4314925

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Threats and Opportunities for Mountain Area Development in Kenya
Author(s): Francis Ndegwa Gichuki
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Ambio, Vol. 28, No. 5, Research for Mountain Area Development: Africa and Asia
(Aug., 1999), pp. 430-435
Published by: Springer on behalf of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
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Francis Ndegwa Gichuki

Threats and Opportunitiesfor Mountain Area
Development in Kenya
Figure1. Mapof Kenyashowing
the mountainareas. Source: (2).
The mountain ecosystems of Kenya include the Mount
Kenya, Mount Elgon and Aberdare (Nyandarua) mountain
ranges. These mountain areas have been recognized as
important ecosystems with high social, spiritual, economic
and environmental values. They are used as water catch- Mt. Kulal
ments, forest reserves, national parks and agriculturalland. MtMarsabit
Increasing population pressure on the natural resources
of these ecosystems has led to environment and devel-
opment challenges such as unsustainable utilization,
conversion of forest to cropland, human-wildlife conflicts Mt. ElgorJ ani
and highland-lowland resource-use conflicts. Several
initiatives are involved in promoting sustainable manage-
ment and conservation of these importantecosystems. The
notable opportunities include changes in government policy
to promote integrated and participatory interventions and ~eRange
existing partnerships in resource use and conservation.

INTRODUCTION
Kenya is located between latitudes 40 21'N and 40 28'S and
between longitudes 340 and 42?E. Kenya covers an area of ChyuluRange

587 900 km2of which 576 000 km2is land surface with a high Mt. Kilimanjar
topographical diversitythatrangesfrom the sea level at the coast Waterbodies
to 5199 m a.s.l. at the summit of Mount Kenya (1). The mean 1500-2500 m a.s.l.
annualrainfall ranges from 250 mm in the arid zones to 2600 2500-3000 m a.s.l.
mm in the highlandand mountainareas.The distribution agro-
of _ above 3000 m a.s.l.
climatic potentialalong the altitudinalbelt is shown in Table 1.
The highlandsand mountainareasof Kenya (areasabove 1500
m a.s.l.) cover an area of 88 500 kM2, approximately15.2% of are a large numberof sawmills, furniture,and constructionin-
the total land area (Fig. 1). These areas have a rich natural-re- dustries.Emerton(6) reportedthat the most prevalentlocal use
sources base and are a source of the life supportingsystems in of forest resources is fuel wood, and charcoalproductionis the
the lowlands.The highlandareasare important watercatchments least prevalent.Charcoalproduction decreaseddue to the ban
has
and were estimatedto be home to over 24.4 million inhabitants on charcoalproductionin forestreservesand enforcementof this
in 1989 (3). These areas are experiencinghigh populationpres- ban throughrestrictionsin charcoal transportation market-
and
sure. Kohler (4) reportedthat highland forest areas at altitudes ing.
between 1500 and 2500 m decreased by about 80% over a pe- Mount Kenya ecosystem is the main water catchment area
riod of 100 years, while mountainforests in areas above 2500 from which the Tana (the largest river in Kenya) and Ewaso
m a.s.l. decreasedby 20%. In 1992, the rate of depletion of for-
Ng'iro Northrivers rise. The glacier, snow and springflow sus-
est areaswas estimatedat 1% annually(4). This paperdescribes tains the dry season flows of rivers originating from Mount
the main featuresof three mountainecosystems (Mount Kenya, Kenya. In dry years, western and northernMount Kenya eco-
Mount Elgon on the Kenya-Ugandaborder and the Aberdare system contributesas much as 75% of the Ewaso Ng'iro North
mountainrange) and presentstheir environmentaland develop- riverflow at ArchersPost, 69% of the flow in February,the dri-
ment challenges and opportunities. est month and 46% of the mean annual flows (7). The Mount
Kenya ecosystem provides waterto over 2 million people (8).
MOUNTAINAREA ECOSYSTEMS OF KENYA Mount Kenya National Park consists of the area above 3200
m a.s.l. and two narrowsalientsreachingdown to the forest area
Mount Kenya Ecosystem at 2440 m. The parkis home to a wide range of fauna including
Mount Kenya is in centralKenya and overlaps five administra- 4 endemic bird species and 4 raremammalspecies (6). The Na-
tive districts,Nyeri, Kirinyaga,Embu,Tharaka-Nithi Meru. tional Park has an area of 620 km2and receives an average of
and
Mt Kenya ecosystem rises to an altitude of 5200 m and has a 15 000 visitors per year (9). The area was gazetted as a national
steep ecological gradient, with four main zones based on alti- park because of (i) the importanceof tourism for the local and
tude, land use, and vegetation (Table 2). Mount Kenya ecosys- nationaleconomy; (ii) the great scenic beauty; (iii) the need to
tem has an exceptional biodiversity value. It has diverse veg- preservethe watercatchments;(iv) the need to conservethe high
etation, which include many endemic afro-alpineplant species biodiversity of plant and animal life. There is low humanpres-
and the largestcontiguous closed canopy indigenousforest. sure for settlementin these high altitudeareasas the afro-alpine
Mount Kenya forest covers an area of over 2000 km2, con- ecosystem is too cold for human settlement,agriculture,indus-
sisting of 500 km2 of closed canopy indigenous forest, 280 km2 tries and plantationforest.
of othermixed forest formations,200 km2 of bamboo forest and Cropand livestock productionis a majorland use in the lower
170 km2 of plantationforest. The main forest-basedindustries zones of MountKenya. On the wetter,more fertile southernand

