English

O Oduor Francis,Mwakubo Samuel,O Raburu Phillip

doi:10.5897/jdae2014.0617

English

O Oduor Francis, Mwakubo Samuel + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5897/jdae2014.0617

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Abstract

Wetland resources of Nyando Wetlands support important economic and ecological activities. However, it is faced with multiple pressures from different anthropogenic Activities within the wetlands and upstream. The Nyando wetlands are facing increasing threats of reclamation for agriculture. This is bound to intensify as population pressure increases. The question therefore is; should Nyando Wetlands be conserved or converted? Using market and contingent valuation methods, within the benefit-cost analysis framework, an economic valuation was carried out to determine the benefits of conserving or converting the Nyando wetlands. The results revealed that Nyando Wetlands yield a flow of economic benefits of the consumptive goods and services estimated at about US$ 1.5 Billion (US$ 62,500 / Ha / year) with an infinite present value of US$ 75.5 Billion at 2% discount rate. Thus the reclamation of the wetlands would imply high economic costs to the government and local communities. To reduce the pressure of reclamation, it is suggested that educational campaigns on the importance of wetlands be carried out.    Key words: Wetland value, market price, contingent valuation, goods and services. &nbsp

Highlights

Kenya's wetlands occupy about 3 to 4% of the total landmass, which is approximately 14,000 km of the land surface and increases up to 6% in the rainy seasons (Government of Kenya, 2008)
Wetlands generate a huge variety of plant, animal and mineral products used and valued by people all over the world, whether in local, rural communities or in far-off cities in foreign countries (Ramsar, 2011). Because of their socio-economic importance, wetlands have attracted significant portions of human populations who survive by exploiting their resources, through different resource utilization activities, often driven by economic and financial motives (Kirsten, 2005)
Complete dependency on natural resources for livelihoods is a sign of extreme poverty and deprivation (Béné, 2003; Kangalawe and Liwenga, 2005) loss of Nyando Wetlands could affect the welfare of the communities living around them

Summary

Introduction

Kenya's wetlands occupy about 3 to 4% of the total landmass, which is approximately 14,000 km of the land surface and increases up to 6% in the rainy seasons (Government of Kenya, 2008). Wetlands generate a huge variety of plant, animal and mineral products used and valued by people all over the world, whether in local, rural communities or in far-off cities in foreign countries (Ramsar, 2011). Because of their socio-economic importance, wetlands have attracted significant portions of human populations who survive by exploiting their resources, through different resource utilization activities, often driven by economic and financial motives (Kirsten, 2005). Such reliance on natural resource exploitation for livelihood, always poses a great danger to the resources, more so if their value is not known or appreciated by the Ddungu et al, stakeholders.

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