Land cover change under unplanned human settlements: A study of the Chyulu Hills squatters, Kenya

Muriuki, Grace; Seabrook, Leonie; McAlpine, Clive; Jacobson, Chris; Price, Bronwyn; Baxter, Greg

doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2010.10.002

Cited by 77 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The degree of fragmentation has relationships with patch size and number, shape, connectivity, and index features [37][38][39]. Drivers of landscape fragmentation can include both natural and anthropogenic forces, including civil war and other forms of conflict, landslides, and fire [3,40,41]. The resulting, small, isolated patches decrease both the aesthetic value and habitat quality of a landscape, which may lead to biodiversity loss and the establishment of invasive species in the landscape [42,43].…”

Section: Landscape Fragmentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, we excluded the 1976 and 2006 images from this portion of the analysis. Earlier research recommends the use of fragmentation metrics that depict distinct and meaningful fragmentation features rather than utilising metrics that are statistically redundant [3,41,44,61]. Given the complex nature of landscape disaggregation into isolated patches, several scholars have argued that a single parameter is insufficient to describe the trend and magnitude of landscape disaggregation [22,44,62].…”

Section: Landscape Fragmentation Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impacts on the Urban Environment: Land Cover Change Trajectories and Landscape Fragmentation in Post-War Western Area, Sierra Leone

2018

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An influential underlying driver of human-induced landscape change is civil war and other forms of conflict that cause human displacement. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) increase environmental pressures at their destination locations while reducing them at their origins. This increased pressure presents an environment for increased land cover change (LCC) rates and landscape fragmentation. To test whether this hypothesis is correct, this research sought to understand LCC dynamics in the Western Area of Sierra Leone from 1976 to 2011, a period including pre-conflict, conflict, and post-conflict eras, using Landsat and SPOT satellite imagery. A trajectory analysis of classified images compared LCC trajectories before and during the war with after the war (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011). Over the 35-year period, the built-up land class rapidly increased, in parallel with an increase in urban and peri-urban agriculture. During the war, urban and peri-urban agriculture became a major livelihood activity for displaced rural residents to make the region food self-sufficient, especially when the war destabilised food production activities. The reluctance of IDPs to return to their rural homes after the war caused an increased demand for land driven by housing needs. Meanwhile, protected forest and other forest declined. A significant finding to emerge from this research is that landscape fragmentation increased in conjunction with declining forest cover while built-up areas aggregated. This has important implications for the region's flora, fauna, and human populations given that other research has shown that landscape fragmentation affects the landscape's ability to provide important ecosystem services.

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Section: Landscape Fragmentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Landscape Fragmentation Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts on the Urban Environment: Land Cover Change Trajectories and Landscape Fragmentation in Post-War Western Area, Sierra Leone

2018

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“…A significant number of the households analyzed in the studies reviewed are faced with weakly defined and insecure property rights [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42].…”

Section: Property Rights and Institutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Households’ Land-Use Decisions: A Critical Review of Micro-Level Studies in Tropical Regions

Hettig

Lay

Sipangule

2016

Land

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This paper reviews 91 recent empirical and theoretical studies that analyzed land-use change at the farm-household level. The review builds on a conceptual framework of land-use change drivers and conducts a meta-analysis. Results show that the conversion of forests into cultivated land or grassland, mainly used for agriculture or ranching, are most frequently analyzed. Only a small number of studies consider the transition of wetlands for agriculture and few cases deal with the conversion from agriculture into protected zones. Moreover, interactions between drivers add to the complexity of land-use change processes. These interrelationships are conditioned by institutions and policies. In particular, the market-oriented reforms adopted by many developing countries in the 1980s and 1990s seem to have had an important role in altering land use, while impacts of more recent policies need to be better explored. Many studies rely on small samples and face problems of internal validity. Despite these weaknesses, the literature points at micro-level economic growth, for example in income and capital endowments, as a strong catalyst of human induced land-use change. However, the review suggests that-across the different studies and cases-there is considerable heterogeneity in the relationship between these factors and land-use change.

