Effectiveness of Soil Erosion Monitoring Strategies in Kuresoi South, Kenya

Abstract

Soil erosion is still one of the most important land problems and it is linked to land use and land cover changes. To mitigate against this, there has been an effort to transfer the management of natural resources to local communities especially in the tropics. Many of these initiatives incorporate the development of monitoring systems. Local monitoring systems constitute an almost compulsory component of any program or project dealing with sustainable management of natural resources. The purpose of this study was to assess soil erosion monitoring indicators as effective management tools to be used to help in monitoring change in natural resources within the study area. The study was comprised of a total representative sample population of 68 respondents from Kuresoi south catchment which was achieved using Nassiuma coefficient of variation formulae. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Data and information was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. Both quantitative and qualitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and presented in form of charts, tables of frequencies and percentages. The study results revealed the effectiveness of soil erosion monitoring indicators, degree of soil erosion and natural resource management. The study therefore recommends that it is important to introduce capacity building programs to the community and other stakeholders through creation of awareness and training so that they can have knowledge on these factors and thus implement the appropriate mitigation measures.