Resource information
There is correlation on land degradation in reference to environment conflict against natural
resources undocumented. Environmental conflicts mostly depend over human needs and issues
such as distribution, allocation and natural resources management. History documents show how
resource-based conflicts had contributed to highly destructive wars at Karamoja and Kagera
regions of Uganda, Darfur in Sudan, in Rwanda genocide and even in the Niger Delta. Mau
Forest Complex is Kenya’s important water tower. Important rivers that deplete in to Lake
Victoria, such as Rive Nile the longest one in the world originate there. Yet this important
resource has come under enormous human pressure, that lead to degradation and which is
pregnant with the antecedents of conflict. In early 1993 and 1994, for example, plantations and
forest areas were widely destroyed after a sequence of presidential decrees that allowed evicted
settlement after the elimination of the ‘shamba’ system in 1987. On diverse date’s between1990s
and 2000, a component of the Mau Forest Complex was excised to settle forest-dwelling
communities with aim of conserving the remains of the forests. The aerial recommendation over
Mau Complex destruction done in support of United Nations Environmental Program, Ministry
of Environment and Mineral Resources on 7th May 2008 documented the amazing level of
obliteration and degradation at Mau ecosystem. Thus, environmental conflict and land
degradation at Mau Complex present a clear and present threat, to Kenya’s domestic political
stability and achievements of its Vision of 2030 goals, even significant regional and global
threats as well. Over 80% of land area in Kenya consists of arid and semi-arid lands with low
population densities that depend on livestock to cater for their livelihood. 12% of Kenya’s land
cover has suited climate with closed canopy forest, protected either under Forest Reserves under
management of Kenya Forest Service or National Parks under management of Kenya Wildlife
Service or trust land forests under management of Local Authorities. The study point out the
general intention of the causes and manifestations of land degradation and environmental conflict
at Mau Complex, how they affect the mandate and the work of the Kenya Forest Service. The
study explored how conflicts may be prevented or resolved peacefully. Primary and secondary
data were both used in the study. It used purposive and snowball selective sampling and
interview respondents in the known categories in both main research sites. The quantitative and
qualitative collected data has been presented according to the specific objectives of the study in
the research. Weak institutional policies and poor enforcement of forest laws were noted as
major drivers of Kenya’s forest cover change.