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“…Some engage in charcoal burning, wood carving and poaching. The squatter problem around the eastern boundary of CHNP has also been linked to land degradation around CHNP (Muriuki et al 2011).…”

Section: Journal Of Political Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They left the mountain voluntarily as their population increased in the early 20 th century, and settled in the lowlands around the mountain (Kalibo and Medley 2007). On the other hand, some Kamba people living on the eastern slopes of the Chyulu Hills (CH) were forcefully evicted to pave the way for the establishment of CHNP in the 1980s and 1990s (Muriuki et al 2011). Management regimes in the two places are also different; residents of the CHNP face strict park regulations and cannot legally access park resources such as grass and firewood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The political ecology of human-elephant relations: comparing local perceptions of elephants around Chyulu Hills and Mount Kasigau in southern Kenya

Kamau¹

2017

Journal of Political Ecology

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Although African elephants have a global appeal and donors especially in the global North significantly support their protection, rural African's attitudes towards elephant conservation are complex, and discouraging in certain locations. A proper understanding of the attitudes of people living around protected areas towards elephants is important for designing successful elephant conservation programs. Using a political ecology framework, this study assessed attitudes towards elephant among two communities living near protected areas in the Tsavo region of Kenya; the Kamba who live around Chyulu Hills National Park and the Kasigau Taita who live around Mt. Kasigau Forest, Kenya. I conducted in depth interviews with local residents, to examine the link between local attitudes towards elephants with the political-ecological history of extra-local effects especially the establishment and management of protected areas. The results show that residents around Mt. Kasigau had more favorable attitudes towards elephants than those around the Chyulu Hills National Park. This article concludes that local perceptions about elephants in the Tsavo region are political, they are embedded in issues of rights to livelihood, and access to and control over lands and resources. I argue that local meanings and concerns about elephants need to be integrated in the management plans of protected areas. Key Words: elephants, Chyulu Hills, Mount Kasigau, conservation, political ecology, protected areas RésuméMême si les éléphants africains jouissent d'une renommée mondiale et que leur protection est financée par de nombreux donateurs du Nord global, l'attitude des Africains issus de milieux ruraux envers la conversation de cette espèce est complexe. Cette dernière est même découragée dans certaines localités. En empruntant à l'écologie politique, cet article évalue l'attitudes des membres de deux communautés envers les éléphants. Celles-ci sont localisées à proximité d'aires protégées dans la région du Tsavo au Kenya et incluent les Kamba qui vivent près du Parc National des Collines Chyulu et les Kasigau Taita qui habitent la forêt du Mont Kasigau. À travers l'analyse d'entrevues détaillées avec les résidents locaux, l'article a pour but d'examiner le lien entre les attitudes locales envers les éléphants et l'histoire politico-écologique des effets extra-locaux, en particulier l'établissement et l'administration des aires protégées. Les résulats démontrent que les résidents du Mont Kasigau adoptent des attitudes plus favorables envers les éléphants que ceux qui vivent près du Parc National des Collines Chyulu. En conclusion, l'article suggère que les perceptions locales liées aux éléphants dans la région du Tsavo sont politiques, et imbriquées dans des problèmes de droit, de survie, et d'accès et de contrôles du territoire et de ses ressources. J'argue que les significations et préoccupations locales envers les éléphants doivent être intégrées dans des plans plus vastes de gérance des aires protégées. Mots clés : éléphants, Coll...

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Land cover change under unplanned human settlements: A study of the Chyulu Hills squatters, Kenya

Cited by 77 publications

References 34 publications

Impacts on the Urban Environment: Land Cover Change Trajectories and Landscape Fragmentation in Post-War Western Area, Sierra Leone

Impacts on the Urban Environment: Land Cover Change Trajectories and Landscape Fragmentation in Post-War Western Area, Sierra Leone

Drivers of Households’ Land-Use Decisions: A Critical Review of Micro-Level Studies in Tropical Regions

The political ecology of human-elephant relations: comparing local perceptions of elephants around Chyulu Hills and Mount Kasigau in southern Kenya

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