Faculty of Environment and Resource Development

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Browsing Faculty of Environment and Resource Development by Author "Mosse, Margaret Nyabwari"

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    Socio-Economic, Institutional and Ecological Dynamics of Crocodile Ranching In Lower River Tana, Kenya
    (Egerton University, 2024-09) Mosse, Margaret Nyabwari
    Crocodiles are known for their important ecological and socio-economic values globally. However, crocodiles and their habitats continue to face over-exploitation and human-induced threats, leading to unprecedented declines in their populations. Crocodile ranching aims to address these threats by concomitantly promoting sustainable use of crocodiles by local communities. This study evaluated the socio-economic, institutional and ecological factors influencing involvement in Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) ranching-related activities and performance of crocodile ranching activities. The study employed both social and ecological surveys. Two sets of questionnaires were administered: one to 365 households and another on 26 egg collectors. Seven key informant interviews and 4 focus group discussions were conducted. The ecological survey involved mapping the crocodile egg nests to determine their location and distribution and analyzing four scenes of Sentinel 2 satellite images of 2015 and 2018 of the egg collection zones to provide information on land cover types and changes. Image processing was done using ArcMap software, whereas statistics for each land cover category were generated in Earth Resources Data Analysis System (ERDAS) software. Quantitative survey data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Age, annual income, gender, ethnic group, religion and main sources of livelihood (all p ≤ 0.021) significantly influenced involvement in crocodile ranching-related activities. Benefitting from community projects derived from crocodile ranching significantly reduced the likelihood of being involved in illegal crocodile use practices (χ2 (1) =23.97, p<0.001). There was rapid expansion of cropland, and settlements between 2015 and 2018 by 213% and 61%, indicating that crocodile habitat along lower River Tana is highly vulnerable to expanding human activities associated with these land cover types. The results show that there was a significant positive impact of community incentives on involvement in crocodile ranching-related activities. Ironically, the observed high levels of tolerance towards crocodiles did not translate to positive outcomes for crocodile ranching. The study recommends the development and implementation of a crocodile ranching strategy for allocating egg collection quotas and egg collection zones based on the objectives, capacity and egg hatching success of the crocodile ranches. The study also recommends enhanced implementation of benefits and incentives from the crocodile ranching programme to improve local communities‘ involvement in legal crocodile utilization practices.