430 0 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1999 Ambio Vol. 28 No. 5, August 1999
http://www.ambio.kva.se

Mount
Kenya --At
ecosystem
gradient.
Photos:
NRM3
database.

Mt. Kenya r forest. Smaliholder
cultivationin
footslopes of
. V ; *.A& Mt.Kenya.

I~~~~~~~~

I~~~~~~~~-

easternareas, farmerspursue intensive
mixed farmingwith tea, coffee, maize,
beans, potatoes and vegetables as the
main crops (Fig. 2). Grade cattle are
kept for milk production.Agricultural
opportunities in the drier north and
northwestareaare limited. Here, small-
holder farmingis based on subsistence
maize, bean and potato production,
while large-scale farmers grow wheat Table 1. Percentage of altitudinal and agro-climatic zones of Kenya.
and barley.Livestockproductionin this Agro-climatic zones
area is based on extensive grazing of High potential Medium potential Low potential Afro-alpine zone
Altitudinalbelts (humid and subhumid) (sub-humid) (semiarid/arid)
indigenous stock. Irrigation is being
used to intensify horticulturecrop pro- 0-900 m 0.03 1.22 67.16
duction for local and export markets. 900-1 500m 2.04 3.18 11.17
1 500-2 150 m 3.26 3.74 3.88
This is contributing water scarcityin
to 2150-3050m 2.83 1.2
>3 050 m 0.27
the adjacentlowlands, thereby,intensi-
fying conflicts among upstream and Total 8.17 9.34 82.22 0.27
downstreamwaterusers. Source:(5).
The humanpopulationdensity of the

Table 2. Vegetational and management zones of the Mount Kenya ecosystem.

Altitude Vegetation Status Management

> 3300 m Alpine and nival peaks and moorland Largely pristine Kenya Wildlife Service
2500-3300 m Montane and sub-alpine forest and bamboo Generally good quality, patchy degradation Forest Department
1 800-2 500 m Sub-montane forest Severely degraded Forest Department
<500 m
2 Mixed smallholder agriculture Human land-use, no forest; tree planting, Private landowners
agroforesty
Private landowners
Source:(6)

Ambio Vol. 28 No. 5, August 1999 C)Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1999 431

