It is estimated that more than 2.5 billion people worldwide use biomass for cooking. Burning biomass is one of the major contributors to carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission-a principle gas in global warming and climate change. One way of cutting down the CO 2 emissions is adaptation of efficient and clean energy technologies. This study examined the efficiency of the energy saving stoves in Amboseli ecosystem by comparing the cooking time, energy use, wood fuel and carbon emissions to the traditional three stone open fire set ups. The result indicates a statistical difference in the time spent cooking on energy stoves and three stone open fire (t = 5.3055; n = 60; p = 0.00117). Energy saving stoves saved 12.7% -33.3% of wood fuel compared to the traditional three stones set ups. Water boiling tests to determine the energy savings, revealed that energy saving stoves saved between 25.74% and 26.16% energy/joule per session in-house and outdoor settings respectively. Based on the two meals prepared per day by each household, the total Carbon Emission Savings for the 1000 local beneficiaries of energy saving stoves varied from 102,200 kg CO 2 (indoor cooking) to 357,700 kg CO 2 (outdoor cooking) per year. It is therefore concluded that energy saving stoves saves time, fuel wood and energy, and reduces carbon emissions. The study findings refute the claims that open fire when carefully operated can be fuel efficient and clean burning to rival energy saving stoves. To improve the performance of the energy saving stoves, it is recommended that a design modification be done to include a chimney to emit excess smoke during indoor cooking; and the stove should be fixed to the floor with mortar to minimise heat loss and breakages.

In the last few decades, the impacts of human activities on ecosystem have rapidly increased resulting to detrimental ecosystem changes. Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is one of the greatest consequences of human impacts on the environment. Although HWC has been there for decades, its intensity seems to be growing with the spread of human settlements, changes in land use patterns and diminishing suitable natural habitats for wildlife. To mitigate HWC, various strategies have been devised and implemented. This study focused on predator-proof bomas (

As natural habitats continue to shrink in Kenya's Amboseli Ecosystem, livestock depredation by lions Panthera leo threatens both the livelihoods of pastoralist communities and the lion populations affected by retaliatory killings. Finding ways for people and carnivores to coexist at the landscape scale is crucial to the long-term persistence of many threatened animal populations. The fortification of existing traditional bomas to make them predator-proof reduces night-time depredation of livestock. However, the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of such an initiative rely on boma owners taking responsibility for the upkeep and repair of their bomas. In August 2018 we surveyed 88 predator-proof bomas constructed during 2012–2018 and recorded their characteristics and levels of damage. We examined which variables influence disrepair, using a series of statistical analyses, including generalized linear mixed models. Our results reveal there was more disrepair in bomas constructed with wooden posts, confirming the benefit of using recycled plastic posts; in bomas with lower livestock density, suggesting that fewer animals could cause more damage or that such damage is not repaired; and in bomas located further away from a neighbouring predator-proof boma, suggesting a social element in encouraging or enabling boma owners to carry out maintenance. We recommend the consideration and further investigation of this social influence in guiding and improving the sustainability of conservation programmes that use predator-proof bomas, with a view to reducing negative interactions between pastoralists and lions.

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