[H-GG02] Dialogues on natural resources and environment between earth and social sciences

[HGG02-P06] Use and management of natural resources in semi-arid and soil eroded area, central Kenya

*Yoshinori OTSUKI¹, Matheaus Kioko KAUTI², Gen UEDA³ (1.Institute of Geography, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, 2.South Eastern Kenya University, 3.Graduate School of Social Sciences, Hitotsubashi University)

Keywords:semi-arid area, soil erosion, gully, sand harvest, invasive alien plant species (IAPS), Kenya

The Laikipia County, central Kenya, is a model area where a long-term interdisciplinary project on environmental resource use and management (University of Bern, Switzerland; University of Nairobi, Kenya; and the Kenyan government) was conducted until around 2000, accumulating macro-level research results on the dynamics and vulnerability of the natural environment and the use and sustainability of environmental resources by local people. Besides, this area, lies on the northern edge of the Central Plateau, in a transition zone to lower altitudes. Soil erosion is, therefore, pronounced, with a relatively high density of large gullies: However, specific knowledge closely related to the area, such as erosion rates and the intensity of land-condition degradation, has not been accumulated.
Following on from Otsuki et al. (2021) in JpGU, this study aims to clarify the rate of landform change associated with soil erosion and to obtain data on the actual conditions of sustaining livelihoods in pastoral areas with degraded land conditions, particularly land management associated with sand harvesting, which has become increasingly active in semi-arid areas in recent years, including periods before and after the Covid-19 pandemic, and to assess the sustainability of resource use in areas undergoing desertification.
This presentation will focus on trends in geomorphic erosion, and in particular on the actual use and management of natural resources through interviews with local people. The primary focal points of the interview research were on 1) the relationship between sand harvesting management and livelihoods, 2) the structure of group ranch-based cooperatives, 3) the impact of Opuntia spp., one of the invasive alien plant species (IAPS), on livelihoods, and 4) perceptions of soil erosion.