Forests in Kenya are threatened by unsustainable uses and conversion to alternative land uses. In spite of the consequences of forest degradation and biodiversity loss and reliance of communities on forests livelihoods, there is little empirical data on the role of forest resources in livelihoods of the local communities. Socioeconomic, demographic, and forest use data were obtained by interviewing 367 households. Forest product market survey was undertaken to determine prices of various forest products for valuation of forest use. Forest income was significant to households contributing 33% of total household income. Fuel wood contributed 50%, food (27%), construction material (18%), and fodder, and thatching material 5% to household forest income. Absolute forest income and relative forest income (%) were not significantly different across study locations and between ethnic groups. However, absolute forest income and relative forest income (%) were significantly different among wealth classes. Poor households were more dependent on forests resources. However, in absolute terms, the rich households derived higher forest income. These results provide valuable information on the role of forest resources to livelihoods and could be applied in developing forest conservation policies for enhanced ecosystem services and livelihoods.

No abstract

The ecosystem services from Kenya's forest ecosystems have remained largely unmeasured and undervalued. Consequently, the benefits they provide are ignored in most forest management and conservation decisions. This has led to degradation and conversion to alternative uses. To provide a sound basis for decision making in forest management, it is important to estimate economic values provided by East Mau. This study relied on data collected from households using structured interviews and secondary data from published and unpublished sources. The total indirect use values (soil functions, hydrological functions, climate regulation values) from East Mau forest ecosystem was about US$219 million (KES 20billion). The economic values of nutrient cycling, erosion control, water flow and quality regulation were US$13.30, US$ 4.50 ha-1yr-1, US$ 1421.03 ha-1yr-1 and US $12.83 HH-1yr-1 respectively. The annual value for carbon sequestration and oxygen generation was US$3308.05 ha-1yr-1 and 1365.13 ha-1yr-1 respectively. These results provide valuable information on the magnitude of the selected ecosystem services that could be relevant in decision-making concerning conservation and management of East Mau forest ecosystem for enhanced ecosystem services and livelihoods. Contribution/Originality: This study is one of very few studies which have quantified indirect use values of forest ecosystem in Kenya. The study has provided valuable information on the magnitude of the selected ecosystem services relevant to sustainable conservation and management of forest ecosystems for enhanced ecosystem services and livelihoods 1. INTRODUCTION Forests are critical in provisioning of various commodities and services such as water, food, medicine, fuel wood, fodder and timber. Forests also provide a wide range of environmental services that support biodiversity conservation, watershed protection, protection of soil and mitigate global climate change [1, 2]. However, there is unprecedented increase in deforestation globally. It is estimated that 1 billion to over 6 billion ha of the global landscapes are degraded [3] resulting in diminished land productivity and impacting negatively on the flow of Ecosystem Services. For example, it is estimated that 60% of the ecosystems services are being degraded through unsustainable land use conversions leading to massive emission of Green House Gases [2]. It is estimated that one billion people live in degraded areas, which represent 15 percent of the Earth's population, and one third of the

No abstract

Forest Management of ecosystems plays a fundamental role in providing essential goods and services to rural communities. However, there has been a reduction in the natural forest cover due to resource utilization pressure. The pressure on forest resources is catalyzed by the expansion of markets for forest products, agricultural expansion and escalating poverty levels. An upsurge in the number of users of herbal medicine in urban and rural areas has increased the pressure on the forests, while modernization and change in lifestyle have led to the loss of traditional knowledge associated with medicinal plants utilization and conservation. No detailed economic evaluation of medicinal plants has been undertaken and the current illegal, unregulated and unreported exploitation of medicinal plants has led to overexploitation and loss of biodiversity. A better understanding of the abundance, distribution, uses and economic value of medicinal plants is important for the sustainable exploitation and conservation of forests. The study covered four forest blocks of Kakamega, North Nandi, South Nandi and Kibiri to determine plant species diversity, and their distribution in the disturbed and undisturbed areas of the forest; assess knowledge, utilization and economic estimate by willingness to-pay approach of medicinal plants to communities adjacent to the Kakamega Forest. Value chain analysis had been conducted for medicinal plants and forest user groups from Community Forest Association (CFA) had been trained in product development and access market were used in the study. Experimental Plot techniques were also used to gather ecological data on the frequency, density, diversity and distribution of the plants, whereas key informant interviews, focus group discussions and household interviews were utilized to gather information on ethnobotanical knowledge and household socioeconomic data. Thirty-two key species of medicinal plants were identified and used by local people around the Kakamega forest ecosystem. Forty-seven percent (47%) of these were trees, thirty four percent (34%) were shrubs, sixteen percent (16%) were herbs and climbers three percent (3%). Seventy percent (70%) of the medicinal plants were within the forest and thirty percent (30%) were outside the forest. The three most dominant families were Euphorbiaceae, Piperaceae and Fabaceae with leaves as the most common plant part used constituting 31 % (n=26) of the preparations, followed by roots with 20% (n=17),bark with 14% (n=14), fruits with 11 % (n=9), seeds having 11% (n=9), flowers 2% (n=2) and sap 2 % (n=3). The economic benefits generated from the medicinal plants within the forest ecosystem services in the Kakamega-Nandi landscape in terms of direct use value was about KES 601,918,256 (≈USD 5.19 million) per year, while indirect use value was KES 317,288,046 (≈USD 2.74 million) per year. Indigenous knowledge of the medicinal uses of the plants, their commercial aspects and distribution trends in the forest provision of wide scope for understanding relevant market systems may be tapped for decision support in rural health service planning, policy formulation for conserving the forest, tracking and mitigation of climate change impacts.