The link between poverty, environment and ecotourism development in areas adjacent to Maasai Mara and Amboseli protected areas, Kenya

Wishitemi, Bob; Momanyi, Stephen; Ombati, Bernard Gichana; Okello, Moses Makonjio

doi:10.1016/j.tmp.2015.07.003

Cited by 55 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Wildlife and livestock densities from the model are also correlated with conservation support. National parks and game reserves in Kenya cover 8% of the land surface and account for 35% of wildlife [14,98]. However, between 65% and 70% of wildlife is found in communal lands surrounding protected areas [14,99].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rangeland Livelihood Strategies under Varying Climate Regimes: Model Insights from Southern Kenya

Kariuki

Willcock

Marchant

2018

Land

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Rangelands throughout sub-Saharan Africa are currently undergoing two major pressures: climate change (through altered rainfall and seasonality patterns) and habitat fragmentation (brought by land use change driven by land demand for agriculture and conservation). Here we explore these dimensions, investigating the impact of land use change decisions, by pastoralists in southern Kenya rangelands, on human well-being and animal densities using an agent-based model. The constructed agent-based model uses input biomass data simulated by the Lund-Potsdam-Jena General Ecosystem Simulator (LPJ-GUESS) dynamic vegetation model and parameterized with data from literature. Scenarios of land use change under different rainfall years, land tenure types and levels of wildlife conservation support were simulated. Reflecting reality, our results show livestock grazing as the predominant land use that changes with precipitation and land tenure leading to varying livelihood strategies. For example, agriculture is the most common livelihood in wet years and conservation levels increase with increasing support of wildlife conservation initiatives. Our model demonstrates the complex and multiple interactions between pastoralists, land management and the environment. We highlight the importance of understanding the conditions driving the sustainability of semi-arid rangelands and the communities they support, and the role of external actors, such as wildlife conservation investors, in East Africa.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rangeland Livelihood Strategies under Varying Climate Regimes: Model Insights from Southern Kenya

Kariuki

Willcock

Marchant

2018

Land

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“…Research suggests that economic growth, poverty alleviation, and ecological degradation may be linked (Zhang et al, 2015b), and that environmental degradation is one of the causes of poverty. Therefore, poverty and environmental degradation and their interactions should be addressed to pursue sustainable agricultural development (Wishitemi et al, 2015; Kanter et al, 2016; Poole et al, 2007), and sustainable agriculture (Baker and Griffis, 2009; Sivakumar et al, 2000; Cheng et al; Leakey et al, 2005). Consequences of non‐sustainable development are increasing environmental degradation and reduced ability to create wealth (Raleigh, 2011).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Theoretical Framework for Understanding the Spatial Coupling between Poverty and the Environment: A Case Study from China

et al. 2019

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Poverty and environmental degradation is an interactive and complex issue, which needs to be addressed to pursue human sustainable development. The objective of this study was to create a theoretical framework for sustainable agriculture, considering the dynamic interaction between environment and multidimensional poverty. The model system used in this study was the region surrounding the Chinese Three Gorges reservoir. We constructed an evaluation index system to measure the dynamic interactions by employing Entropy-weight and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methods. In this case study, we analyzed the dynamic interactive relationships between environmental degradation and rural poverty by adopting geographic information system (GIS) and comprehensive index evaluation, based on statistical (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013) and remote sensing image data. We found that: (i) in the Three Gorges reservoir region (TGRR), a vicious cycle between poverty, environmental load, and livelihood is occurring; (ii) in areas stressed by environmental concerns the environmental load is the main stress factor, while in the areas stressed by poverty, livelihood is the main stress factor; and (iii) the coupling degrees between environmental degradation and poverty differ in different areas of the TGRR, and counties with adverse features have been spatially agglomerated over time; and the area with high coupling and high synergy accounts for the 38.1% of the total reservoir region. core Ideas• A coupling coordination model for the environment and rural poverty is built. • Both environment degradation and rural poverty in China's Three Gorges Reservoir Region have been deteriorated. • Coupling degrees differ observably in different areas of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region in rural China. • Main stress factors are environment load and livelihood.

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“…CBNRM channels social and economic benefits to communities in exchange for their participation in wildlife conservation. Benefits include secured access to land, institutional support, employment, and that profits from ecotourism can be more focused on supporting economically and socially fair and long-lasting partnerships with local communities39. We are optimistic that the Greater Mara ecosystem would benefit tremendously from such policies, hereunder focused on the human-animal conflicts directly caused by fencing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fencing bodes a rapid collapse of the unique Greater Mara ecosystem

Løvschal

Bøcher

Pilgaard

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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With land privatization and fencing of thousands of hectares of communal grazing areas, East Africa is struggling with one of the most radical cultural and environmental changes in its history. The 668,500-hectare Greater Mara is of crucial importance for the great migrations of large mammals and for Maasai pastoralist culture. However, the magnitude and pace of these fencing processes in this area are almost completely unknown. We provide new evidence that fencing is appropriating land in this area at an unprecedented and accelerating speed and scale. By means of a mapped series of multispectral satellite imagery (1985–2016), we found that in the conservancies with the most fences, areal cover of fenced areas has increased with >20% since 2010. This has resulted in a situation where fencing is rapidly increasing across the Greater Mara, threatening to lead to the collapse of the entire ecosystem in the near future. Our results suggest that fencing is currently instantiating itself as a new permanent self-reinforcing process and is about to reach a critical point after which it is likely to amplify at an even quicker pace, incompatible with the region’s role in the great wildebeest migration, wildlife generally, as well as traditional Maasai pastoralism.

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The link between poverty, environment and ecotourism development in areas adjacent to Maasai Mara and Amboseli protected areas, Kenya

Cited by 55 publications

References 12 publications

Rangeland Livelihood Strategies under Varying Climate Regimes: Model Insights from Southern Kenya

Rangeland Livelihood Strategies under Varying Climate Regimes: Model Insights from Southern Kenya

A Theoretical Framework for Understanding the Spatial Coupling between Poverty and the Environment: A Case Study from China

Fencing bodes a rapid collapse of the unique Greater Mara ecosystem

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