Land use changes, causes and effects in Imenti forest Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

Forests provide functions and services that support livelihoods and ecosystem processes. However, despite of many interventions to sustainably manage forests, they are continually turned into other land uses undermining their capacity to effectively function resulting in many negative impacts. The ineffectiveness of these interventions could be associated with inadequate local information on land use changes and variation of their causes from one geographical place to another. Thus, this study was undertaken to evaluate changes in land use in Imenti forest, identify their causes and effects. The study employed the theory of tragedy of the commons to understand the problem. A combination of longitudinal and cross sectional designs was adopted. Multi stage stratified random sampling was used to select questionnaire participants. Questionnaires were supplemented with key informants interviews and photographs. Analyses were done in arc GIS 10.1 and excel spreadsheet 2013. The results showed that the area under indigenous forest, plantation forest and grassland decreased from 32.3%, 30.0% and 16.2% to 26.4%, 25.8% and 10.7 % and lastly to 20.2%, 20.8% and 7.5% in year 1986, 2001 and 2016 respectively. During the same period the area under agriculture and bare/built up area classes increased from 15.7% and 5.7% to 29.8% and 7.3% and then to 42.6% and 8.9%. All land use classes changed at a fluctuating rate except grassland. The distribution of change in each land use class varied from time to time and indigenous forest was mainly losing to plantation forest and active agriculture while plantation forest was mainly losing to agriculture. Farmland expansion, population increase, demand for forest products and grazing land, access to road and expansion of urban centers, insecure land tenure, inadequate participation in off farm activities and ineffective management of Imenti forest were found to be the causes of land use change in this area. On other hand loss of biodiversity, decline in soil fertility, rainfall fluctuation and increase in temperature were effects of land use change. The study concluded that a lot of unpleasant land use changes driven by a variety of causes have taken place and their effects are being experienced. Lastly the study recommended for: more studies on land use change in this area, population control, participation in other off farm activities apart from those related to agriculture and/or forests, speedy issuance of title deed, and promotion of reforestation and afforestation activities.