James Mathenge

Climate change constitutes a significant constraint to agricultural development and fruition through perturbation of rainfall. Areas located in the eastern part of Rwanda are more vulnerable than other regions of the country, owing to their topography, geology and climatology. Comprehensive hydro-geospatial information will unveil its potential irrigation capacity and further suitable irrigation solutions for the region . This study aimed at mapping the hydrological and geological characteristics and other geospatial features of irrigable lands of Bugesera region, in the Eastern Province of Rwanda, using remote sensing and geographic information system’s tools. The methodological approach consisted of processing Aster radar satellite image of 2006 and a topographic map of 1998 to enable designing a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and producing different types of map layers using appropriate software packages ( ILWIS 3.3, Erdas 8.7 and ArcGIS 9.2). These maps were interpreted to descri...

In the year 2002, USAID’s FEWSNET programme started warning about a looming food crisis in Bugesera region of the Eastern Province of Rwanda, which would be exacerbated by water scarcity. This study attempted to map potential irrigable lands of that agro ecological zone using spatial information to determine the most suitable areas that can be included in the national development agenda. The methodology consisted of overlaying different irrigation parameters derived from the processing of the Landsat Aster 2006 radar image and Digital Elevation Models (DEM) using appropriate software packages, namely ILWIS 3.3, ERDAS Imagine 8.7 and ArcGIS 9.2. These tools enabled us determine Land use and Land cover classification of the study area that fits to the soil characteristics, geology, topography and hydrology of Bugesera highlands. Maps resulting from this overlaying process display different types of layer classes according to each irrigation purpose. In most of the cases, only two clas...

Pangolins are some of the most overexploited but least studied mammals. The giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea is the largest of the eight pangolin species, measuring up to 180 cm in length and weighing up to 40 kg. It is a nocturnal, solitary species that occurs at low densities and little is known regarding its biology and ecology. It is distributed widely across the rainforests and forest savannah mosaics of equatorial Africa but its exact range extent is unknown. Apart from a single record in Kenya predating 1971, the eastern limit of its range was thought only to extend to central Uganda and western Tanzania. Here we present three spatially separate records confirming the presence of this species in Kenyan Afromontane forests. The three records are c. 120 km apart and c. 500 km east of the nearest confirmed giant pangolin population in Uganda. These records represent a significant range extension for the species and highlight the biodiversity and conservation importance of the Afr...

The Republic of Kenya initiated key reforms in 1999 in its water sector governance. These reforms culminated with the release of the Water Act 2002, which has been amended to comply with the devolved system enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya 2010. The Water Act 2002 instituted a separation between Water Service Providers (WSPs) and Water Resource Users' Associations (WRUA). In compliance with the new legislation, Ngaciuma-Kinyaritha stakeholders created a WRUA in that catchment in 2006, amid many Community Water Management Systems (CWMSs). The latter are not legally recognised for managing water resources or for supplying water services. Should these CWMSs seek registration to qualify as WSPs? This is technically difficult for most “self-help” groups, and this study sought to assess the performance of the newly established key institutions among the CWMSs in Ngaciuma-Kinyaritha Catchment. To isolate the contribution of CWMSs to domestic water security a Performance Assessment and Evaluation (PAE) was conducted based on household survey data from 165 farmers and 36 in-depth interviews.

Merely designating new and/or expanding existing protected areas (PAs) does not guarantee the protection of critical ecosystems and species. The management of PAs must be effective to sustain meaningful conservational outcomes. We inferred the management effectiveness of PAs in Kenya based on the representation of ranges and distribution of multiple diversity dimensions of terrestrial mammals and their association with governance and designation types. We hypothesized that different governance types underlie variable management efficacies, such that stricter-managed PAs have better habitats that attract more wildlife, translating to higher species diversity compared to less strictly-managed PAs, especially for focal species groups (large carnivores, large herbivores, and endangered species). The results showed nearly all terrestrial mammals in Kenya represented in at least one PA. However, the relative proportion of represented ranges were low, and analysis of spatial conservation p...

The distribution of small mammals in mountainous environments across different elevations can provide important information on the effects of climate change on the dispersal of species. However, few studies conducted on Afromontane ecosystems have compared the altitudinal patterns of small mammal diversity. We investigated the species diversity and abundance of non-volant small mammals (hereafter 'small mammals') on Mt. Kenya, the second tallest mountain in Africa, using a standard sampling scheme. Nine sampling transects were established at intervals of 200 m on the eastern (Chogoria) and western (Sirimon) slopes. A total of 1 905 individuals representing 25 species of small mammals were trapped after 12 240 trap-nights. Abundance was highest at mid-elevations on both slopes. However, species richness and distribution patterns differed between the two slopes. On Chogoria, species richness was higher at mid-high elevations, with a peak at mid-elevation (2 800 m a.s.l.), wher...