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ABSTRACT
Climate change will have differential effects on communities around the world due to different vulnerabilities. Two climate-vulnerable areas in Kenya – Mount Elgon and Mount Kenya – were compared in this study to see how their differing histories may have impacted their inherent adaptive capacities. A literature review was used to outline the differences in the history of the two areas, and then perceptions on climate change and adaptive capacity were assessed with quantitative and qualitative methods, consisting of interviews, focus group discussions, and questionnaires. Two communities were considered for each mountain – an alpine community and a community living at the base of the mountain. Overall, there were broad similarities in how these communities viewed their environment and changes to that environment. However, there were nuanced differences in perceptions, which reflect the different geo-political histories. In general, both of the Mount Elgon communities had greater appreciation for ecosystem services, but lower perceptions of changes in those services. They were overall more optimistic for the future than the communities in Mount Kenya. These factors may be shaped by a history of closer cultural connection to the mountain in Mount Elgon, which has implications for future adaptation to climate change.
Acknowledgements
We are deeply grateful to the field assistant Dennis Nabie for making this research possible. In addition, we would like to thank all the study participants who took the time to share their experiences. Finally, we want to appreciate our co-author Dr. Tobias Nyumba who unfortunately passed away during the writing of this paper. He will be much missed.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Ethics statement
Informed consent was given verbally. Participants were informed about the research being conducted, what it was for, and how it would be used. They were ensured anonymity in their responses.
Notes
1 IPCC, “Summary for Policymakers.”
2 Anthelme, Cavieres, and Dangles, “Facilitation among Plants in Alpine Environments”; Nogués-Bravo et al., “Exposure of Global Mountain Systems.”
3 Chala et al., “Good-Bye to Tropical Alpine Plant Giants under Warmer Climates?”; Buytaert, Cuesta-Camacho, and Tobón, “Potential Impacts of Climate Change on the Environmental Services of Humid Tropical Alpine Regions.”
4 Adger, “Vulnerability.”
5 Ibid.
6 O’Brien et al., “What's in a Word?.”
7 Adger, Arnell, and Tompkins, “Successful Adaptation to Climate Change across Scales.”
8 Cuni-Sanchez et al., “Ethnic and Locational Differences in Ecosystem Service Values”; Chakraborty and Gasparatos, “Community Values and Traditional Knowledge.”
9 Chakraborty and Gasparatos, “Community Values and Traditional Knowledge”; Orlove, “Human Adaptation to Climate Change.”
10 Adger, “Vulnerability.”
11 Capitani et al., “Views from Two Mountains.”
12 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, “Climate Change Profile, Kenya.”
13 ACCESS, “Atlas of Mt. Elgon”; Coe, The Ecology of the Alpine Zone of Mount Kenya.
14 Bussmann, “Vegetation Zonation and Nomenclature of African Mountains.”
15 Rundel, Smith, and Meinzer, Tropical Alpine Environments.
16 Hamilton and Perrott, “A Study of Altitudinal Zonation”; Coe, The Ecology of the Alpine Zone of Mount Kenya.
17 Gehrke and Linder, “The Scramble for Africa.”
18 Kenya Forest Service, “Mt. Kenya Forest Reserve Management Plan”; Kenya Wildlife Service, “Mt. Kenya Ecosystem Management Plan (2010-2020).”
19 Lake Victoria Basin Commission, “Mount Elgon Regional Ecosystem Conservation Programme (MERECP).”
20 Bett, “Role of Community in the Conservation.”
21 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census.
22 Ibid.
23 Bett, “Role of Community in the Conservation.”
24 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census.
25 Myhren, “Rural Livelihood and Forest Management by Mount Elgon, Kenya.”
26 Scott, From Conflict to Collaboration.
27 MEA, “Ecosystem and Human Well-Being.”
28 Creswell, Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design.
29 Mann and Whitney, “On a Test of Whether One of Two Random Variables Is Stochastically Larger than the Other.”
30 Blackburn, “The Okiek and Their History.”
31 Lake Victoria Basin Commission, “Mount Elgon Regional Ecosystem Conservation Programme (MERECP).”
32 Muriuki, “A History of the Kikuyu to 1904″; Distefano, “Hunters or Hunted?”; Blackburn, “The Okiek and Their History”; Médard, “‘Indigenous’ Land Claims in Kenya: A Case Study of Chebyuk, Mount Elgon District.”
