Implications of community based management of woody vegetation around sedentarised pastoral areas in the arid northern Kenya

Abstract

This paper addresses effectiveness of Environmental Management Committees (EMCs) in managing woody resources in pastoral villages in northern Kenya. The effectiveness is assessed in the realm of participation in sustainable use of the vegetation, predicted based on gender of the resource users and extent of contact with development agents. Marsabit Development Programme (MDP) largely supported formation of EMCs, in Marsabit District of northern Kenya, where the study was carried out. Both social data based on a questionnaire survey and biological data on physical availability of vegetation on the ground were generated. Results of both data sets showed more sustainable harvesting practices of woody vegetation in villages that MDP had high presence. It is therefore concluded that MDP influenced woody resources utilization practices of the pastoralists in Marsabit district.