Integrated environmental education for sustainable forest management: the case of Nandi Hills Forests, Kenya

Abstract

Environmental education (EE) is a vital dimension of modern day acumen that portends a great promise in solving the myriad environmental resource management challenges at global, regional and local levels. A study was carried out in 18 locations in the Nandi North, Nandi South and Nandi Hills districts of Kenya, which cover the Nandi Hills and Nandi Forests in Nandi County, major water catchments for Lake Victoria. A mixed methodological approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative data obtained from focus group discussions, key informant interviews, household survey and observations was embraced in data collection and analysis. The study reveals that there are several strategies that have been adopted by the local population and institutions involved in the management of the Nandi Hills Forests (NHFs) and that these strategies have contributed to an improvement in the perceptions of the local population in terms of the importance of environmental management of the forests. This paper highlights EE as a vehicle for ensuring a sustainable management of the Nandi Hills Forests. As such, it illuminates the great potential that lies in sustainably managing the NHFs by integrating formal and informal EE approaches. It further points out the functional gaps in the management of NHFs and proposes best-practices that could be adopted and/or domesticated in NHFs management regimes.