Abstract:
The environmental degradation of areas surrounding Lake Elementaita arise from the livelihood activities of the residents. Uncontrolled extraction of resources such as trees, grass and soda/salt contrasts with conservation. This is further compounded by the free access to the resources as a result of absentee landlords. This situation leads to lack of control and management of resources thus exacerbating degradation activities around the Lake and its riparian ecosystem. This study focused on the potential role of local communities in addressing ecological problems around Lake Elementaita ecosystem. The objective of the study was to identify human activities that cause environmental degradation around Lake Elementaita. The study was carried out around Lake Elementaita riparian zone and data collection was through the administration of a structured questionnaire among 183 households that were randomly selected. The data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).Descriptive statistics was used to determine the mean and standard deviations,’ inferential statistics was used to determine the relationship among variables and between dependent and independent variables A focus group discussion was conducted and it included a one day seminar organized for different stakeholders, local community leaders, large scale ranchers, conservation groups, community based organizations and Kenya Wildlife Services to share the research findings. The results from the research confirm that rapid population growth, overstocking, poor farming practices coupled with low understanding by the community of the interrelatedness between societal needs, economic drivers and the environment is leading to negative impacts like increased soil erosion, pollution, loss of habitats and biodiversity around Lake Elementaita riparian zone. This will lead to serious environmental degradation that inevitably exacerbates poverty among the community around Lake Elementaita. There is an urgent need for the government together with all stakeholders to come up with a comprehensive participatory management wetland policy .There will also be need to strengthen and coordinate agencies or government departments whose mandate includes wetlands management. There is also need to carry out education for sustainable development awareness and implement alternative livelihoods programmes such as beekeeping, ecotourism and organic farming in areas where we have wetlands.
