Cultural heritage as a pathway for sustaining natural resources in the Maasai’s Pastoral Social-Ecological System in Kajiado County, Kenya
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Date
2021-06Author
Kaoga, J.
Olago, D.
Ouma, G
[et.al]
Type
ArticleLanguage
en_USMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The Maasai pastoralists inhabiting Kajiado County are known for rearing large herds of animals.
Livestock has enabled them to attain food and nutritional security. However, natural resources are
dwindling fast under the swift development context. The private holding of land is becoming more
prevalent in an area formally known for its communal land setup. The emerging land tenure systems have
disregarded the traditional production systems. Consequently, their herds have exhibited poor health
status and low productivity. To address these problems, the study focussed on the Maasai pastoralists’
perception to evaluate their cultural dispositions. The study employed a cross-sectional design which
consisted of semi-structured questionnaires. The qualitative data generated were subjected to thematic
analysis and thereafter, translated into meaningful actions and summarised. The quantitative data was
aggregated into frequencies and composite scores computed. The results revealed increased production
risks, changes in land utility and notable growing numbers of Maasai pastoralists being dispossessed
from their customary land by private landholders. Despite the aforementioned hurdles, the Maasai
pastoralists had shown cohesiveness in rangeland management. It was also evident that the Maasai
pastoralists were embracing different livelihoods, conservation, tourism and institutional support based
on their strategic priorities to enhance their resilience. Thus, the study recommends that the Maasai
pastoralists be assigned a proactive role as the Government relooks at territorial demarcations in the
ongoing land registration process.
URI
https://academicjournals.org/journal/AJAR/article-abstract/354C49067032http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/155012
Citation
Kaoga, J., Olago, D., Ouma, G., Ouma, G., & Onono, J. (2021). Cultural heritage as a pathway for sustaining natural resources in the Maasai’s Pastoral Social-Ecological System in Kajiado County, Kenya. African Journal of Agricultural Research, 17(6), 844-852.Publisher
African Journal of Agricultural Research