ABSTRACT Light pollution is a key biodiversity threat and is defined as one of the global environmental problems threatening key species to extinction and posing a major challenge to biodiversity conservation. The absence of stringent law, good practice and nonexistent environmental standards on light pollution has been a major drawback to management of its effects on biodiversity. This study sought to establish the influence of light pollution and biodiversity awareness on hawkmoth diversity...
ABSTRACT People residing in informal settlements face challenges of service delivery. This is mainly due to the fact that land was occupied illegally, thus impacting negatively on the environment. It was in the background of the above problem, that this study sought to establish the influence of informal settlement on the surrounding environment. The study was guided by the following specific objectives: To establish the extent of informal settlement in Majengo Slums, Narok County, to find ou...
ABSTRACT The surface of the earth is undergoing rapid land use and land cover changes (LULCC) due to various socio-economic activities and natural phenomena. The main aim of this study was to gain a quantitative understanding of LULCC in Makueni County between 2000 and 2016, and analyze the relationship between these changes and their possible underlying drivers in the County. ArcGIS 10.3.1 and ERDAS IMAGINE 2014 were used for the digital image processing and GIS analyses. Image pre-processin...
ABSTRACT The study was carried out to determine the effectiveness of using a land user based land degradation and livelihood assessment approach, with the overall aim of improving the sustainable management of Lake Naivasha. The study focused on two sub-catchments of Wanjohi and Turasha within the Lake Basin. A cross-sectional survey was selected for this study to allow for triangulation on information collected and to be able to infer the results from the sample to the larger population. The...
xiv ABSTRACT Cordia sinensis Lam. in the family Boraginaceae is a popular indigenous multipurpose tree species valued for fodder, fruit, structural timber and fuel wood. It is widely distributed in the arid and semiarid lands (ASALs) of Kenya. Production of seedlings is through seeds. There are challenges acquiring viable and vigorous Cordia sinensis seeds for raising planting materials due to difficulties in post-harvest storage. In spite of the tree‟s exceptional multipurpose qualities an...
ABSTRACT Rangeland vegetation are important resources for livestock, wildlife and human beings and are largely influenced by climatic conditions. The effects of climate change are varied and among them is uncertainty in dynamics of rangelands vegetation. The rangeland vegetation in Kenya supports the key economic activities of livestock and tourism. This significant contribution to GDP underscores the need to model the impacts of climate change on the rangeland vegetation for the country to p...
ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of land degradation on agricultural land use, planning and management in Kalama Division, Machakos County; and specifically determined farmers’ considerations of land suitability for selected types of agricultural land uses in varying cropping zones, investigated farmers’ local environmental knowledge of land degradation indicators and finally documented farmers’ land management strategies and practices for soil and water con...
ABSTRACT More than three decades after the introduction of prosopis species in the drylands of Kenya there is now increasing concern about the negative impacts of the plant on the livelihoods of dryland communities and on the ecological integrity of the fragile arid and semiarid lands. The extent of the species coverage in the arid and semiarid lands has, however, not been fully mapped owing in part to the recent nature of the problem. As such the aim of this study was to map out the extent o...
xvi ABSTRACT Worldwide, crops that require wild pollinators are showing a deficiency of pollination and genetic variation. In the recent past, studies show that there has been a steady decline in production of passion fruits in Kenya. In this study, the major objective was to investigate factors causing the decline of passion fruit production using ecosystem concepts, agricultural practices and social-ecological factors using the case scenario of Mua hills in Machakos County. The study was ca...
Abstract Climate variability and extreme events are some of the most pressing environmental challenges occurring in the contemporary world. Farming communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Kenya are more vulnerable to climate variability and extreme events due to high dependence on weather patterns in their farming activities. There is little understanding of the vulnerability to climate variability and extreme events among farmers in Kitui County based on the agro-ecological zones....
ABSTRACT As a result of poor performance in statistics introductory course among the students in the universities; the study wanted to find out the factors that influence the performance of students. The purpose of the study was to conceptualize and empirically test ordinal logistic model on the factors affecting students’ statistics performance in public universities. Students’ performance was indicated by the grades they scored in the past statistical courses they undertook. The predict...
ABSTRACT Varying climatic conditions with increased uncertainty mainly in rainfall and temperature are salient features in marginal areas globally, adversely affecting farming activities particularly in Africa. Kenya experiences variations of annual rainfall with considerable uncertainty. These variations ranging from below 500mm to above 2000mm annually, cause droughts and floods respectively, affecting farming activities and yields. This study focused on Machakos sub County, a semi arid are...
ABSTRACT The importance of bananas cannot be underestimated worldwide. The main study objective was to assess the adoption and commercialization of tissue culture bananas in the riverine areas of the semi-arid areas of Lower Eastern region of Kenya. The specific objectives included determining respondents socio-economic, environmental and policy factors affecting adoption of tissue culture bananas in the region. This study was necessary due to the fact that there were many production gaps tha...
v ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine the effects of water pollution on riparian community along River Athi in Makueni County. Specific objectives included; documenting the causes of pollution of the River Athi in Kathonzweni Sub County, to establish the health effects resulting from the pollution of the River Athi and finally to assess and document interventions put in place by the government and residents in the study area to control the pollution of the River Athi. Data was col...
ABSTRACT The World Bank estimates a 10% rise in infrastructure assets through major infrastructure like road projects. Road infrastructure development projects however have a history of problems which are caused by; cost overruns, delays, failed procurements, or unavailability of private financing. In Kenya, many road construction projects are not completed within the initial set time which negatively affects the cost and quality of road construction projects. Effective risk management strate...