Local Communities’ Awareness on Payments for Ecosystem Services for Improved Livelihood and Conservation of Nyando Wetland, Kenya
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Date
2021
Authors
Maithya, Joseph K.
Ming’ate, Felix L.M.
Letema, Sammy C.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
Nyando wetland provides several ecosystem goods and services, i.e., provisioning, cultural,
supporting and regulating which are essential for human well-being for making life possible and
worth living. Payment for Ecosystem Services presents one key question in current literature on
whether local communities are aware of ecosystem services provided by wetlands. This paper
contributes to the understanding of the local community’s level of awareness of the ecosystem
services provided by Nyando wetland in Kenya as a strategy to improve protection of wetlands.
The study is significant as it proposes policy options that can assist conservation authorities and
local communities in management of wetlands. A stratified random sampling based on two
administrative sub-counties, namely Nyando and Nyakach was employed to collect quantitative
data from 394 households using a structured questionnaire. The quantitative data was subjected to
descriptive statistics and Chi-square test which were performed in SPSS version 20. The results
confirmed that the local community is more conversant with the provisioning ecosystem services
(37.7%) compared to the other classes of ecosystem services. Despite the locals being involved in
community based natural resource conservation initiatives, majority of the respondents (69%)
were not familiar with the concept of Payment for Ecosystem Services. Therefore, there is need to
create awareness and capacity building to local communities on the importance of both the
wetland ecosystem services and Payment for Ecosystem Services in conservation of wetlands for
enhanced community livelihoods.
Description
A research article published in Tanzania Journal of Science
Keywords
Payment for ecosystem services, Wetland, Conservation, Community, Livelihood, Awareness
Citation
Maithya, J. K., Ming’ate, F. L., & Letema, S. C. (2021). Local Communities’ Awareness on Payments for Ecosystem Services for Improved Livelihood and Conservation of Nyando Wetland, Kenya. Tanzania Journal of Science, 47(3), 969-980.