Socioeconomic factors and their effects on the adoption of environmental conservation practices within the Kimao Dam catchment area in Baringo County, Kenya

Abstract

Sedimentation of Lake Baringo and other water bodies in Baringo County has been occurring at an alarming rate. The increased sedimentation of the water bodies can be attributed to steep topography and reduced vegetation cover, which enhances soil loss during torrential rains, resulting in an increase in sedimentation of the Lakes and other water bodies. Many interventions to reduce soil loss and increase vegetation cover by the government and non-governmental organization over the years have failed to bear fruits due to low adoption rate of the environmental conservation measures by the land owners. This study therefore, aimed at assessing some of the factors that cause the low adoption rate of the environmental conservation practices using households located within the Kimao catchment area in Kimalel location. The objectives of the study were to: (i) determine the effects of social and demographic factors (age, gender, household number) on the adoption of environmental conservation practices, (ii) establish the effects of land size owned by households on the adoption of environmental conservation practices, (iii) determine the effect of household heads’ knowledge on environmental conservation practices on their adoption, (iv) determine the effect of affordability of environmental conservation practices on their adoption, (v) determine the effects of participation in collective action on the adoption of environmental conservation practices by households within the catchment area of Kimao dam in Baringo County. The ex-post-facto research design was used. A stratified proportional random sample of 225 households were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. The data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics in a Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS version 26). The results showed that the level of adoption of environmental conservation practices waslow (M=9.47, SD=4.7) on a scale of 1 to 22. The level of adoption of environmental conservation practices within the Kimao dam catchment area was found to be affected by age of the household head (β=.294, t=4.59, p=.001) and household number (β= .147, t=2.22, p=.027) but not gender (t=-.648, df=223, p=.518). The Land size (β=.162, t-2.45, p=.015), knowledge (β=.872, t=26.59, p<.001), affordability (β=.650, t=12.77, p<.001), and participation in collective action (β=.906, t=31.91, p< .001) also affected the level of adoption of environmental conservation practices. The study concluded that a multiplicity of factors affected the level of land owner’s adoption of environmental conservation practices in the Kimao dam catchment area. Based on this conclusion, the following recommendations were suggested to the County government and other stakeholders: there is need to provide the much needed inputs for conservation practices by providing seeds and seedlings for planting, implement a payment for environmental services (PES) scheme to encourage the households to implement the practices and enhance land owners’ knowledge on practices through farmer to farmer training initiatives. The findings of the study will influence policy development in implementing environmental conservation practices in Baringo County