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Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit Abt. 45 / Div. 45 |
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H.W.O. Okoth-Ogendo: 1.2 Land availability and natural resources policy An important factor in the development of natural resources is the quality of land available for each sectoral activity. Of Kenya's 44.6 million hectares, only 8.6 million or 20% is considered medium to high potential. Specifically, 13% is high potential, 7% medium and the rest, i.e. 80% is either arid or semi-arid (ASALs). That has important implications for natural resource development and human settlement throughout the country. In the one case, agriculture, which for many years has remained the backbone of the country's economy, is optimal only in the medium to high potential areas; the rest of the country being suitable mainly for livestock, wildlife and fuelwood. Indeed the ASALs as a whole are home to over 50% of the country's livestock and as much as 95% of its wildlife. As regards human settlement, however, the situation is quite the reverse. According to the 1989 census, nearly 80% of Kenya's population resides in the medium to high potential areas. This means that the vast ASALs are settled by only 20% of the country's approximately 28 million people. The actual pattern of settlement, however, is not necessarily uniform in these areas. Because of a rather skewed pattern of land distribution, the medium to high potential areas are still characterized by large farms with relatively low population densities. At the margin of these farms or in pockets within them, usually high densities are to be found. This is the case with most of Nyanza, Western, and Central Provinces. In the ASALs, densities vary from one eco-climatic zone to another, thus making it possible for pockets of relatively moderate densities to exist alongside general sparsity. Despite these significant variations in land quality, availability and distribution, Kenya's development policy, planning and investment over the years have focused largely on the medium to high potential areas. The agrarian sector has, in particular, been a major target of public investment. Attempts at the improvement of the social and economic well-being of the ASALs have, instead, been largely project-based and often characterized by intense sectoral and institutional rivalry between state agencies, non-governmental organizations and the donor community. The effect of this apparent neglect has been significant deterioration of the ASAL environment; a fact which is particularly noticeable in respect of loss of rangeland, increased erosion and depletion of ground water. More recently, however, the Kenya government has woken up to the need for broad-based development in the ASALs. Several policy documents have, since 1979, attempted to identify a number of options for development in these areas. As has been the case with the medium to high potential areas, the thrust of development policy in the ASALs is to ensure that resources are productively used and that strategies are in place for their conservation and regeneration. Consequently, policy documents emphasize the need for organized access by different groups to those resources, and the institutionalization of appropriate technological options for their productive utilization.
Published by: Copyright (c) 1996 by OSS All rights reserved. No parts of this document may be reproduced, regardless of the procedure, without a request addressed to the copyright owner, indicating the passages or illustrations concerned. |
