ABSTRACT Information on the quality of water is important as it forms a vital baseline for among others the detection of undesirable change in water quality. Diatoms often are used as water quality bio indicators in European countries, however there is limited use of these microalgae in most African countries yet they are suitable for quantitative research as they respond strongly to environmental changes. The physico-chemical and diatom properties were investigated along River Kisat that dr...
ABSTRACT Forests are valuable for environmental, ecological, cultural, social and economical support to natural systems and improvement of human welfare. The world‟s forest cover is estimated to be about 3.6 billion ha. Out of this portion, 57% is located in developing countries and indirectly supports about 1.6 billion people where at least 400 million are directly dependent on forest resources for their livelihood. Kenya is classified as a low forest cover country, where the closed canopy...
ABSTRACT Drought and famine, in sub-Saharan Africa, are among the leading causes of vulnerability within resource poor households in Arid and Semi-Arid agro-ecosystems. Accordingly, understanding how these communities cope with drought-driven food insecurity is critical for mitigation planning. This study was conducted in Makamini location in Kwale County, an area with a long history of food insecurity. Purposive sampling was used to identify twenty key informants and 30 respondents in each s...
ABSTRACT Many developing countries have been decentralizing some aspects of natural resource management. Governments justify decentralization as a means of increasing access, use, management, and decision making on natural resources. In Kenya, decentralisation points to conflict resolution whether explicitly or implicitly. However, the questions of to what degree and in what ways decentralization affect conflict in management of natural resources in Kenya have largely been overlooked. Thus, t...
ABSTRACT Mount Kenya Reserve is vital to the livelihood of the local populations who revere it. The forest reserve is of vital ecological, economic and environmental importance and is recognized as a world heritage site. The forest reserve serves as a water catchment reservoir for nearly a third of Kenya‟s population and feeds the country‟s largest River Tana, which in turn supports hydro electric plants that provide more than 50% of the country‟s electricity. The forest reserve is curr...
ABSTRACT Human activites have shaped the world over the years. Survival instincts prompted early man to explore his immediate natural surroundings and try many plants, animal products and minerals to develop a variety of therapeutical agents. W.H.O currently encourages, recommends and promotes research and inclusion of herbal drugs into national health care programmes. Indiscriminate destruction of forests and wood lands has led to reducing biodiversity that is increasingly causing disappear...
ABSTRACT Poverty has often been seen as a purely rural problem but for many developing countries, the pervasive nature of urban poverty constitutes an enormous challenge for policy makers and in development efforts. Poverty reduction tools and approaches that have been developed for rural poverty reduction cannot be replicated in urban areas because urban poverty is different in nature from rural poverty hence, understanding the nature of urban poverty as well as having accurate data that pr...
ABSTRACT About 90% of Kenya's rural population relies on wood fuel to meet their daily cooking energy needs. The consequences of over reliance on biomass energy are far reaching with adverse effects on the economic, social and environmental spheres of sustainability. Animals are an important source of food and income for many rural people, but their manure is a source of one of the world‟s most potent greenhouse gases. Turning manure into biogas, as an alternative source of energy has not ...
ABSTRACT Dust pollution in quarries pose various health risks to the workers including respiratory ailments, skin and eye problems. Depending on the chemical composition and the concentration of the dust, the workers are exposed to inhalation of silica bearing dust thus being at risk of developing silicosis, a fatal lung disease. Information on the chemical composition of the quarry dust is important as it forms a vital baseline for among others the detection of the undesirable health effects...
ABSTRACT Management of wastes – industrial or otherwise – is a primary step in safeguarding human health. The media, with its agenda-setting role, is important in as far as highlighting the health hazards of poor management of waste is concerned. This study, therefore, focuses on the media and the management of industrial discharge in Nairobi. The objectives of the study were: to determine the volumes of effluent waste emissions by industries; evaluation of industrial effluent discharge a...
ABSTRACT The problem of how to dispose human waste has remained a global challenge in a world that is increasingly bound by constraints of resources population growth, rapid urbanization and corresponding levels of poverty and disease, the pressure for appropriate and sustainable solutions is mounting. Despite continued efforts to promote sanitation, a significant number of the world‟s population is still without basic sanitation. Kibera slums suffer from lack of improved sanitation facilit...
ABSTRACT Kilifi town (study area) is in Kilifi County, Kenya. Groundwater samples were collected from wells which were close (≤30m) from pit latrines and (≤2.5Km) from refuse dumpsite. Ten wells, namely wells number (1- 10) were purposively sampled during wet season (July, August and September, 2011) and also during dry season (January, February and March, 2012), with the aim of assessing the physicochemical and biological impacts of the leachate from the dumpsite and the pit latrines on ...
ABSTRACT Climate variability and change are some of the most pressing environmental challenges of the globe and are associated with complexity and extreme events mainly drought and floods. Among small scale farming communities in Sub-Saharan Africa including Kenya, climate variability and change have been a more tasking challenge compared to the rest of the regions. There is little understanding of the vulnerability to climate change among such households in Wote based on their socio economic...
ABSTRACT Climate change impacts have been exacerbated by extreme weather events among others and have led to disappearance of certain species of both food crops and trees. The adaptive capacity of the local community has mainly been on mitigation by basic methods that are mostly traditional in practice and knowledge. An investigation on how different institutions work together towards mitigating climate change through decentralization of forest resources was conducted among communities l...
ABSTRACT Charcoal is a major form of biomass fuel for approximately 80% of the Kenyan population. However, the use of charcoal is associated with indoor air pollution where charcoal users are continually exposed to compounds of incomplete combustion which are known to have detrimental effects to human health. This study analyzed the emission profiles of different types of domestically used charcoal produced by different pyrolysis methods. Charcoal samples from three tree species Acacia polyac...