Impacts of long-term land-use changes on herd size and mobility among pastoral households in Amboseli ecosystem, Kenya

Abstract

Introduction: Long-term changes in rangeland ecosystems of the world have impacted on the livestock production, a key livelihood strategy in these areas. This paper presents perceptions of the pastoral community on the dynamics of pastoral livelihoods under three land-use types namely nomadic, semi-nomadic, and sedentary in Amboseli ecosystem located in southern Kenya. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data concerning household livestock herds, perceived livestock trends and their causes, importance of migration, sedentarization, and land subdivision, and were administered to respondents randomly selected from the three land-use types. Results: The study shows that the livestock herd size was higher in nomadic (117.1) and lower in sedentary (56.6) land-use site. The majority of the respondents in nomadic (79%), semi-nomadic (73%), and sedentary (64%) reported a declining trend in household herd size. The declines were mostly attributed to recurrent droughts and loss of grazing lands. Conclusions: Pastoralism remains an important livelihood strategy to majority of households in the study area; therefore, to achieve sustainable livelihood strategies, grazing lands should be maintained.