Assessing effects of human activities Kipranye Wetland, Sondu Miriu river basin, Kericho County, Kenya.

Abstract

Governments, researchers, and environmental conservationists agree that wetland resources need to be utilized sustainably to ensure continued presence of wetlands and their ecological goods and services. Ideally, sustainable use of the wetlands should be integrated into the national and local land use plans to ensure sustainable use and management of the resources. However, this is not the case as far as Kenya is concerned. Instead, there is rampant exploitation of the wetlands by individuals, organizations, and even government agencies with no regard for environmental conservation. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the effects of human activities on Kipranye wetland, Sondu Miriu river basin, Kericho County. The specific objective of the study was to assess the effects of the human activities on wetlands. The study was grounded on the Systems Theory and Integrated Water Resource Management Theory. The study adopted a concurrent triangulation research design which entailed a combination of both qualitative and quantitative data. The sample population of the study was 162 respondents in which a sample of 124 respondents were selected accounting for 76.5%. The sample was randomly selected with the inclusion criterion being that the chosen respondents were homogeneously engaged inhuman activities that affected wetland conservation. The results of the study inform on policy and practice in the management and conservation of Kipranye wetlands. The study established that human activities such as farming, logging, construction, drilling, building. and construction and settlements were immense in the study area and they hamper conservation of Kipranye wetland. There was a gap in the integration of the legal framework to manage wetlands in the study area. The following conclusions were derived from the study wetlands in the study area need urgent redemption and reclamation; inclusion of the local communities in the conservation of the Kipranye river wetlands would enable the people to take responsibility and own the solutions to the problem. There is a need for an integrated approach to their planning and sustainable use. The Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources in conjunction with NEMA and the County Government could formulate policies and technical tools needed to counteract the lack of appropriate information and intervention failure that cause wetlands to be used in an unsustainable way.