Community perceptions on spatio-temporal land use changes in the Amboseli ecosystem, southern Kenya

Globally, over 200 million pastoral households and over one billion livestock herds that include camels, cattle, sheep and goats are supported by the rangeland ecosystems (Alkemade et al. 2011; Dong et al. 2011; Bekele and Kabede 2014). Rangelands are often referred to as pastoral lands because pastoralism characterized by extensive livestock production is the main land use activity in these areas. They provide daily and seasonal forage, water resources and breeding grounds to large concentrations of terrestrial wild animals and livestock (Curtin and Western 2008; Western et al. 2009a, 2009b; Niamir-Fuller et al. 2012; Mbau 2013).

Rangeland ecosystems consist of various resources with many ecological, social and economic values (Little and Mcpeak 2014). The key resource areas as described by Worden et al. (2003) and Ngugi and Conant (2008) form the fundamental components that influence ecological patterns and processes in the rangeland ecosystems. The key resource patches include dry and wet season grazing areas (hereafter referred to as grazing areas), variety of habitats, salt licks, watering points and migratory corridors, which link seasonal grazing areas with settlements and markets (Behnke and Freudenberger 2013).

Rangelands are undergoing land use and land cover changes, mostly through conversion to croplands and human settlements (Tsegaye et al. 2010). Worldwide, an estimated 4.7 million km² of grassland and 6 million km² of woodland have been converted to croplands since 1950 (Tsegaye et al. 2010). In Kenya, land use changes in rangelands have been mostly attributed to permanent settlement by pastoral communities as a result of population growth and partly to the establishment of protected areas in Kenya since the 1940s (Kioko and Okello 2010; Morara et al. 2014). The result is curtailed mobility of pastoral herds which undermines extensive livestock production in the rangelands.

In Kajiado County, wildlife dispersal areas have been converted to settlements, leading to increases in croplands, fragmented habitats and reduction in riverine vegetation (Campbell et al. 2005; Morara et al. 2014). The Amboseli ecosystem in Kajiado County exemplifies the changes observed in most Kenya’s rangeland ecosystems. Some of the resource changes reported in Amboseli include declining habitat diversity, loss of woodlands and decline in range productivity (Western and Van Praet 1973; Western 2006; Western and Maitumo 2004; Western et al. 2015a, 2015b; Kioko and Okello 2010). The changes are affecting the provision of ecosystem services such as forage production and supply of raw materials, impacting negatively the pastoral livelihoods (Caldas et al. 2015). The long-term resource changes have resulted in a number of challenges, including restricted livestock mobility, decline in grazing areas and increased conflicts over natural resources (Egeru et al. 2014). Restricted mobility is known to lead to increased grazing pressure that predisposes soil to erosion and lowers rangeland productivity and livestock production (Msoffe et al. 2011).

Traditional institutions which regulated rangeland resource use for centuries are increasingly becoming ineffective due to their lack of recognition and support, leading to deterioration of range ecosystem services. Traditionally, resource monitoring and assessment by the local communities enabled good judgment on sustainable utilization (Ghorbani et al. 2013). Although rangeland monitoring and assessment by local communities has been shown to be effective in tracking resource dynamics, combining local knowledge and practices with conventional approaches gives a better understanding of rangeland ecosystems (Msoffe et al. 2011; Dabasso et al. 2012; Suleiman and Ahmed 2013; Belay et al. 2014). As indicated by Angassa et al. (2012), involvement of local communities in assessing their opinions on changes in land use and land cover (LULC) and pastoral resources over time is crucial in devising proper management systems for sustainable use of arid and semi-arid landscapes.

This study was therefore conducted to understand community perceptions on spatio-temporal dynamics of pastoral resources in the Amboseli ecosystem. The participatory approach was considered an entry point for local involvement in perceiving their problems and designing sustainable land use and natural resource practices.

Study area

The study was conducted in the Amboseli ecosystem located in Kajiado County of Kenya. The ecosystem comprises Amboseli National Park and surrounding group ranches, which cover nearly 8,500 km² (Western and Behrensmeyer 2009). Figure 1 shows the study area map.

The ecosystem is characterized by a warm dry climate with temperatures ranging between 14 °C and 30 °C and two rainy seasons averaging 250 to 300 mm per annum (Kioko et al. 2012). Age and nutrient status of soils varies with geology, terrain and altitude (Western and Maitumo 2004; Kioko et al. 2012). A series of permanent swamps are fed by underground aquifers from Mt. Kilimanjaro and local run-off during rainy seasons (Okello and Kioko 2011; Mose et al. 2013).

Acacia xanthophloea, A. tortilis, A. mellifera and Commiphora species are the main tree species in the study area. The area has experienced reduction in woodlands due to human encroachment, agricultural expansion and destruction by elephants (Western and Maitumo 2004; Kioko and Okello 2010; Okello et al. 2011). The ecosystem has a large population of elephants (Loxodonta africana), zebras (Equus burchelli) and wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), with a rich carnivore population of lions (Panthera leo), hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus), leopards (Panthera pardus) and jackals (Canis aureus) (Okello and Kioko 2011).

