Management of highland wetlands in central Kenya: the importance of community education, awareness and eco-tourism in biodiversity conservation

Macharia, John M.; Thenya, Thuita; Ndiritu, George G.

doi:10.1080/14888386.2010.9712652

Cited by 26 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…However, wetlands bear recreational values and, if conserved and managed properly, they motivate visitors and generate resources needed for the development of local communities. The integration of tourism in wetland conservation can be found globally: Camargue wetland in France (Beltrame et al, 2013); Nabugabo wetland in Uganda (Bikangaga et al, 2007); Junam and Upo wetland in South Korea (Do et al, 2015); Ondiri and Manguo wetlands in Kenya (Macharia et al, 2010); and Nariva Swamp in Trinidad (Pemberton and Mader-Charles, 2005). Tourism activities are sources of economic thrust for conservation of different types of natural areas, such as nature reserves and wetlands, since they always attract visitors (Brandl et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tourism and wetland conservation: application of travel cost and willingness to pay an entry fee at Ghodaghodi Lake Complex, Nepal

Lamsal

Atreya

Pant

et al. 2016

Natural Resources Forum

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tourism and wetland conservation: application of travel cost and willingness to pay an entry fee at Ghodaghodi Lake Complex, Nepal

Lamsal

Atreya

Pant

et al. 2016

Natural Resources Forum

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Consistent with this study, any attempt to map out small-sized wetlands must be accompanied by ground-truthing surveys and complemented by very high spatial resolution images, such as those found on Google Earth Pro maps, as well as other versions, including IKONOS images for optical studies, RADARSAT-1 and 2 (Roeck et al 2008). Other than locating and mapping wetlands, local knowledge can be useful in inquiring about their ecological and socio-economic significance (Macharia et al 2010). Using Google Earth Pro maps and ground-truthing it was possible to capture important ecological information, including wetland size changes for the past fifteen years, as well as its capacity to support vegetation and store water.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Usually, these artificial wetlands are inhabited by frogs and they also act as breeding areas for mosquitoes. When near human dwellings, wetlands can be very unpopular with surrounding communities, who regard them as hazardous areas where accidents are likely to occur (Macharia et al 2010). Dumping of solid waste and domestic effluent into wetlands is a common and widespread practice, primarily as a result of inadequate awareness of wetland values and weak enforcement of solid waste management regulations in Kenya (NEMA 2011).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, undisturbed and permanently flooded abandoned quarries can evolve over time to acquire similar characteristics as natural wetlands though they are rarely considered during national wetland inventories and assessment studies (Macharia et al 2010;MEMR 2012). A period of ten years has been reported as being sufficient for an artificial wetland to develop some fundamental features of natural wetlands (Ruhi et al 2012).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Ecological, recreational and educational potential of a small artificial wetland in an urban environment

Gitau

Ndiritu

Gichuki

2019

African Journal of Aquatic Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pertinent questions remain on whether small, artificial wetlands, such as abandoned quarries play any ecological or socioeconomic role in the environment. To increase information on roles played by small-sized artificial wetlands in the environment, an assessment study was carried out in the Lily Wetland, an abandoned flooded quarry in Karura forest in Nairobi City, Kenya. This study was guided by the idea that artificial wetlands can develop over time to acquire ecological characteristics similar to those of natural wetlands. Ecological information was collected on water physico-chemical characteristics, vegetation, birds and macroinvertebrates, whereas questionnaires were administered to assess recreational and educational values of the Lily Wetland. Inspection of Google Earth maps showed that the pond has not dried in the past fifteen years, with its area remaining relatively constant between dry (0.29 ± 0.03 ha) and wet (0.36 ± 0.06 ha) seasons. Water quality of the wetland was good: pH of 7.5-7.8; dissolved oxygen = 8.73 ± 0.43 mg l −1 ; and clarity (Secchi disk reading) = 24.00 ± 0.43 cm. The biological component included 12 wetland plant species, 11 aquatic macroinvertebrate taxa, four species of wetland birds, and viable populations of fish and frogs. An assessment of the recreational and educational importance of the Lily Wetland, based on 34 respondents showed that 24 of the respondents visited Karura forest for recreational purposes, whereas 10 were there for educational purposes. Further analyses between the different benefits showed that the value of the forest, walking trails and wetland were significantly ranked important, when compared with the value placed on playing in fields and visiting the restaurants. Specifically, the Lily Wetland was regarded as important, because of its scenery, nature and recreational attributes. This study concluded that the Lily Wetland and other small wetlands in the urban environments have potential for recreational and educational use as in situ laboratories and demonstration centers, where benefits of conserving urban biodiversity can be communicated.

show abstract

“…), who are valuable and often ignored stakeholders in on‐the‐ground conservation projects (Macharia et al. ; de Snoo et al. ).…”

Section: Benefits Of National‐level Conservation Conferencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

National conservation science conferences as a means of bridging conservation science and practice

Iwamura‏

Berger‐Tal

2018

Conservation Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Management of highland wetlands in central Kenya: the importance of community education, awareness and eco-tourism in biodiversity conservation

Cited by 26 publications

References 19 publications

Tourism and wetland conservation: application of travel cost and willingness to pay an entry fee at Ghodaghodi Lake Complex, Nepal

Tourism and wetland conservation: application of travel cost and willingness to pay an entry fee at Ghodaghodi Lake Complex, Nepal

Ecological, recreational and educational potential of a small artificial wetland in an urban environment

National conservation science conferences as a means of bridging conservation science and practice

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About