Sengwer Indigenous Environmental Knowledge and the Management of Cherang'any Forest Resources, Elgeyo-marakwet County, Kenya

Abstract

Globally, forests supply important environmental benefits within and across ecosystem boundaries and despite institutional management, forest ecosystems are subjected to land-use changes which diminish their role. In Kenya, the current institutional management instruments are largely in place but there is a continuous reduction of forest cover presently estimated at 5.7% of the national land area as opposed to the desired > 10.0%. The integration of indigenous ecological knowledge into forest management may provide a much-needed bridge between indigenous communities and institutional understanding of sustainable forest management. Thus, the study examined the role of IEK in the management of forest among the Sengwer community living next to the Cherang’any forest, Elgeiyo-Marakwet County, Kenya. The study targeted older community members who were purposely sampled as key informants. The study used focus group discussion as the main instruments for data collections and thus qualitative analysis was more appropriate. The output was presented in thematic format. The study established that the Sengwer indigenous forest management techniques are compatible with institutional techniques applied in the management of the forest to the extent that institutionalized methods are more pervasive in the management of the forest. Based on the discussions, the study concluded that the indigenous conservation practices need to be formalized and integrated with the modern forest management practices. IEK can be included in the sustainable conservation of forests if the socio-economic status of the community is improved through economic empowerment. Further, the study recommends that Kenya’s Forest Conservation and Management Act of 2016 provides a basis for the integration of IEK into modern forest management techniques.