Effects of a changing climate on livelihoods of forest dependent communities. Evidence from Buyangu community proximal to Kakamega tropical rain forest in Kenya

• Date: 20 January 2020
• Pages: 1-21
• Published date: 20 January 2020
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCCSM-01-2018-0002
• Author: Faith Nyangute Saalu,Silas Oriaso,Benjamin Gyampoh
• Subject Matter: Public policy & environmental management,Environmental issues,Climate change

Ef‌fects of a changing climate

on livelihoods of forest

dependent communities

Evidence from Buyangu community proximal

to Kakamega tropical rain forest in Kenya

Faith Nyangute Saalu,Silas Oriaso and Benjamin Gyampoh

Institute for Climate Change and Adaptation, University of Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Purpose –Climate change and variability presentdifferent challenges to the liveliho ods of forest-

dependent communities. This paper aims to determine climate variability/change and its effects on

the livelihoods of the Buyangu community, which depends on Kakamega tropical rain forest in

Kenya.

Design/methodology/approach –Rainfall and temperature trends were analysed using Mann–

Kendall tests and Sen’s slope estimator. The effects of climate variability on the community were

determined using household survey questionnaires, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews

with key stakeholders.

Findings –Temperaturetrend analyses represent statistically signif‌icanttrends for the period of 1980-2015.

Results reveal a warming trend for both mean annualmaximum temperatures and mean annual minimum

temperatures by 0.04°C/yearand 0.02°C/year, respectively. Moreover, analysis of annual precipitation(1923-

2015) indicated an increaseof 0.068 mm/year; however, the mean monthly rainfallshowed a decreasing trend.

As a result, crop production and livestockrearing are negatively affected. Although there is a high level of

awareness of climate variabilityand its related effects on livelihoods, a majorityof the Buyangu community

still do not understand the inf‌luenceof climate change on forests and the provision of forest products.Lack of

knowledgeon this subject will consequently limit adaptation responses.

Originality/value –This research fulf‌ills the need to study climate variability and its effects on the

livelihoods of forest-dependentcommunities. The study calls for all-round stakeholder participation of local

and national players in formulatingcoherent adaptation strategies that will enhance the resilienceof forest-

dependentcommunities to a changing climate.

Keywords Climate variability/change, Livelihoods, Effects, Buyangu community, Kakamega forest

Paper type Research paper

© Faith Nyangute Saalu, Silas Oriaso and Benjamin Gyampoh. Published by Emerald Publishing

Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence.

Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both

commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and

authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/

legalcode

Data for this study was collected by the lead author for her Masters studies. The f‌ieldwork

activities and publication of this paper was made possible by research funding received from African

Forest Forum (AFF). Special thanks goes to the reviewers for their insightful comments from which

this paper emanates.

Climate

change ef‌fects

on livelihoods

1

Received7 January 2018

Revised16 May 2018

17January 2019

7 May2019

Accepted22 August 2019

InternationalJournal of Climate

ChangeStrategies and

Management

Vol.12 No. 1, 2020

pp. 1-21

EmeraldPublishing Limited

1756-8692

DOI 10.1108/IJCCSM-01-2018-0002

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/1756-8692.htm

1. Introduction

Africa is one of the continents most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and

variability, owing to its high exposure and low adaptive capacity. This is aggravated by

multiple stress factors that are non-climatic, such as high poverty levels, population

pressures and overexploitation(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),2014). It

is been widely projected that as global warming persists, climatic conditions will become

more unpredictable.

In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), climate changeprojections manifest a warming trend with

changes in precipitation patterns (Serdeczny et al.,2015). The severity of climatic events is

increasingly becoming a challenge not only to humanity but also to the existing natural

systems (IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2012). The main sectors in this

region –agriculture, forestry, health and transport –forming the backbone of the national

economy are the hardest hit. Currently, millions of people across SSA depend on forest

products and services for their daily income and well-being. However, not all incomes of

forest-based communities are obtainedfrom forest products alone. Often, part of the income

is also gathered from agricultural activities and other livelihood options (Adhikari et al.,

2004).

In recent years, Kenya’s forests have been depleted at an alarming rate with the

current forest cover estimated at 7.4 per cent of total land area, which is below

the recommended global minimum of 10 per cent (FAO, 2010). The low forest cover in

the country is largely attributed to deforestation, induced by excessive human

activities, such as illegal logging, unsustainable charcoal production and clearing of

forests for farming and settlement (Lambrechts et al., 2005;Ongong’a and Sweta, 2014),

resulting in forest fragmentation. Kakamega Forest, the only tropical rainforest in

Kenya, is no exception as nearly half of it has been lost in the past 38 years due to

human activity, leaving only about 230 km

2

of it standing [Kakamega Forest

Ecosystem Management Plan (KFEMP), 2012]. While the Government of Kenya (GOK)

hasmadeenormouseffortstoprotectthisforestfrom human interference, it is diff‌icult

to save it from the impact of climate change.

Of particular concern are the livelihoods of the Buyangu community, who live in close

proximity to Kakamega Forest and who draw on forest resources to support their

livelihoods. Added to the low adaptive capacities of rural populations, climate change

impacts on forests will exacerbate the vulnerability of any forest-dependent community

(Davidson et al., 2004;Okali, 2011). Past studies conducted in Kakamega County have

identif‌ied and emphasised the impacts of climate change on smallholding farmers (Barasa

et al.,2015;Ochenje et al., 2016;Mulinya,2017). However, little is known and documented on

climate variability and related impacts on the communities that depend on Kakamega

Forest.

Sadly, most climate change studies have either ignored or devalued climate

variability, probably due to uncertainties with regard to expected future changes in

rainfall and temperature variability (Ramirez-Villegas et al., 2013;Thornton et al.,

2014). For this reason, the effects of climate variability on forest-dependent

communities are still poorly understood (Williamson et al., 2005;Turpie and Visser,

2013). Understanding climate variability trends is critical in mitigating adverse effects

on the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities.

Against this backdrop,this study sought to determine the impacts of a changing climate

on the Buyangu community’s sources of livelihoods and its dependence on Kakamega

tropical rain forest. The f‌indings will not only enrich our understanding of climate

variability and its related impacts on such communities but also will provide insights to

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