Mount Kenya ecosystem varies with rainfall,altitude,land ten- ment include small business and trade,artisanindustry,sales of
ure and land use. Emerton(10) reportedthat more than 30 000 forest products(6).
households lived within 1.5 km of the edge of the forest within
an area of nearly 400 km2. The populationdensity ranges from Aberdare Mountain Range
600 persons per km2 in the southernedge of the forest, where Aberdare mountainrange,also known as "TheNyandarua moun-
rainfall is high and the land fertile, to 100 persons per km2in tain range",is located in central Kenya and rises to an altitude
the driernorthwestern region (6). Remittancesand employment of 4000 m a.s.l. The mountain range is shared by Kiambu,
(casual labor on large-scale tea, coffee, wheat and ranchinges- Murangaand Nyeri districts to the east, Laikipia district to the
tates) are major components of ruralhousehold income. In ur- north,Nyandaruadistrictto the west and Nakurudistrictto the
ban centersnonagricultural opportunities income andemploy-
for south. The rainfall over the Aberdaremountain range is well
distributed variesfrom 1400 to 2600 mm yr-'. The high rain-
and
fall, favorable soils and ground cover make this a high water-
yielding catchment.This water catchmentis the main source of
MERU water for the city of Nairobi;for Tana River which flows to the
IndianOcean; for Ewaso N'giro River which traversesthe arid
areasnorthof Mount Kenya and dries up at LorianSwamp;and
for Malewa River that feeds Lake Naivasha.
The main vegetationtypes are moorland,high and low altitude
shrubs, Hagenia abyssinica, bamboo, juniperous/podo/olive
forests, plantation forest and bush. Plantation forest covers
NYERI C Sheep- about 150 km2.Exploitationof plantationforest is constrained
0~ Barley FOREST NITHI
by lack of forest roadsand the ruggedterrain(11).
The AberdareNationalParkhas an areaof 767 km2and is one
of the most famous mountainparksin the countryas it supports
a high diversity of wildlife with about 72 large mammals. It
receives about65 000 visitorsper year. Thereare approximately
2000 elephantsand 40 rhinoceros.Elephantsand rhinocerosare
a major cause of wildlife-humanconflict and an electric fence
is now being erected to minimize conflicts (11).
. / KIRINYAGA .
Expansionof agricultural activities in the Aberdaremountain
ecosystem is driven by land scarcity and the demand for more
land on which to grow tea. The easternside of Aberdareranges
Figure 2. Schematic representation of agro-ecological zones in the is densely populatedand is the main smallholdertea and coffee
forest-adjacent area. Source: (6). growingareain Kenya.Agricultural intensificationhas not taken
place in on the western side due to the poor road network and
poorly drainedsoils (11).

Table 3. Population within 1.5 km of MountKenya forest.
Mount Elgon Ecosystem
Density(personkml) Area (km2) No. households
MountElgon is the fourthhighestmountainin Africawith a peak
at 4320 m a.s.l. The topographyranges from the steep slopes in
Embu 612 28 3427 the mountainslope areaand dissected and undulatinglandscape
Kidnyaga 612 40 4896
Meru 216 141 6089 on the foothills. The mountainareasof Mount Elgon ecosystem
Nyed 419 145 12158 encompass 1082 km2in Kenya and 1145 km2 in Uganda (12).
TharakaNithi 459 42 3856
The southernside of Mount Elgon receives well-distributedan-
Total 384 396 30 427 nual rainfallof between 1600-1800 mm per annumdue to local
Source:(6, 10). rainscaused by the winds from Lake Victoria.The northern side
of the mountain is drier receiving 1000-1200 mm per annum
due to the rain-shadoweffect of the mountain.Mount Elgon is
Table 4. Project demand and supply of wood. an importantwater catchmentfor Western Kenya and Eastern
Uganda. Rivers and springs from these mountain areas supply
Volumeof wood in '000 m3
waterto the rich farmlands,urbanareas,and Lake Victoria.The
Year 2000 2020 catchmentis also an importantwater source for Suam River on
Totalsustainablewood supply 24 929 33 064
which the multi-milliondollar TurkwellGorge dam and hydro-
Nonsustainablewood supply 414 911 power plant are constructed.
Totalwood supply 25 343 33 975 The main vegetationzones on Mount Elgon are mainly influ-
Totalwood demand 26 746 45 676
Deficit -1403 -11 701 enced by altitude,soils and climate.Fourmajorvegetationzones
Source:(1). are distinguished,namely:afro-alpinevegetation;bamboo;open
woodland in the drier northernand eastern slopes; and tropical
moist forest mainly on the southernslopes. These zones have a
Table 5. Elephant densities in the mountain ecosystems. high diversity of plant life with Elgon teak being the most im-
portanthardwoodspecies. Mount Elgon has two forest reserves
Region Elephantskm~2
with an areaof 664 kin2,covering most of the middle and lower
Mt.KenyaNational arkand forestreserve
P 2.57 slopes. Indigenousforest on the northernand easternside of the
Mt.Kenya(Sirimon/NaroMoru area) 1.95-3.05 mountainare largely intact, but that on the southernfringe has
Mt.Kenya(Embuarea) 4.26-5.61
Mt.Kenya(Chogonaarea) 2.38 been degradedto a large extent due to commerciallogging, en-
parkand forest reserve
national
Abordare 1.25
parkand forest reserve
ElgonNational 0.3 croachment, and permanentsettlement. The southernforest is
Source:(14). under considerablepressurethroughongoing illegal encroach-
ment; government approved excision of certain areas; over-

