| dc.description.abstract | Water is a fundamental natural resource. It is indispensable for the welfare of human beings and their natural environment. It can mean life or death, prosperity or poverty, can even be the cause of conflict and war. However, per capita clean water availability continues to dwindle in Kenya due to problems of water catchment degradation, droughts and pollution of waterways of industries. Although localised and instantaneous environmental consequences of such devastation have received attention by journalists, scientists and regulators. The problems defined by lasting impact on the rural communities along degraded waterways pose challenges much of which remain to be addressed in Kenya. ..
The purpose of this study proposal is to determine the impact of water pollution by the Sugar industries along river Nyando. The study intends to investigate the local communities' dependence on water resourcesfrom Nyando river for drinking, washing, livestock, irrigation, fisheries,
recreation and other uses and how the current water
Financial assistance from Beijer Ecological Economics and Universi ty (Sweden) to develop this paper acknowledged.
Institute for of Gothernborg is gratefully
pollution affects them. Pollution of waterways affect the local villages drastically and the community's ability to adjust to alternative "cleaner" or "safe" water sources can impinge on household labour, time allocation, agricultural productivity, health, and may even change socio-economic status of households.
Assessing the costs of environmental degradation in rural areas is important in several ways. It defines the need for environmental planning and highlights the urgency for action to improve living standards. These assessments can also be a starting point for a country to revise its natural resource management strategy and build experience.
The proposed methods for the study will cover polluted and unpolluted segments using contingent valuation, defensive or averting expenditures, health status and expenditures, travel time, Hedonic price and loss of biodiversity. A theoretical validation to test consistency of household's behaviour within the restrictions of economic theory will be undertaken before making policy recommendations . | en |
