock (ERL) are the dominant breeds in sub-humid zone of West Africa because of their tolerance to tsetse-borne trypanosomosis disease. These livestock fulfill different functions in the livelihood of rural communities in the region. To identify potential areas of interventions for sustainable natural resource management to improve ERL productivity, a desk study that included spatial mapping was performed to review and document the existing knowledge on transhumance in West Africa. Additionally, group discussions were held to analyze the (actual or potential) effects of transhumant herds on natural resource management and ERL in the sub-humid zone. This study covered sub-humid zone in The Gambia, Guinea, Mali and Senegal. The key question we addressed in this study was as follows: What are the key trends and changes in transhumant pastoralism and how do these impact sustainable management of natural resources including endemic livestock? The results of the desk study and group discussions showed that there have been more southerly movements by transhumant pastoralists into the sub-humid zone over the past three decades and this has contributed to growing competition for grazing resources. The presence of transhumant herds in the sub-humid zone has a potential impact on management and conservation of ERL through crossbreeding with transhumant Zebu breeds from the Sahel but only study sites in Mali showed a high risk.
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