432 ?DRoyal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1999 Ambio Vol. 28 No. 5, August 1999

exploitation of indigenous tree species; Figure 3. ONTUI.II.I_1
and no enrichment planting.Plantationfor- Area of severe
ests consisting of cypress, pine and euca- animal damage V IMNTI'
around Mount j + 9> > t
lyptus species have been established. Ap- F(RSE
Kenya National r
FOREST''<t
proximately,50% of the plantationforest Park. RESJRVE ?^ A
area has been turnedto bush land due to
lack of an effective managementstrategies *44 + o NATIONALPARK/
for re-establish-ment, and utilization of
plantationforests (12). NAKROMORU A
Mount Elgon National Park encom-
passes 169 km2 and covers part of the top
and a narrowstripof the middle and lower
slopes of the mountain.The main animal
species found in the National Parkand the
adjacentforest reserves include elephants N 1) A T H I
(Loxodonta africana), buffalo (Synicerus
caffer),leopard(Pantherapacrdus), baboon
(Papio anubis), colobus monkey (Colobus
guereza),blue monkey (Cercopithecusmi- II()NIIlIi RA(; it
CHRHCE
tis), rockhyrax(Procaviacapensis), bongo
(Tragelaphuseurycerus),water buck (Ko- AL,% re:ts .f Iaplian d.;mn.kgr 4
iaaiiganH&aFs Fnrest
bus ellipsiprymnus), porcupine (Hystrix
Are-as rs;vvrvadamnage AL Plutul;alifil
cristata) and warthog (Phacochoerus
africanus).The high populationof animals
and decreasingwildlife habitatis leading to severe degradation The wildlife populationhas increasedin the nationalparksand
of the forest resources (12). The tourism potential of this eco- forest reserves following the banning of game hunting and sale
system has not been fully tapped due to lack of infrastructure of game trophiesandthe eradication poachingactivities.Large
of
and insecurity. mammals are heavy feeders. For example, elephants consume
The inhabitantsliving in mountainareas of the Kenyan side nearly 150 kg of forage per day and tend to destroy vegetation.
of Mount Elgon were estimated to be 690 000 people in 1989 Overpopulation elephantscan thereforeslowly convert a for-
of
with a populationdensity of 370 persons per km2in the south- est to a grasslandenvironment(14). This has been observed in
ern areaand 123 personsper km2on the easternside (12). Popu- drylandforests of Tsavo National Park and some localized ar-
lation pressureis leading to land and political conflicts among eas in the mountainecosystems.-
the differentethnic groups living there. The mainstayof the ru-
ral population,which comprises approximately 400 000 people, Conversion of Forest Land to Crop Land
is agriculture.The foot slopes of Mount Elgon have a high ag- Most of the forest reserves were gazetted between 1930 and
ricultural potentialand are mainly used for maize, wheat, beans 1965. Since then there has been a numberof alterationsof the
and horticultural production.The soils are well drained,fertile, boundariesdue to excisions for settlement and agriculture(6).
