Factors influencing the adoption of sustainable land management practices in the upper Mara River Basin, Amalo and Kiplabotwa Locations, Kenya

Abstract

The Mara River Basin (MRB) is a trans-boundary resource being shared between Kenya (65%) and Tanzania (35%). The basin supports the livelihoods of many Kenyans through economic activities such as forestry, agriculture and tourism. However, in the past two decades the upper MRB has undergone major changes in land use with conversion of natural landscapes such as forests and grasslands into agricultural lands. Coupled with an increase in human population, these changes are leading to environmental degradation in the basin. This study was conducted in two locations situated in the upper MRB; Annlo and Kiplabotwa locations. The broad objective was to assess factors influencing the adoption of land management practices fl.MPs) in the upper MRB. A multi-stage purposeful sampling procedure was used ir1 the research. Stage I - Olenguruone and Longisa divisions were chosen as agro-ecosystems located in the upper MRB and Stage ll - Amalo and Kiplabotwa Locations were chosen due to their proximity to the river. A sample of 214 households was used in the study. Households interviewed using questionnaires were proportionate to the total households within each location. Households in close proximity to the river were purposefully selected through simple systematic sampling. Data collection tools that were used included: questiormaires, interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs) and observation. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of data. The findings indicated that the most commonly adopted LMPs were agroforestry, mulching and grass strips. The major factors influencing the adoption of Structural Land Management Practices (SLMPs) were: the perception of environmental degradation, the extension stafi' visit(s), the membership in self-help group(s) and the farm size while on the other hand. major factors influencing the adoption of the Vegetative Land Management Practices (V LMPs) were: the perception of environmental degradation, the perceived effectiveness of VLMPs, the leadership position of the respondents, the topography of the farm and the on-farm income. The study concluded that, institutional factors had a major influence on the adoption of SLMPs while socio-economic factors had major influence on the adoption of VLMPs. The study recommends that conservation efforts in the upper MRB should focus their interventions on institutional factors and socio-economic factors for SLMPs and VLMPs respectively. vi