Environmental and socio-economic impacts of sand harvesting on the community in river kivou catchment, Mwingi sub county, Kitui County, Kenya
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Date
2015
Authors
Wambua, Mumbi Patricia
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Abstract
Sand harvesting is a worldwide activity in both developed and developing countries.
The leading nations in sand harvesting are United States of America, Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, India, Spain, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. In Kenya
sand harvesting is practiced in counties proximate to major urban' centers such as
Machakos, Makueni, Kajiando and Kitui. Sand harvesting is a commercial activity
that has continued to be practiced amidst the rapidly growing populations in urban
areas and upcoming construction industry. This has largely contributed to an
unprecedented demand for sand to meet the ever-rising needs of the building and
construction industry. The aim of the study was to identify the environmental impacts
of sand harvesting, determine the socio-economic impacts of sand harvesting on local
communities and evaluate level of local stakeholders' participation in the sand
harvesting process. Seven sites within River Kivou were selected namely: Mwania,
Kwa Nduuthi, Kivou, Ndalani, Mangoloma, Kesu and Kanginga. The sites were
purposively selected because sand harvesting was taking place at the time of the
study. Three categories of respondents were captured: households within a distance of
5krn along the river catchment, sand transporters/loaders and experts in natural
resources conservation. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using
structured questionnaires. Field notes, observation and photography approaches were
used to collect additional qualitative data. Data from the field was coded into similar
responses and was then keyed into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS
versionI6). Ms-excel was used to organize the data and to generate descriptive data
inform of percentages and frequency and presenting them in form of charts and tables.
Pearson Correlation Analysis was done to isolate existence of any correlations among
the study parameters such as sand harvesting and environmental degradation and sand
harvesting and social. -economic impacts. Interview transcripts, field notes and
photographs were used to validate the qualitative data. The most critical
environmental impact of sand harvesting was on land use with (59%) while the least
was loss of properties (2%). A correlation analysis showed a very strong positive
relationship (pearson; n = 159, r = 0.941, p < 0.05) between sand harvesting and
community conflicts but a very weak positive relationship (pearson; n = 159, r =
0.104, p = 0.05) between sand harvesting and family unit breakdown. In conclusion
sand harvesting has led to adverse negative environmental degradation in river Kivou
catchment, such as :river bank degradation, as a result of unregulated sand harvesting,
escalation of community conflicts ,habitat degradation and water use conflicts
between the loaders and the locals.Sand harvesting exercise has resulted to a number
of positive socio-economic impacts within the study sites e.g. rural income generation
and enhancing infrastructural developments such as road and housing. The study
recommended that; the governing structures and policies should be clear on issues of
sand harvesting with defined roles of each stakeholder involved in the exercise and
guidelines from NEMA on sand harvesting should be adhered to. Further sand dams
should be constructed to help in sand storage & water recharging in the catchment,
awareness creation on the environmental and socio-economic impacts of sand
harvesting should be emphasized, clearly structured benefit-sharing mechanism
should be put in place, Intensify stakeholder participation in sand harvesting at all
levels so as to improve environmental management as well improve local households'
livelihoods and further reduce potential conflicts. This study will be useful in helping
devise a sustainable way of sand harvesting which ensures economic gains and
environmental conservation on the other hand, strengthening the existing legislation
and may be used as a reference by other researchers
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Science (environmental education) in the school of environmental studies, Kenyatta University, June, 2015