Impact of climate change and application of ecosystem based adaptation in Kakamega forest, Kenya

Abstract

Climate change has direct impacts on forest ecosystems, like changes in productivity, functional trait composition and species extinction or range redistribution. These changes have been associated with increased drought stress, drying or dieback. Climate change can also have indirect impacts on forest ecosystems, for example, increased fire frequency .Worldwide and regional climate simulations for the next few decades project changes in precipitation and warming that may seriously impact major biomes all over the world. The general objective of this study was to assess the impact of climate change on forest ecosystems in Kenya with special emphasis to the application of Ecosystem-based Adaptation to climate change in Kakamega Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem. The specific objectives were: to establish the spatial and temporal characteristics of climate change in Kakamega Tropical Rainforest ecosystem, to analyze ecosystem services of Kakamega Tropical Rainforest, o assess the impact of climate change on Kakamega Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem, to evaluate Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) initiatives to climate change in Kakamega Tropical Rainforest ecosystem and to establish challenges and constraints facing implementation of EbA initiatives in Kakamega Tropical Rainforest ecosystem. This study was descriptive and cross-sectional in design and relied on a mixed methods approach. Anthropogenic Global Warming Theory and Adaptive Management Theory were used to guide the study. The study also utilized a conceptual framework showing the interrelationship between the independent (climate change) and dependent variables (forest ecosystem). The study utilized both primary and secondary data. The target population was 20,000 households living up to 10km from the forest edge in the selected communities neighbouring Kakamega Tropical Rainforest and 53 government officials within Kakamega County. A total of 184 members of the households were selected using stratified random sampling design and 20 forest officers were purposively sampled as respondents in the study. The study findings revealed that the spatial and temporal characteristics of climate change was very extreme temperatures and precipitation (the results revealed that temperature is increasing by 0.04°C per annum while rainfall amounts have dropped by 150mm for the past fifty three years that is since 1967 to 2020 in the region), the forest ecosystem was also a source of many services to the surrounding community, it also had a great impact on the surrounding community. Several challenges to the forest ecosystem existed such as high population growth rate, uncertainties around future climate change, deforestation, poverty, economic reasons like fluctuation of markets as some of the constraints or challenges facing the implementation of EbA initiatives. The study recommends that there is need for afforestation and conservation of the forest to get rid of extreme temperatures and precipitation since it is a source of many services to the surrounding communities and that the forest ecosystem helps to adapt or mitigate climate change among others. The study suggest for a further research in other forest ecosystems in Kenya on the effects of forest destruction on the socio-economic conditions of the neighbouring communities.