Browsing by Author "Muendo, Nicholas Mwongela"

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    An assessment of patterns of vegetative resource extraction within south-eastern edge of Chyulu National Park, Makueni County, Kenya
    (Kenyatta University, 2015-08) Muendo, Nicholas Mwongela
    As the world‘s population continues to increase at unprecedented rate, demand for food and economic development has continued to exert pressure on the natural resources. In Tsitsikamma National park, South Africa, locals practice illegal activities. In Kenya conservation is an increasing challenge partly because of exclusion of local community and population increase. The purpose of the study was to assess the patterns of vegetative resource extraction within South Eastern edge of Chyulu National Park (CNP); which lies on the slopes of Chyulu Hills in Makueni County. The specific objectives of this study were; to investigate how the socio-economic characteristics of local community influence public participation in the management of CNP; to establish the role played by different socio-economic segments of the population in extraction of resources from CNP; to determine the extent of extraction and demand for resources by communities bordering CNP. The study used stratified random sampling, where 210 households in the 4 study villages were interviewed using a questionnaire and semi structured interview. Data collected was coded, and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Data was presented in form of tables, bar graphs, and pie charts. The findings of t his research indicated that 9 trees were illegally harvested per km of boundary, 33 illegal human entry trails were found in 30 km boundary adjacent to the study villages. On average, 76 cows, 73 goats and 1 donkey were observed grazing inside the park per kilometre of boundary. There were 6 charcoal-making kilns and operations, 8 evidences of boundary encroachment, and 16 scars of fire per km of boundary measured. The study revealed that 63% of the respondents needed firewood from the park, 59% desired construction poles, 24% required charcoal, 77% were in need of grass, and 24% demanded medicinal plants from the Park. Of the extraction of resources from the Park; 47% extracted firewood, 42% extracted charcoal, 24% extracted construction poles, 57% extracted grass, and 5% extracted miraa. From the study, 90% of the respondents mentioned farming as their major source of income while only 5% were pastoralists and business people, with a majority (87%) of them earning a monthly income of less than Kshs. 5,000. The study established through Chi-square test statistic that there was no significant relationship between extraction and demand for park resources from CNP; the socio-economic characteristic of the population did not significantly influence the public participation in management of the park; and that resource extraction within CNP do not differ significantly among different socio-economic segment of the population. The study concluded that the human disturbances indicators were found to cluster and be spatially coherent, identifying hotspots for extraction of particular resources. The most wanted and extracted resource was fuel wood and construction poles, conservation enthusiasts need to concentrate on solutions that address the socio-economic realities of people adjacent PAs, and natural resource governance is a function of socio-economic characteristics that enable communities to manage PAs resources together. The study recommended that, among others, development programme agencies should adopt proven innovation such as fuel saving or non-wood dependent cooking technologies to reduce the amount of wood consumed; the locals should be encouraged to cultivate fast growing trees for firewood charcoal and construction poles.
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    Mapping Resource Demand and Extraction Patterns Around Chyulu National Park: Implications for Sustainable Conservation
    (Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies (JAIS), 2025-08) Muendo, Nicholas Mwongela; Mahiri, I. O.; Osebe, D. A.
    Effective participatory conservation, a cornerstone of modern biodiversity management, requires a clear and granular understanding of the complex resource pressures that protected areas (PAs) face from adjacent local communities. This study provides a data-driven analysis that maps the demand for and the actual extraction of vegetative resources around Chyulu National Park (CNP), Kenya, with the aim of generating actionable insights for sustainable and equitable co-management. Employing a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, the research surveyed 210 households to quantify resource demand and utilized systematic boundary transects to spatially map and measure actual extraction activities, including tree cutting, livestock grazing, and charcoal production. The results reveal a significant and deeply problematic disconnect between official conservation policy and local reality. The communities expressed high and non-negotiable demand for essential resources, including firewood (63%), construction poles (59%), and, most critically, grazing land (77%), which directly translated into observable and spatially concentrated extraction hotspots. On average, 5 trees were found to be illegally harvested and 6 active charcoal kilns were identified per kilometer of the surveyed park boundary. Extraction patterns were spatially concentrated in areas with low ranger patrol frequency and proximity to market access points, indicating a rational, risk-averse pattern of exploitation. Critically, the study identified a major institutional failure: an astonishing 70% of respondents were entirely unaware of the existence of any formal conservation agreements with the park, such as Resource Access Agreements, rendering the existing participatory structures largely ineffective and irrelevant to the community. The study concludes that the sustainable management of protected areas requires a fundamental shift away from the mere existence of formal agreements towards a data-driven, adaptive management approach that maps resource hotspots and directly addresses the specific livelihood needs that drive demand. The profound lack of community awareness highlights an urgent and critical need for improved institutional outreach and genuine communication to transform communities from passive subjects into genuine partners in conservation. Ultimately, conservation interventions must be spatially targeted, socially nuanced, and economically aligned with the realities of park-adjacent populations to have any chance of success.
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    Socio-Economic Determinants of Public Participation in Protected Area Management: A Case Study of Chyulu National Park, Kenya
    (Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies (JAIS), 2025-08) Muendo, Nicholas Mwongela; Mahiri, I. O.; Osebe, D. A.
    The global shift towards participatory conservation assumes that meaningful community involvement enhances the management and sustainability of protected areas (PAs). However, the success of such initiatives is often constrained by the complex socio-economic contexts of adjacent local communities. This study investigates these determinants at Chyulu National Park (CNP), Kenya, establishing a critical link between community characteristics, their engagement in formal participatory structures, and their actual, measured patterns of resource extraction. Employing a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, the research surveyed 210 households using structured questionnaires and integrated this quantitative data with qualitative insights from in-depth interviews and direct, systematic observation of resource use along a 30 km stretch of the park boundary. The findings reveal a critical and deeply rooted paradox. While key socio-economic indicators such as household income and level of education showed no statistically significant relationship with formal participation in conservation programs like Resource Access Agreements, these same factors were identified as the primary drivers of informal and often illegal resource use. High levels of poverty and dependence on subsistence agriculture directly correlated with significant extraction of fuelwood, construction poles, and grazing resources from the park. Furthermore, the patterns of resource extraction were found to be socially differentiated, with gender significantly influencing the types of resources collected, reflecting traditional divisions of labor. The study concludes that formal participatory structures are rendered largely ineffective when they fail to provide tangible, household-level economic benefits that address the root causes of resource dependency. For conservation to be sustainable, management strategies must urgently move beyond tokenistic forms of participation and create direct livelihood incentives that transform communities from mere stakeholders into genuine partners in protecting PAs. Consequently, conservation policies must be socially nuanced, recognizing and responding to the fact that different segments of the community interact with, and depend upon, the park in fundamentally different ways.