Rehabilitation/ Restoration of degraded land in Kenya

Paper presented to Technical Workshop on Great Green Wall & Drylands Restoration in Eastern Africa,

Nairobi-Kenya Feb 22-24 2016 Gabriel M. Muturi

Natural factors …… or

Anthropogenic factors

Land Degradation in Kenya

Sahelian droughts of 1970s

Alarming human and livestock mortality

Vegetation

variable

Distance from Kakuma Refugee Camp (Km)

1 2 3 4 5 6

Tree Cover % 6.2 18.8 28.7 35.7 53.0 57.7

Shrub cover % 0.9a 6.9 9.8 3.5 7.9 4.0

Herb cover % 68.0 59.7 56.4 41.6 38.4 45.4

Okoti et al.2004

Human induced degradation

Since 1986, KEFRI has engaged in development of drylands forestry technologies for land rehabilitation

1. Species screening for diverse dry ecological zones in the country

2. Assessing potential for unaided vegetation recovery in drylands

3. Reseeding and afforestation

Afforestation • Species screening >>Drought tolerant species

• Water harvesting

• Water holding polymer / Charcoal dust

Trees establish

Herbs regenerate

Tree establishment

8

Reforestation /Afforestation

Bush clearing Ripping Terracing

Melia volkensii plantation in drylnads of Kenya

Ecological restoration in Prosopis invaded areas

0

1

2

3

4

5

Control Four Six Eight Ten

Spacing (Nearest Square m)

% H

erb

aceo

us

Gro

un

d C

ove

r

20092010

Charcoal

Indigenous species regenerate in reclaimed areas or other plants can be planted

Emerging trends

In 2004, income at Marigat was

estimated at 1,021 US$

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

An

nu

al In

com

e (0

00

’ US$

) Year

Baringo

Tana River

Garissa

Charcoal incomes

Cummins Co-Generation

2 Billion KShs, 80,000 tons/yr, 2 Shs/ Kg Prosopis

Gulley healing

Aloe planting/ Grass Reseeding

•Aloe planting

•Grass reseeding

Differing land utilization & Grass reseeding

Pastoralism thrived on transhumance; with sedentarization there is localized overexploitation leading to degradation

Impact

Operation scale for realistic impacts??

Kigomo and Muturi 2013,

Muturi et al 2014

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION