Human Settlement Activities Influencing Environmental Sustainability in Dadaab Refugee Complex, Garissa County, Kenya

Abstract

Dadaab sub-County of Garissa has undergone unprecedented transformation over the last three decades. There are sprawling human settlements in the Dadaab Refugee camps. These settlements, and their resultant activities have had attendant impact on the socio-cultural, biological and physical environment. The indiscriminate felling of trees and vegetation cover to meet the never ending demand for shelter and fuelwood is materially worrying. Daylong foraging for brush and pastures has led to protracted conflicts between the host and refugee pastoralist. Sand harvesting to build mud walls have left gaping craters on the once aesthetically appealing landmass. Garbage generation and disposal has been a daunting task to the local environmentalist. It is an eyesore in the camps and in Dadaab town with nonbiodegradable waste strewn everywhere. Abstraction of ground water resources through boreholes has depleted the aquifer. The purpose of this project therefore was to investigate and quantify the influence of this human settlement activities in Dadaab Refugee Complex on the environmental sustainability under the following objectives: establish the influence of competition for natural resources on environmental sustainability; assess the influence of economic activities on environmental sustainability; determine the influence of conflict management on environmental sustainability; examine the influence of access to social amenities on environmental sustainability; establish the influence of environmental regulatory framework on environmental sustainability. The project has reviewed the existing literature on these human settlement and has identified a knowledge gap to be addressed through survey research design. The target population for this project are the UN agencies, affiliated NGOs, local and National government, host community and refugees. In the case of host and refugees, random sampling will be used. This project will use mixed method i.e. qualitative and quantitative research method. Questionnaires, key informant Interviews and observations shall be used as data collection tools.Quantitative data will be entered and coded into Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of this study was that human settlement activities have influenced environmental sustainability. Competition for natural resources has decreased vegetation cover, contamination of water sources and led to air pollution due to clouds of air from the bare land. Economic activities have increased non-biodegradable waste. This poorly disposed waste have influenced soil fertility and aeration. The same economic activities have led to soil erosion due to sand harvesting. Conflicts management with uncontrolled livestock herds has resulted in soil compaction and loss of indigenous plant species. Access to social amenities have increased the burden of construction materials which are harvested from the immediate environment. Environmental regulatory agencies have labored to restore the environment to its original glory. This study concludes that these activities have adverse influence on the environment and all the stakeholders need to put in place deliberate efforts to conserve, restore and rehabilitate the environment. It further recommends that individuals use the resources bequeathed by the environment responsibly