33 Muriuki, “A History of the Kikuyu to 1904.”
34 Mackinder, “A Journey to the Summit of Mount Kenya, British East Africa.”
35 Ravenstein, “Messrs. Jackson and Gedge's Journey to Uganda via Masai-Land.”
36 Hobley, “Notes on a Journey Round Mount Masawa or Elgon.”
37 Lynch, “The Wars of Who Belongs Where.”
38 Hobley, “Notes on a Journey Round Mount Masawa or Elgon.”
39 Were, “The Bagisu and Their Past.”
40 Krapf, Travels, Researches, and Missionary Labors.
41 Arthur, “Mount Kenya.”
42 Gregory, The Great Rift Valley.
43 Arthur, “Mount Kenya.”
44 Johnston, The Nile Quest.
45 Krapf, Travels, Researches, and Missionary Labors; Jennings, “Beyond Eponymy.”
46 Jennings, “Beyond Eponymy”; Ochieng, “The Interior of East Africa”; Weatherby, “Nineteenth Century Wars in Western Kenya”; Anderson, Eroding the Commons.
47 Anderson, Eroding the Commons; Kimambo, “The East African Coast and Hinterland, 1845-80.”
48 van den Akker, “Monument of Nature?”
49 Weatherby, “Nineteenth Century Wars in Western Kenya.”
50 Hobley, “Notes on a Journey Round Mount Masawa or Elgon.”
51 Makila, An Outline History of the Babukusu; Lynch, “The Wars of Who Belongs Where”; Médard, “‘Indigenous’ Land Claims in Kenya.”
52 Morgan, “The ‘White Highlands’ of Kenya.”
53 Wayumba, “The White Highlands and the Establishment of the African Settlement Schemes in Kenya.”
54 Lake Victoria Basin Commission, “Mount Elgon Regional Ecosystem Conservation Programme (MERECP).”
55 Bett, “Role of Community in the Conservation of Mt. Kenya Biosphere Reserve.”
56 Morgan, “The ‘White Highlands’ of Kenya”; Anderson, Eroding the Commons.
57 Bett, “Role of Community in the Conservation of Mt. Kenya Biosphere Reserve.”
58 Republic of Kenya, “Report of the Consideration of a Petition”; Lake Victoria Basin Commission, “Mount Elgon Regional Ecosystem Conservation Programme (MERECP).”
59 Lake Victoria Basin Commission, “Mount Elgon Regional Ecosystem Conservation Programme (MERECP).”
60 Lynch, “The Wars of Who Belongs Where.”
61 Myhren, “Rural Livelihood and Forest Management by Mount Elgon, Kenya.”
62 Scott, From Conflict to Collaboration.
63 GoK, “Report of the Commission of Inquiry.”
64 Wayumba, “The White Highlands and the Establishment of the African Settlement Schemes in Kenya.”
65 Médard, “‘Indigenous’ Land Claims in Kenya.”
66 van den Akker, “Monument of Nature?”
67 Ibid.
68 Médard, “‘Indigenous’ Land Claims in Kenya.”
69 Republic of Kenya, “Report of the Consideration of a Petition.”
70 Lake Victoria Basin Commission, “Mount Elgon Regional Ecosystem Conservation Programme (MERECP).”
71 van den Akker, “Monument of Nature?”
72 Steinicke and Neuburger, “The Impact of Community-Based Afro-Alpine Tourism”; UNESCO, “Mount Elgon Biosphere Reserve, Kenya.”
73 Steinicke and Neuburger, “The Impact of Community-Based Afro-Alpine Tourism”; Chiyumba, “Mountain Tourism and Its Contribution to Developmen in Western Mt. Kenya Region.”
74 Médard, “‘Indigenous’ Land Claims in Kenya.”
75 Amati, “‘We All Voted for It.’”
76 Davies and Moore, “Landscape, Time and Cultural Resilience.”
77 Straight et al., “‘Dust People.’”