and hence the areahas high agricultural potential(13). The main forces behindconversionof forestlandto croplandare:
- high dependency on agricultureand lack of alternativenon-
land-basedsources of livelihood;
ENVIRONMENTAL DEVELOPMENT
AND - land scarcity as evidenced by increasing population-land
CHALLENGES ratio;
- low level of productivityper unit areaof cultivatedland;
Unsustainable Exploitation of Mountain Vegetation - economic, social and political pressurefor excision of forest
Resources land for humansettlement;and
Unsustainableexploitation of forest resources is taking place - poor understanding the impacts of changing from forest to
of
is some areas of the three mountainecosystems. The areas ex- agriculture land use.
periencing the highest threatsare those that are easily accessi- Some patches of poorly accessible forestlandare being used
ble for commerciallogging activities and areasthat are inacces- for the production of Cannabis sativa. Although this has not
sible to law enforcementofficers. The main driving force is the reached alarmingproportions,with increasing economic hard-
unmanaged legal and illegal harvesting of a wide variety of ships this may become a majorsocial problemin the future.
forestproducts. immediateconcernis the harvestof fuelwood,
Of
timber, poles, bamboo, and medicinal herbs. Harvesting of Human-Wildlife Conflict
Mount Elgon teak and other hardwoods is taking place at un- The main forms of human-wildlifeconflict are competitionfor
sustainablelevels, partlybecause of the low growth rate of the land and grazing resourcesand damage caused by problemani-
indigenoushardwoodtrees (12). mals such as elephants,buffaloes and baboons.Damage includes
The projectedsupply and demandfor wood supply presented humaninjuryor deathand damageto crops, forestplantation and
in Table 4 shows that Kenya is able to meet its wood require- infrastructure such as fences.
ments until 1999 with some supply coming from unsustainable Conflict between human and wildlife has increased because
sources such as clearing forests and woodlands. Future trends of increases in animal and humanpopulation.The conflicts are
are expected to be worse, as evidenced by the projectedwood exacerbatedduring the dry season when food and grazing re-
supply deficit. The mountain areas are the major producersof sources are scarce. With the expansion of human settlements,
wood supplies and they will be relied upon to offset the deficit. areaspreviously used by wildlife have been convertedfor agri-
This can be achieved by bettermanagementto increaseproduc- culture and livestock production. The pressure is highest in
tion and promotingof on-farmfuel wood productionand by re- densely populatedmountainareas(Fig. 3). The perceptionof the
ducing the demand. An importantchallenge lies in the search affectedpeople is thatthe governmentis protectingwildlife more
for sustainableutilizationof the forest resources. thanit is protectingthem. For example in ShimbaHills between