The human population is historically low and sparsely distributed but has been growing rapidly in recent decades, mostly on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro, around permanent swamps and rivers and on main roads. The predominant land use in the area is extensive livestock production and wildlife conservation (Kioko and Okello 2010; Kioko et al. 2012). The local inhabitants are mainly Maasai who are transitioning from nomadic to sedentary and agropastoral livelihood systems. Immigrant populations from other parts of Kenya and neighbouring Tanzania practise irrigated farming within the wetlands (Campbell et al. 2005; Kioko and Okello 2010).

Pastoral resources were reported to have generally changed across the three land use types in the Amboseli ecosystem. The most notable changes were the reduction in the grazing areas in all sites and increase in cultivation activities. Greater reduction was reported in the semi-nomadic and sedentary than in the nomadic land use sites. The variety of pastures, diversity of habitats and tree cover were mentioned to have declined significantly over the period under study. This was attributed to the rising grazing pressure due to restricted herd movements. Differential disappearance of preferred forage species and habitats reported by respondents indicate that the pasture quality as grazing area has deteriorated over time.

It seems likely that reduction of grazing area and degradation in pasture resources does reflect the expansion of cultivation and increased grazing pressure, as suggested by the respondents. Kioko et al. (2012) reported similar observations in the Amboseli ecosystem. In their study, respondents reported the disappearance in certain grass species over the last few decades, which they attributed to grazing pressure and deforestation. These perceptions are in line with the findings of different authors (Western and Nightingale 2003; Western and Maitumo 2004; Western 2006; Kioko and Okello 2010; Msoffe et al. 2011; Morara et al. 2014), who indicated declining trends in habitat diversity, woodlands, grass quantity; conversion of large tracts of land into settlements, croplands and trading centres; and a reduction in both dry and wet season grazing areas. The loss of habitat diversity (Western 2006) and grassland productivity (Western et al. 2015a, 2015b) has been reported in the study area. These authors attributed the changes to increased human activities. Similar results attributing the decline in grazing areas and conditions to the expansion of crop cultivation have been reported in the semi-arid areas of Karamoja in Uganda (Egeru et al. 2014).

Extensive traditional livestock production associated with herd mobility is still prominent in the nomadic land use site where land has not been sub-divided. In this site, herd mobility was reported as an important strategy that allows pastoral households to exploit heterogeneous environments and cope with droughts and disease outbreaks. According to the World Initiative for Sustainable Pastoralism (2008), well-governed mobile pastoralism is conducive to biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management. Settlements in the nomadic land use site are mostly temporary, intended to support mobile livestock production and exploit varying pasture conditions between locations and in response to seasonal fluctuations. Settlement location and turnover reflects social and physical factors which favour extensive traditional livestock production systems (Western et al. 2009a, 2009b, Nkedianye et al. 2011).

Land subdivision in the semi-nomadic and sedentary land sites has reportedly reduced grazing areas and herd mobility, both of which undermine the effectiveness of mobile pastoral systems (Western et al. 2009a, 2009b; Groom and Western 2013). Curtin and Western (2008) and Kioko and Okello (2010) reported that restricted mobility has led to loss of biodiversity, consequently impacting negatively on rangeland health and the resilience of grasslands and pastoral livelihoods to droughts.

As reported by Okello and Kioko (2011), the rise of crop cultivation in the Amboseli ecosystem has led to loss of grazing land and livestock herds (Western and Nightingale 2003), forcing households to switch to alternative livelihoods. The expanding road network in the Amboseli area, especially the recent construction of the Emali-Loitokitok tarmac road, has greatly improved access to markets for farm produce, further stimulating adoption of cultivation by pastoralists due to better returns from crop farming than livestock production in the area (Okello and Kioko 2011; Kioko et al. 2012). Mbau (2013) in a study of land use changes in Taita-Taveta and Maitima et al. (2009) in their study of the linkages between land use, land degradation and biodiversity loss in East Africa showed that increase in crop cultivation reduces grazing area. They observed that such trends were triggered by road developments and greater returns from cultivation than pastoral livestock production.

The most significant changes perceived by communities in the Amboseli region are reduction in grazing land as a result of encroachment of other land uses in the area. The changes are more pronounced in the semi-nomadic and sedentary than in the nomadic land use sites. Sedentary and semi-nomadic land use sites reflected greater transformations in land tenure from group to individual ownership, an expansion of crop production and a reduction in grazing land. The decline in grazing land has partly been attributed to sedentarization, rangeland fragmentation and degradation due to land tenure shift from group ranches to private ownership. However, in the nomadic land use site, extensive traditional livestock production is still possible due to little farming activities.

The study shows that participatory resource mapping is a useful tool for engaging local communities in mapping the status of their resources, a prerequisite for sustainable community-based resource use planning and management.