Resource governance assessment

96 Table 7.3: Ailments treated and estimated income per Loitoktok herbalist. Source: The author.

The indicator used to confirm the nature of this thriving sector is the increasing domestication of certain “imported” plant species from other regions that are found to have wide variety of uses in medicinal products prepared by herbalists. These are Mondia whytei, Annona Squamosa, Moringa oleifera, Tamarindus indica and Azadirachta indica.

97 Figure 7.3: Factors affecting ecosystem services supply in Loitoktok.

7.3.1. Climate change perceptions

Respondent results were variable to a certain extent i.e. the agricultural and water sectors were the most affected by the unreliable precipitation patterns while the wildlife and medicinal sectors were most affected by biodiversity loss due to ecosystem changes.

The drought episodes affected all sectors almost equally. The interesting thing is that the temperature variation (especially increase) was not seen as a major factor in ecosystem service production (Figure 7.4). This could be an indicator of low existence of climate change information among the respondents regarding temperature influence on environmental conditions.

10%

5%

5%

4%

13%

8%

2%

9%

44%

Community perceptions on ecosystem services threats

Irregular rain Droughts Low harvest Subdivision of land Livestock interference Poor harvesting techniques Poaching

No. of users Habitat degradation

98 Figure 7.4: Respondents view of climate change impacts on ecosystem services in Loitoktok.

7.3.2. Adaptation activities

Respondents identified several measures they have adopted to ensure supply of ecosystem services, boost their livelihoods and income generation (Figure 7.5). These include: Their first priority was to secure their water resources through rain water harvesting and efficient irrigation methods. Second, they favour participating in training workshops to gain more knowledge on sustainable resource use on water use, viable herbals harvesting techniques. Third, they also implement soil and nutrient management measures to ensure good harvest and prevent soil erosion, and also buy “improved” crop seeds and livestock breeds that are mainly indigenous to the arid climate. Fourth, to encourage the community to embrace wildlife conservation, stakeholders have increased incentives to conservation activities such as shared incomes with the community and identified problematic wildlife are translocated to other parks. An interesting find is that majority of the respondents admitted to have planted medicinal plants within their homesteads to secure their own individual supply. Few activities were not popular in the community, namely, adoption of alternative livelihood activities since people preferred to continue with their cultural-related livelihoods. Also, the respondents stated that there were few public wildlife conservation awareness campaigns in the district.

99 Figure 7.5: Remedial measures adopted by the community to safeguard resource security in Loitoktok.

7.3.3. Resource conflict resolution

All respondents agreed that inclusion of culture in the conflict resolution process gave the community confidence in decisions agreed after deliberations and that the main aim of a conflict resolution was to reduce tension or violence by bringing the conflicting parties together. This coincides with principles of natural resource management that emphasize the

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0

Pasture establishment Soil & Nutrient management Improved seed & breeds Enhanced pest & disease control Water harvest Frequent community training Domestic herbals cultivation Culture promotion Controlled herbals harvest Training of herbals harvesters Alternative economic activities Problem animal translocation Community participation Incentives for conservation Public conservation awareness Fences & land management More watering points Rain harvest Sustainable water use awareness Modern irrigation techniques Efficient water infrastructure Land use management

crops and livestockMedicinal plantsWildlifeWater resources

Respondents choice in percentiles (%)

Ecosystem services categories

Respondents adaptation measures preference in Loitoktok

% preference

100 need for cooperation as a necessary precondition for sustainable conflict resolution. Table 7.4 illustrates practically how different resource conflicts were resolved between November 2011 and November 2012 at Oloolopon Location in Loitoktok.

Table 7.4: The annual resource conflict report of Chief Leonard Kasine in-charge of Oloolopon Location in Loitoktok district

Resource No. of

conflicts Conflict site Resolution Stakeholders involved

Water 3 Shurie Compensation Council of elders, Chief and

residents

7 Impiron Community discussion WRMA and Chief

1 Airstrip Community discussion Nolturesh Water Board and Chief

Livestock 16 Korinko village Fine after agricultural assessment

Agricultural extension officers, police, Chief 26

Inkariak-Rongena

4 fined by court 22 fined after

agricultural assessment

Agricultural extension officers, police, Chief 11 Kamukunji Compensation to farmer Agricultural extension

officers, Chief

Wildlife 30 Sompet Compensation KWS, Private investor – Elephant Research Org.

6 Ilmisigiyio Compensation KWS, African Wildlife

Foundation

It is evident that resolving resource conflict is not the responsibility of a single person or institution, but that even minor conflicts were resolved by a small stakeholders meeting for fair decisions to aggrieved parties e.g. conflict over water at Impiron. The most recommended discipline measure is compensation by the guilty actors to the aggrieved party according to the level of destruction or damage. In extreme cases, when the community felt aggrieved and the situation was thought to likely spread community tension, the chief was obligated to call for joint meetings “barazas” for all relevant stakeholders and entire community.

7.3.4. Hindrances to efficient resource governance

The Loitoktok community identified three common factors that were hampering inhibiting dissemination of adaption knowledge and effective governance in the district

101 (Figure 7.6). First, low finances were cited as a major factor since extension officers and wildlife resource managers needed funds to hold more training sessions to transfer knowledge about improved seeds, animal breeds, technology or acquisition of equipment such as water tanks to the community. Second, low qualified manpower hindered regular and widespread dissemination of climate adaptation and mitigation strategies in the district.

From the survey the district extension officers are less than 25 in number in the district but were expected to disseminate all information from private actors across the district. Finally, poor coordination among actors was cited as a hindrance to the flow of information in the social network, whereby government agencies were conducting programs without reference to each other.

Figure 7.6: Identified hindrances to effective resource governance in Loitoktok.

However since the medicinal plants sector did not have resource conflicts, the respondents suggested their own governance hindrances in Loitoktok. The primary hindrance originates from the fact that medicinal practise is still not recognized as a valid economic sector in Kenya. The other secondary hindrances include; influx of fake herbal products and lack of public interest to learn the cultural practises behind this sector. These factors have led to over-extraction of local species. For example, this action had decimated local plant species like Olea europaea “Oloirien” that were now only being obtained from neighbouring Narok and Chyulu Hills and the multiple use Rhamnus prinoides that was previously abundant in the area.

102