Ambio Vol. 28 No. 5, August 1999 ? Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1999 433

1989 and 1994, wildlife injuredor killed 36 November flows at Archers Post
200
people and only 19 elephants were killed. -

Buffer zones proposed are ineffective, as. n 150
0)

they are the first targets of encroachment E
and overexploitation.Several defense and 0 100 _ . ...
-------
protection measures have been imple-
0
mented,albeit not fully. They include:
- raising the human tolerance threshold
and changingper-ceptionsof wildlife; 0
- removalof animalsor increasingproduc- 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
tivity of animalhabitat;
- buffer zoning and creating an animal February flows at Archers Post
80 -
density gradientbetween the wilderness
and humansettlementarea;and - -----
E 60
- deterrenceof animals through the con- E
structionof mechanicalbarriers(1 1, 12, 0 3:40
15).
CO2

Highland-Lowland Resource Use (520 _
Conflicts
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Vast semiarid and arid lowlands surround
the mountainareas of Kenya. The inhabit- Figure 4. February (dry season low flow) and November (rainy season high flow) at
ants of these lowlands are agro-pastoralist Archers Post. Source: (16).
and pastoralists.Competitionfor water and
grazingresourcesis the main source of conflict among the high- mentation.The MasingaDam catchmentareaof 7950 km2,com-
land and lowlandinhabitants. Studies of the upperEwaso Ng'iro prising the forested and cultivatedcatchmentsof east Aberdare
Northbasin, thatdrainsthe northern partof the AberdareMoun- and south Mount Kenya has a sediment yield of 250 000 to
tain ranges and the westernand northern areasof Mount Kenya, 1 283 000 tonnes per year (17). This poses a majorproblemfor
indicates that dry season flows of Ewaso Ng'iro North River the futureof MasingaDam, the main streamflowregulatingres-
measuredat ArchersPost are decreasing(Fig. 4). The decrease ervoir of Tana River and the hydropowergeneration.
is attributedto land-use changes in the mountainand lowland In the tea and coffee zones and in intensive horticultural pro-
areasandto over-abstracting irrigation watermostly in the moun- duction areas, use of artificialfertilizers,pesticides and insecti-
tain foot-slope areas(7). The resultingwaterscarcityin the low- cides in large quantitiesis contributingto water pollution. Cof-
land has negative environmental impacts on riverine, Lorian fee-processing factories also emit large quantitiesof pollutants
swamp, and Samburuand Buffalo Springsgame reserveecosys- duringperiods of low river flows, therebyaffecting water qual-
tems. The negative socioeconomic impacts on the pastoralists, ity duringlow flow periods, albeit for only a shortdistance.
hoteliers and tour operatorsare increasingleading to calls for a
more equitable allocation of surface-water resources and for CAPITALIZING THEOPPORTUNITIES ON
streamflow regulationto guaranteeacceptable low flow water
levels. Making the Best of the Proposed Policy Changes
Grazingresourcesin the mountainareasduringperiodsof pro- The mountainecosystems are protectedby the many regulations
longed drought are seen as the only way to save the drought- based on Acts of Parliament,ministerialpolicies, and Presiden-
stricken pastoralist livestock. This puts the mountain area re- tial Directives. Over the last few years major changes in gov-
sources at the highest level of demandand leads to conflicts and ernment policies have been proposed. In some cases, the pro-
resourcedegradation to overutilization.
due posed policies are in directcontrastto the previouspolicy. There
is general shift from government control to creating room for
Soil and Water Resource Degradation the involvementof nongovemment,private,and communityor-
The fragile areasof mountainecosystems such as cultivatedand ganizationsin mountainecosystem management.Table 6 shows
clearedsteep slopes areexperiencinghigh levels of resourcedeg- the changes that have takenplace in the forestrysector.
radation.Soil erosion is a major threat in cultivated mountain
slopes. Soil erosion graduallyreduces the productionpotential Partnerships in Management and Conservation
of the land and pollutes the water resources through sedi- Mountainareas have been recognized as complex and diverse

Table 6. Changes in government policy on forest resource management.

Act or Policy instrument Main features

Forests Act of 1942 and Forestry Policy of 1968 Permitted adjacent communities to use forest reserves without license or fee by virtue of customary practice.
A Presidential Directive of 1983 Banned felling of live indigenous trees on gazetted forest lands.
Nyayo Tea Zone established in 1984 Introduced a 50-500 m wide tea buffer zone in area suitable for tea production to reduce encroachment into
the forest areas by forest adjacent dwellers and reduce wildlife damage to adjacent cropland.
Departmental Instruction in 1988 Stopped exports of unworked indigenous timber.
Departmental Instruction in 1988. The shamba system of forest cultivation-a system of plantation management based on temporarily allowing
combined agricultural production and plantation maintenance-was discontinued, and forest squatters removed.
Departmental Instructions in 1991 The shamba system has been reinstated in selected areas of the country permitting non-resident cultivation in
plantation areas. Forest grazing was also re-introduced.
New forestry policy for Kenya in 1994 Policy revised to include major stated objectives of supporting national government policy of alleviating policy
and promoting rural development through income based on forest and tree resources, by providing employment,
by promoting equity and participation of local communities.
Govemment announcement in 1995 Sales of hardwoods declared illegal.
Source:(12,18).

434 ? Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 1999 Ambio Vol. 28 No. 5, August 1999

