Community Involvement and Perceptions on Land Use and Utilization Practices for Sustainable Forest Management in the Nandi Hills Forests Kenya

Abstract

To ensure the existence of humankind and the sustainable utilization of the earth’s resources, deliberate action needs to be channelled towards the conservation of the vital support systems of the entire Earth ecosystems. Forests in this case form quite a crucial part of this wider arrangement that if man does not deliberately conserve and sustainably manage them, they risk being plunged into an irreversible predicament. This study aims at identifying the perception and understanding of the local community on land use and utilization of the Nandi Hills Forests. A mixed methodological design which incorporated both qualitative and quantitative methodologies was embraced. The mixed methodological approaches used in this study were the concurrent triangulation and nested/embedded designs. A four-tier analysis was carried out once all the data had been coded and grouped. The state of the Nandi Hills Forests has been notably influenced by the level of awareness of the local community on the significance of sustainable forest management and what their actions and/or inactions mean to the forests.

Keywords: Community, Involvement, Perceptions, Land use, Utilization, Nandi Hills Forests.