Impacts Of Climate Change On Kakamega Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem Of Kakamega County, Kenya
John Ayieko Aseta
Department of Geography, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
Prof Paul Omondi
Department of Geography, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
Dr Abdirizak Nunow
Department of Geography, Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya
Keywords: Climate Change, Impacts
Abstract
Africa is threatened by climate change, yet adaptive capacity of local communities continues to be weakened by ineffective and inefficient livelihood strategies and inappropriate development interventions. One of the greatest challenges for climate change adaptation in Kenya is related to the Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem resources used by vulnerable poor groups as assets for adaptation. The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of climate change on Forest Ecosystems in Kenya with special emphasis to Kakamega Tropical Rainforest Ecosystem. This study was descriptive and cross-sectional in design and relied on a mixed methods methodology. Anthropogenic Global Warming Theory and Adaptive Management Theory were used to guide the study. A conceptual framework showing the interrelationship between the dependent and independent variables was outlined. The study utilized both secondary and primary data. The target population was 200 households living up to 10 km from the forest edge in the selected communities neighbouring Kakamega Tropical Rainforest and 20 government officials within Kakamega County. A total of 119 members of the households and 20 forest officers were sampled as respondents in the study. The study findings revealed that the impacts of climate on Kakamega Tropical Rainforest included; changes in productivity, functional trait composition, species extinction and range redistribution, increased fire frequency and changes in precipitation and warming patterns. The study recommended that there is need to conserve the forest to get rid of extreme temperatures and precipitation since it was a source of many services to the surrounding communities and that the forest ecosystem also helped to adapt or mitigate climate change among others