Willingness to pay for Ecosystem Services in Conserving Kapingazi Catchment in Embu County, Kenya

Abstract

Ecosystems provide a wide range of ecosystem services such as food supply, soil erosion control, and carbon sequestration which are important for human survival. Kapingazi catchment is home to a variety of ecosystem services mainly water provision to downstream users. Kapingazi River flowing from this catchment contributes to the Tana River, which supports several national hydroelectric power stations that generate 52.1% of Kenya's electricity. However, increasing anthropogenic pressures such as agricultural and industrial activities are threatening the catchment. These factors are affecting the water quality and flow in the Kapingazi River, since local inhabitants are currently lacking financial incentives to engage in conservation efforts. In order to ensure water provision for downstream users and maintain ecological balance, there is urgent need for Kapingazi catchment to be managed sustainably. The research aimed to assess the status of ecosystem services in the Kapingazi catchment, identify catchment users, examine perceived human activities affecting water provision, and determine respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) for these services in order to explore the potential of implementing Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes to encourage conservation and sustainable management practices. The study used cross-sectional research design and data was collected from households, focus group discussions, and key informants using questionnaires, interview schedules, and field observations. The collected data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 by applying descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Results showed that water is the main ecosystem service (98%) in the Kapingazi catchment and farmers were the main catchment users (40.4%). Logistic regression results revealed that poor agricultural practices had significant impact on both changes in water quality (p = 0.002) and water quantity (p = 0.036) while industrial activities, tea factories (p = 0.014) and coffee factories (p = 0.013) had significant impact on changes in water quantity at 95% confidence level. The study revealed that 67% of respondents were willing to pay for improved water services and age (p = 0.005), education (p =0.025), and household size (p = 0.05) were the factors that influenced the WTP for improved water services. There is need for soil and water conservation in Kapingazi catchment and positive WTP supports policy development for payment for ecosystem services (PES) programmes. These results aim to encourage stakeholder engagement, promote sustainable practices and guide policy decisions in order to ensure ecological resilience of the Kapingazi catchment through payment for ecosystem services (PES).