Interdisciplinary approach to investigate landscape & land-use changes – A case-study from Kitale, Kenya

The majority of the people in Kenya are living in poverty and 80 per cent of the population is living in rural areas. For decades the country has emitted problems with land degradation, soil erosion and lack of fertile soil. Agroforestry is a method were different species of trees are planted together with crops to prevent land degradation and to improve productivity for small- scale farmers in developing countries.
 
This thesis use the political ecology approach with an emphasis of combining interviews with GIS and data of land degradation, together with a case study and follow-up from Kenya to present the importance of social, economical and political stability to create a sustainable development from a human- and ecological perspective. With a thesis of agroforestry implementation from 2006 as a background, a follow-up was conducted in 2010. It became noticeable that the majority of the farmers were affected by the political violence in 2007 and that the riot and the unstable situation had negative impact on the farm economy, the production and the food supply in general. The conclusion is that agroforestry is one of many methods for a sustainable human and agricultural development, but stable social, economical and political structure is crucial and the methodology presented in this thesis is one way to get a deeper understanding of why the changes occur.

This particular paper is a combination of two separate thesis’s that give each other insight in problems from different angles, one of more cultural values and one of more physical values. The angles are brought together through GIS and interviews, which in a combination gives more depth of what can be seen in mapping of the landscape changes.
 

Svantes, E. & Zakrisson, V. (2011). Interdisciplinary approach to investigate landscape  & land-use changes – A case-study from Kitale, Kenya. Bachelor’s Thesis. Dalarna University.
 
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