Nature's Benefits in Kenya
Nature's Benefits in Kenya

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781569736425

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The publication demonstrates the importance of using maps as an analytical and policy tool to examine the spatial distribution of poverty and ecosystem services in Kenya. Ecosystem services are the benefits people derive from ecosystems and include goods (food and water), services (flood and disease control), and nonmaterial benefits (spiritual and recreational benefits). A series of maps integrate poverty data from Kenya's most recent census with maps of regions in Kenya which are considered important for production of selected ecosystem services such as water (hydropower, access to drinking water, irrigation), food (crop and livestock), fuel, biodiversity, and tourism. The authors believe that users of Nature's Benefits: An Atlas of Ecosystems and Human Well-Being in Kenya will gain new insights on the spatial congruence of poverty and ecosystem services, improve targeting of programs addressing poverty and selected environmental services, and provide integrated datasets and methodologies for multi-scale use.

Nature's Wealth
Nature's Wealth

Author: Pieter J. H. van Beukering

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2013-03-28

Total Pages: 443

ISBN-13: 1107328551

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Increasing pressure from economic development and population growth has resulted in the degradation of ecosystems around the world and the loss of the essential services that they provide. Understanding the linkages between ecosystem service provisioning and human well-being is crucial for the establishment of effective environmental and economic development policy. Presenting new insights into the relationship between ecosystem services and livelihoods in developing countries, this book takes up the challenge of assessing these links to demonstrate their importance in policy development. It pays special attention to innovative management opportunities that improve local livelihoods and alleviate poverty while enhancing ecosystem protection. Based on eighteen studies in more than twenty developing countries, the authors explore the role of biodiversity-, marine-, forest-, water- and land-related ecosystem services, making this an invaluable contribution to research on the role of ecosystems in supporting the livelihoods of the poor around the world.

Kenya: A Natural Outlook
Kenya: A Natural Outlook

Author: John B. Kyalo Kiema

Publisher: Elsevier Inc. Chapters

Published: 2013-10-22

Total Pages: 23

ISBN-13: 0128083840

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This chapter begins with a synopsis of the basic concept of remote sensing with the various stages and interactions that characterize the entire remote sensing process described. A brief recapitulation of the status of stored water in Kenya is then presented. The monumental challenge facing many poor Kenyan households in accessing clean and safe water in sufficient quantities is reiterated. The chapter underscores the critical value of accurate and timely geospatial and hydro-meteorological datasets in supporting integrated water resources management. It is argued that the availability of techniques that deliver information on the changes in stored water at a more local scale is the first step towards realizing an efficient water society. Finally, two case studies that employ diverse remote sensing datasets to provide an evidence based explanation of the decline in stored water in Lakes Victoria and Naivasha are elucidated.

Kenya: A Natural Outlook
Kenya: A Natural Outlook

Author:

Publisher: Newnes

Published: 2013-10-22

Total Pages: 403

ISBN-13: 0444595473

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Kenya is a thriving country in East Africa: its economy is largely based on the natural environment that frames the tourism sector, mainly through safaris and holidays on the coast. The natural environment also underpins the second largest industry: agriculture. Kenya's social, technological, and industrial developments are a reference for many neighboring countries. Kenya plays a leading role in Africa and attracts huge amounts of investments. Furthermore, the humanitarian community has made Nairobi its base for international headquarters and regional offices. This makes Kenya a possible model for development and investment in its widest sense. This book aims at updating the holistic view on Kenya's natural environment and resources. It provides a sound scientific introduction to this country's physical and socioeconomic setting and its evolution through time and will appeal to a broad audience of students – in Kenya and abroad – as well as those working in the development and humanitarian sectors and to international donors looking for a scientific compendium on Kenya's environment. Its structure and references allow the reader to deepen his or her knowledge of every theme touched on in the book. - Combines different aspects of physical geography, water and soil resources and their management strategies - Written by a blend of international and national experts - Includes specific case studies

