An Assessment of Drivers and Management Practises of Land-based Conflicts in Tana River Delta, Kenya.

Abstract

Natural resource based conflict continue to be experienced in Tana River County despite many attempts aimed at resolving and managing of the conflicts. This study aimed at assessing the land-based conflicts within the Tana river delta ecosystem, located within Tana River County, through a) evaluating the drivers to the conflicts b) examining the existing strategies in managing and resolution of the conflicts and c) ranking the existing strategies of managing and resolving the conflicts according to the local community perspectives. A descriptive methodology was adopted for the study and data was collected through researcher administered questionnaires, participant observations, key informants’ interviews, and focus group discussions. In total, 120 questionnaires were completed fully and were used for data analysis. In addition, correlation analyses were employed. The study results showed that land tenure (83.3%, mean 1.6), climate change (83%, mean 1.8) and politics (64%, mean 2.0) are the key drivers that resulted to the conflict. Evaluations of the existing strategies revealed an amalgamation of strategies exist in the resolutionof the conflict. However, community peace meeting 83%, joint prayer meeting (82%) and arrestingof conflict instigators (64%) were ranked the community members as best strategies of resolving the conflict. The study recommends establishment of proper land use planning system, implementation of sustainable land system management and addressing encroachment into community grazing land.