ecosystems utilized and managed by many stakeholders.Part- no capacity and/orwillingness to monitorand assess the impact
nerships of all stakeholdersare contributingto reduced illegal of current levels of exploitation.As a resultthereare limiteddata
exploitation and promoting regeneration.Notable partnerships on the currentlevels of exploitation and its environmental,so-
include: cial andeconomicimpacts.Thereis a need to quantitatively dem-
Partnershipbetween Kenya WildlifeService (KWS)and the lo- onstratethe relationshipbetween currentlevels of exploitation
cal communities: Sharing benefits with the adjacent com- and futureproductionlevels. This would provide a sound basis
munities has been proposed as a solution to promotingsustain- for planning natural-resources development and utilization to
able managementof mountainresources, particularlythrough minimize conflicts. The demonstration would also providea ba-
sharingof tourismrevenue. Kenya Wildlife Services has estab- sis for draftingregulationsthat will promotesustainableutiliza-
lished a community wildlife programin order to increase par- tion.
ticipationof local communitiesin wildlife operations.The pro- Knowledge gaps exist on the impacts of land-use changes,
gramobjectivesinclude:using a percentageof revenuesreceived impacts from terracing on mass movement, threat of climate
from parkentrancesto finance ruraldevelopmentactivities pro- change, impacts of differentpolicies on resourceuse and man-
posed by the communities;and supportingruralcommunitiesto agement, and opportunitiesfor non-landbased sources of live-
operatetour venturesand other small-scale developmentactivi- lihood for mountainareadwellers.
ties compatiblewith and supportiveof conservation(9, 15).
Reference and Notes
Partnershipbetween Forest Department(FD) and TimberSaw 1. MENR (Ministryof Environmentand NaturalResources) 1994. Kenya ForestryMas-
Millers: In regenerationof plantationforests and repairof for- ter Plan 1995-2020. Ministryof Environment NaturalResources,Nairobi,Kenya.
and
2. Muchena, F.N. and Gachene, C.K.K. 1990. Soils of the Highland and Mountainous
est roads (1). Areas of Kenya with Special Emphasis on AgriculturalSoils. In: B. Messerli and H.
Humi (Eds),AfricanMountainsand Highlands:Problemsand Perspectives.Walsworth
Press, Marceline,Missouri,USA, pp. 157-170.
Memorandum understandingbetween KWSand FD: Signed
of 3. GoK (Govemmentof Kenya) 1989. Govemmentof Kenya:National Development Plan
in December 1991 is aimedat enhancingand improving,through for the Period 1989:1993. Nairobi.
4. Kohler T. 1976. Waldund Waldnutzung Kenya. Instituteof Geography,University
in
collaborativeinitiatives,the integratedmanagementand conser- of Beme, Beme, Switzerland.
vationof forestresourcesandthe wildlife containedin them.The 5. MountainAgenda, 1992. The state of the WorldsMountains:A Global Report.Stone,
P.B. (ed.). Zed Books Ltd., London,UK, p. 391.
memorandumcovers partnershipsin policy formulation,man- 6. Emerton,L. 1996. Socio-economic Survey Recommendations Mount Kenya For-
for
est. ProjectTechnical PaperNo. 10. Reporton a consultancycarriedout for the Con-
agement planning,promotionof joint forest management,com- servationand Management IndigenousForestsProject.Ministryof Environment
of and
munityinvolvement,tourismdevelopment,and problemanimal NaturalResources,Nairobi, Kenya.
7. Gichuki, F. N., Liniger,H.P., MacMillan,L.C., Schwilch, G. and Gikonyo, J.K. 1998.
control activities (15). Scarce water: Exploring resource availability, use and improved management.East.
South.Afr. Geogr. J. 8, Special Number,1998, 15-28.
8. Liniger, H.P., Weingartner,R. Grosjean, M., Kull, C., MacMillan, L., Messerli, B.,
PartnershipbetweenNationalSoil and WaterConservation Pro- Bisaz, A. and Lutz, U. 1998. Mountainsof the World,WaterTowersfor the 21st Cen-
grammeand the land users: Startedin 1974 when the Swedish tury-A Contributionto Global Freshwater Management. Mountain Agenda, Paul
Haupt,Bem, p. 32.
Government granted Kenya financial support to promote soil 9. KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service) 1993. MountKenyaNational Park ManagementPlan
1993-1998. KWS report.Nairobi, Kenya
conservation activities. The programbased in the Ministry of 10. Emerton,L. 1995. Socio-EconomicNotes on MountKenyaForest Reserve. Centrefor
