Anthropogenic Impacts On Land Use And Land Cover Change In Ombeyi Wetland, Kisumu County, Kenya

Land use and land cover change dynamics and associated human-induced transitions studies are very critical in the formulation of sustainable land management strategies, land use systems and policies. The study aimed at generating a characterized area estimate of Ombeyi wetland’s land use and land cover change schema for the period between 1990 and 2017, examining the spatial and temporal characteristics of anthropogenic impacts and their relationship with land use and land cover change in Ombeyi wetland, and to evaluate the impact of existing plan/program used for sustainable management of Ombeyi wetland. The study adopted a mixed-method design consisting of remote sensing and GIS-based analysis, key informants interview, and a household survey of 384 households. Remote sensing analysis revealed that between 1990 and 2017, the area covered by papyrus vegetation has decreased from 1017.01 Ha to 4.04 Ha while agricultural land and built-up area increased from 2966.5 Ha to 3450.8 Ha and 52.46 Ha to 581.2 Ha, respectively. Key informants attributed the changes to population increase (29.2%) and their associated demand for land and natural resources. Analysis of household-survey results validated the observed patterns during the remotely sensed data analysis phase, as majority of the respondents (90.1%) own land within the wetland through inheritance. The respondents reported farming (92.2%) as their main occupation with 72.4% of the same respondents attaining primary level education and below. Most of the respondents (24.7%) are aged between 21 and 30 years with 88.3 %, earning Kshs >2,500 or more monthly from wetland utilization. Wetland conservation was not popular as 70.1% of the respondents were against conservation while 98.1% have never participated in any conservation efforts. Results from the evaluation of the integrated management plan 2014-2018 objectives were, afforestation and re-afforestation in catchment areas (50%), improve environmental education and awareness (50%), halt pollution and improve water quality (45.45%), improved food security and household income (41.67%), and enhancement of participatory monitoring and evaluation (50%). Hypothesis testing for; there is significant spatial and temporal change in Ombeyi wetlands’ land cover types using T-test resulted in a p-value of 0.999, while correlational test for hypothesis; anthropogenic impacts significantly correlate with changes in land use and land cover resulted in a r-value of 0.892. Both hypotheses were accepted. The respondents proposed land use zoning (30.2%) as the most suitable conservation measure. The current state of land cover and its dynamics have had negative impacts on the livelihoods of residents and resources management.