Kenya: A Natural Outlook
Kenya: A Natural Outlook

Author: Andreas B. Brink

Publisher: Elsevier Inc. Chapters

Published: 2013-10-22

Total Pages: 40

ISBN-13: 0128083905

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Monitoring vegetation dynamics and land cover change in Kenya are essential for the sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity conservation. However, accurate status of seasonal variation in vegetation and long-term land cover change data valid at the regional and country level generally do not exist or are hard to obtain. Here, we describe the various ecological regions of Kenya and the associated rainfall and land cover patterns of each ecological zone. This includes the use of low-resolution satellite data time series to characterise for each ecoregion and land cover type the interannual variability of the vegetation cycle, including the start-, mid- and end of the growing season. Seasonal variation in vegetation phenology is mapped to highlight the areas of greatest interannual variation and compared to rainfall patterns over the focal study period. Statistical estimates of land cover change are produced for six broad classes for the years 1990, 2000 and 2010, based on detailed land cover change assessed by a systematic sampling of high-resolution satellite imagery. Rates of change for Kenya are presented and discussed in light of the low-resolution time series analysis. Results highlight information on land cover change processes such as vegetation dynamics and deforestation. These are discussed within the context of the drivers of changes to the natural ecosystem—their potential impact on land availability for human activities such as agriculture and logging for timber and fire wood production on the one side and habitat and biodiversity conservation on the other side. Finally, biodiversity and habitat value, ecosystems and threats are analysed for Kenya’s conservation and protected areas so as to identify the status of and pressures on the country’s protected areas. Six indicators of species irreplaceability, habitat irreplaceability and the level of perceived threat to a protected area’s habitat and species from agriculture and human population are analysed. In addition, high-resolution satellite images taken over conservation areas are used for assessing land cover changes inside protected areas and in the surrounding 20km buffer zone. The results show the importance and effectiveness of protected areas in reducing the loss of natural vegetation and hence protecting the habitats and biodiversity.

Natural Capital
Natural Capital

Author: Peter Kareiva

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2011-04-07

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 019162103X

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In 2005, The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) provided the first global assessment of the world's ecosystems and ecosystem services. It concluded that recent trends in ecosystem change threatened human wellbeing due to declining ecosystem services. This bleak prophecy has galvanized conservation organizations, ecologists, and economists to work toward rigorous valuations of ecosystem services at a spatial scale and with a resolution that can inform public policy. The editors have assembled the world's leading scientists in the fields of conservation, policy analysis, and resource economics to provide the most intensive and best technical analyses of ecosystem services to date. A key idea that guides the science is that the modelling and valuation approaches being developed should use data that are readily available around the world. In addition, the book documents a toolbox of ecosystem service mapping, modeling, and valuation models that both The Nature Conservancy and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) are beginning to apply around the world as they transform conservation from a biodiversity only to a people and ecosystem services agenda. The book addresses land, freshwater, and marine systems at a variety of spatial scales and includes discussion of how to treat both climate change and cultural values when examining tradeoffs among ecosystem services.

Wild Rangelands
Wild Rangelands

Author: Johan T. du Toit

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-11-06

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 1444317105

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Rangeland ecosystems which include unimproved grasslands,shrublands, savannas and semi-deserts, support half of theworld’s livestock, while also providing habitats for some ofthe most charismatic of wildlife species. This book examines thepressures on rangeland ecosystems worldwide from human land use,over-hunting, and subsistence and commercial farming of livestockand crops. Leading experts have pooled their experiences from allcontinents to cover the ecological, sociological, political,veterinary, and economic aspects of rangeland management today. This book provides practitioners and students ofrangeland management and wildland conservation with a diversity ofperspectives on a central question: can rangelands be wildlands? The first book to examine rangelands from a conservationperspective Emphasizes the balance between the needs of people andlivestock, and wildlife Written by an international team of experts covering allgeographical regions Examines ecological, sociological, political, veterinary, andeconomic aspects of rangeland management and wildland conservation,providing a diversity of perspectives not seen before in a singlevolume

Child Protection in Development
Child Protection in Development

Author: Michael Bourdillon

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-06-11

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 131798014X

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Every day millions of children in developing countries face adversities of many kinds, yet there is a shortage of sound evidence concerning their plight and an urgent need to identify the most appropriate and effective policy responses from among the multiple approaches that exist. This collection of journal papers aims to engage with researchers and debates in the field so as to understand better some of the numerous risks confronted by children in developing countries. It highlights the complexity of protecting children in various forms of adversity, challenges conventional wisdom about what protects children, demonstrates why it is essential to consult with children to protect them successfully, and suggests that successful protection must be based on strong empirical understanding of the situation and the perspectives of children and communities involved. The contributors are all experienced researchers and practitioners who have worked for many years with children in developing countries. The book offers suggestions for reform of current child protection policies, based on empirical findings around a range of child protection concerns, including children’s work, independent migration, family separation, early marriage, and military occupation. Together, the contributions provide a body of knowledge important to humanitarian and development policy and practice. This book was published as a special issue of Development in Practice.

Agroecology
Agroecology

Author: Vytautas Pilipavicius

Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand

Published: 2015-06-10

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 9535121308

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This book is a collection of chapters, concerning the developments within the Agroecology field of study. The book includes scholarly contributions by various authors pertinent to Agricultural and Biological Sciences. Each contribution comes as a separate chapter complete in itself but directly related to the book's topics and objectives. The target audience comprises scholars and specialists in the field.