Agriculture, Livestock Development and Marketing provides Biodiversity,NationalMuseumsof Kenya, Nairobi.
11. MENR (Ministryof Environment NaturalResources) 1996. Kenya:TheAberdares
and
advice and financial supporttowardssustainableuse of the land Natural Resources Development Project. Ministry of Environmentand Natural Re-
resourcesthroughsoil and water conservationand agroforestry sources,Nairobi, Kenya.
12. Bakema,R.J., Betlem, J., Kamweti,D., Ongayo, M., Gathaara, Kahuki,C., Kisioh,
G.,
initiatives. To date, the programis creditedfor its contribution H. and Wasike, S. 1997. Mount Elgon Integrated Conservation and Development
in reversingsoil degradation trendsthroughcreatingawareness, Project: FormulationDocument.IUCN, Nairobi,Kenya, p. 64.
13. Jaetzold, R. and Schmidt, H. 1982. Farm ManagementHandbook of Kenya, Vol II.
promotingbetterfarmingtechniquesandconstruction millions
of Ministryof Agriculture,Nairobi, Kenya.
of kilometersof soil conservationstructures 14. Reuling, M., Mativu, V., Njumbi, S. and Litoroh,M. 1992. Mount Kenya and Mount
(19). Elgon Forest ElephantSurvey.Kenya Wildlife Service report,Nairobi.
15. Gathaara, and Kahuki,C. 1994. Partnership management conservation.MOU
G. in and
Resolving Transborder Resource-use Conflicts newsletter,Issue 1. Kenya Wildlife Service, Nairobi.
16. NRM3 (NaturalResourcesMonitoring,Modelling and Management),Photo database.
The mountainecosystem of Mount Elgon straddlesthe Kenya- 17. Schneider,H.M. 1994. SedimentSources to the Masinga Dam. Paperpresentedat the
4th National Workshopon Soil and Water Conservation held in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb-
Uganda border and falls in the category of Transboundary ruary, 1994.
Protected Areas(12). The maintransborder 18. MENR (Ministryof Environment NaturalResources) 1994. KenyaNational Envi-
and
resource-management ronmental Action Plan, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Nairobi,
issues are migration of people and wildlife, protection of the Kenya.
19. MoALDM (Ministry of Agriculture,Livestock Development and Marketing), 1997.
Ugandawatercatchmentthatfeeds SuamRiver on which Kenya National Soil and WaterConservationProgramme-Annual Report,Nairobi,Kenya.
constructed multi-million
a dollardam andhydropower plant;law 20. Acknowledgements.I would like to thankthe organizersof Symposium on Research
for MountainArea Development(Africaand Asia) for invitingme to presentthis work.
enforcement in poorly accessible no-man's land; intercountry Special thanksgo to Mr. G. Gathaara Kenya Wildlife Services and Mr. Humphrey
of
integratedplanning and management.Managementinitiatives Kisio of IUCN for sharingwith me their experiencesin mountainissues. I am grateful
to the many authorsthat I have quoted and to the University of Nairobifor giving me
with an integrated participatory
and approach have been success- time off to participatein the symposium.
fully launched in Kenya and Uganda. The Kenyan and Ugan-
dan projectare workingon modalitiesto jointly addresszoning,
managementof migratoryspecies, tourismand securityissues.
Francis Ndegwa Gichuki completed his studies at the Utah
CONCLUSIONS
ANDRECOMMENDATIONS State University, Logan, Utah, USA, with a PhD thesis on
development of a branching canal network hydraulic model.
Mountainecosystemsof Kenyaare important theireconomic,
for He has undertakenteaching in soil and water engineering
social, spiritualand environmentalvalues. They directlysupport and research in sustainable natural-resources management.
over 60%o the populationand indirectlysupportan additional
of He is currently a senior lecturer at the Departmentof
20%. Threatsto sustainableuse and managementof these eco- Agriculturalengineering, University of Nairobi, Kenya.
He is also a Regional Coordinatorof the Soil and Water
systems are highest in densely populatedareas and during the Management Programme. His address: Departmentof
droughtperiods. AgriculturalEngineering, University of Nairobi,
There are many initiatives aimed at addressing the threats. P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi, Kenya.
Their success is constrainedby inadequateunderstanding the
of e-mail: fgichuki@form-net.com
impacts. Most of the institutionscharged with the responsibil-
ity of promotingsustainable developmentof mountainareashave

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