Environmental effects of urban Cattle keeping in Nakuru Municipality, Kenya

Abstract

Dilemma exists in Kenya among various urban dwellers and policy makers on whether to promote or prohibit urban cattle keeping. This is due to the intricate nature of the tradeoffs between its benefits and associated environmental hazards. The current study, therefore, sought to assess environmental effects of urban cattle keeping in Nakuru Municipality in Nakuru County of Kenya. Through a cross-sectional survey, primary data was collected using sets of structured and semi-structured questionnaires, and focused group discussions. Stratified sampling was used, with simple random sampling within the strata applied. Fishers Exact Formula was then used to select the 186 cattle keepers that were interviewed. Chi-square and paired t-tests were performed to determine the existence of significant differences between observations. Results indicate that majority (90.3%) of the survey respondents disagreed that cattle waste had any environmental hazards. This was due to lack of awareness among urban cattle keepers on environmental hazards related to livestock keeping in confined areas and close proximity to human beings. Most (82.8%) of the survey respondents who practiced zero-grazing perceived bad odour/ air pollution as an environmental hazard. Similarly, those who grazed their cattle by the roadside or streets perceived bad odour /air pollution and littered streets as environmental hazards. Overall, the type of cattle rearing system was highly associated with environmental hazards. The number of cattle kept, however, was independent of the environmental hazard (P=0.191, χ2 4=6.109). The heaping of manure in the cattle pen was more likely to contaminate the environment than when given away or applied on the kitchen garden. There were differences in the rating of environmental hazards of cattle waste across levels of education attained by the respondents (P=0.191, χ2 4= 6.109). However, there were no differences between respondents who deposited cattle waste less than 10 meters away from the household and those who deposited it farther away. Generally, there was no proper cattle waste management procedures in Nakuru Municipality. It is recommended that cattle waste management be decentralized with active participation of organized urban cattle keepers and supported by the public. User pay principle should also be applied whereby urban cattle keepers pay a determined fee for cattle waste collection. This would assist in the sustainability of the decentralized service. The findings in the current study are useful for policy formulation on the management of cattle waste and associated environmental hazards in the Municipality and other areas with similar circumstances.