Abstract/Overview Forests are some of the key natural assets that provide a wide range of goods and services to forest adjacent communities. However, there is inadequate information on the factors that influence community members’ level of dependence on forest resources. This study examined and analyzed factors that influence dependence of households on non-timber forest products from South Nandi forest, Kenya. 431 household heads from 9 villages were interviewed using proportional rand...
Abstract In Kenya, Arid and semi-arid Lands are more affected by drought due to their fragile ecosystems, unfavourable climate, and historical marginalization. Kitui County is one of the counties that have been hit hard by protracted droughts over the past decades. This study aimed at addressing the increasing global, regional, and national attention on building community resilience to disasters. The overall objective of the study was to evaluate the strategic options for enhancing community...
Abstract This study sought to To examine the influence of land rehabilitation on sustainable economic development in Kilome, specifically studying how entrepreneurial attributes, entrepreneurial value of Kilome area resources, potential entrepreneurial initiatives and entrepreneurial systems influence sustainable economic development. Existing local empirical studies did not establish this role. Four hypotheses were investigated using a census survey of data obtained from ten (10) Community ...
Abstract The focus on strategies for mitigating flood risks is to identify which measures have been put in place to reduce flood risk using nature-based affordable approaches. It has been observed that there is a continuous increase in floods all over the world, in developed and developing countries, as a result of climate change. Floods have affected millions of people worldwide, leading to environmental, physical, economic, and social losses and reducing the growth of the nation. Disaster ...
Abstract Communicating climate change remains an integral aspect of the quest to manage the impacts of climate change. Communicating climate change largely takes the western scientific approach without much consideration of African traditional knowledge. Communicating climate change has not elicited the desired response from the community that lives adjacent to Kakamega Forest. Abaluhyia people have had ways of conserving their forests, which ensured their posterity. The study aimed to asses...
Abstract/Overview Among the factors contributing to food shortage in Africa are lack of appropriate preservation and storage facilities, tropical heat and poor road network for marketing produce. High food spoilage caused by high temperatures of the tropical areas necessitates storage for all householders. Marginal areas of Lake Victoria often suffer protein deficiency due to dependence on narrow base sources of protein, most of which get spoilt during storage. The lake region is endowed ...
Abstract: Two major challenges facing arid and semi-arid areas (ASALs) of Kenya today are food insecurity and poverty, occasioned by low agricultural production. Diversification into low input agriculture like mushroom cultivation can help address these challenges. However, commonly used mushroom substrates in Kenya, (rice and wheat straws) are not widely and cheaply available. Several crop residues are found in the ASALs, while Melia volkensii is becoming popular agroforest trees in these a...
Abstract: In the recent years it has become clear that climate change is an inevitable process and a growing concern for many regions in the world. In the Horn of Africa especially, the expectation is that climate change will have negative impacts on the livelihoods due to existing vulnerabilities of the population. A cursory view of many regions in the world reveals the existing albeit critical relationship between climate change and food security. Climate change is already affecting all di...
Abstract: Land degradation is a global, ongoing and relentless problem diminishing the functions and services provided by land resources. The problem is most serious in tropical regions, high in population density and mainly dependent on subsistence agriculture. Ethiopia can be viewed as a vivid example of countries in these regions most affected by land degradation. Although its extent varies, the problem is widespread in all regions of the country. The highlands, originally endowed with ab...
Abstract: Cultivation of edible mushrooms is one of the strategies of production of protein-rich food with the reduction of environmental pollution with full use of all materials in which nothing left as waste. In view of this, an experiment was conducted to evaluate substrates and substrate combination (Cotton seed (CS), khat left over (KL) and spent Coffee Ground (CG)) for oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus sajor-caju) cultivation at Mushroom Research, Production and Train...
Abstract: P. sativum L. var. abyssinicum is a marginalized, economically important and endemic, cool - season legume - crop in Ethiopia. However, no genetic diversity study has been employed using molecular markers on this crop species sofar. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate genetic diversity and population structure of P. sativum L.var abyssinicum collected from Southern Tigray and Northern Amhara regions of Ethiopia. Six ISSR (Inter simple sequence repeat) primers were used to...
Abstract: Global warming, urban pollution and depletion of fossil fuels have been driving for looking alternative energy sources, especially those derived from biomass. Production of bio-ethanol from lingocellulosic materials is providing a long-term sustainable for fuel supply. Striga hermonthica, a parasitic weed plant is one of cheap source of lignocellosic materials to serve as feedstock for bio-ethanol production. With the objective of evaluating its potential for bioethanol production,...
Abstract: Microbial formulations for producing bioorganic liquid fertilizers are promising technology in the future. Thus, the present study was aimed to produce bioorganic liquid fertilizer from khat leaves and onion bulbs through aerobic fermentation in open containers. Macronutrient composition of bioorganic fertilizer and compost tea solutions indicated that Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and sodium (Na) were found to be significant between bioorganic liquid fertilizer and ...
Abstract: An extension of human activities including agriculture into the natural vegetation was resulting negative impacts like decreasing population of the wildlife inhabited the natural habitat. This study was conducted to assess and document diversity, distribution, relative abundance of medium and large size mammals in Chukala Mountain Forest. Preliminary survey was conducted and three habitat types montane forest with grassland, woodland and Bush land were identified. A line transect s...
Abstract: Homegarden agrobiodiversity practices are well developed and highly appreciated for the agroecosystem sustainability and socio-economic contributions to small holder farmers in Africa particularly in Ethiopia. There are a number of studies, which have been analyzed the homegarden agrobiodiversityin Africa as well as in Ethiopia.However, a comprehensive scientific study on the homegarden practices, its contribution to the economic and livelihood of the people were not done.Therefore...