The role and consequences of climatic fluctuations and some anthropogenic factors in the process of desertification in a semi-arid environment; A case study of Marigat Division; Baringo District. Kenya

Abstract

Desertification which is a global environmental problem has attracted the interests of many scholars. Some of the scholars have identified and grouped the causes and consequences of desertification depending on their interests and areas of study as follows:- The Climatic School, the anthropogenic School and the 'dual' Process School. This study adopted the 'dual' process School of thought in trying to assess the role it has played in the process of desertification and the immediate consequences in Marigat Division, Baringo District. Two types of data were collected. These were (i) The Climate data which included rainfall, temperature, actual surface evaporation, relative humidity and windspeed. (ii) Anthropogenic data, where structured and unstructured questionnaire was administered to a randomly selected 180 respondents from 8 purposive randomly selected sites in Marigat Division. The questionnaire was prepared on selected topics, namely pastoral activities, deforestation practises, cultivation practices and population trends. Empirical findings established that Marigat experiences severe and prolonged droughts. Of the 30 year annual rainfall data analyzed, 13 years of the period which is 43.3 per cent received markedly below average rainfall. Six years which is 20 per cent received marginal rainfall above average. The severe and prolonged droughts have led to poor vegetation ground cover, high animal mortality due to hunger and thirst, and insufficient stream flow. Rainfall in Marigat is both erratic and variable. This has led to the formation of rills and gulleys. Very high temperatures have led to soil desiccation and rock disintegration, while high windspeeds in areas with poor ground cover has led to disastrous wind erosion. Low relative humidity coupled with very high evaporation rates have resulted in low and scanty rainfall, high water deficiency and insufficient stream flow.