Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Drivers of environmental conservation activities among rural women around the Kakamega forest, Kenya

  • Published:
Environment, Development and Sustainability Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Past studies show that rural women in Kenya and elsewhere have played vital roles in sustaining household supplies of water and firewood by carefully maintaining their surrounding natural environment. However, we do not yet know what motivates these women to engage in nature conservation activities. This paper seeks to investigate what drives women to join and participate in environmental chama activities, and how these chamas promote conservation behavior among women in Kakamega County, Kenya. A questionnaire survey was administered to 149 women residing near the Kakamega forest in this County. Interviews were also conducted with nine key informants, including elders. We found that Kakamega women customarily established networking groups called chama that inspired them to participate in environmental conservation activities. About 98% of the respondents agreed that they were motivated to participate in environmental chama activities because they could earn income from these activities. About 88% agreed that they were driven by the desire to protect the environment. Our interview with elders and other women found that cultural and religious significance they attached to some plants and sites in the Kakamega forest motivated them to strictly observe traditional conservation customs. They also cultivated and preserved important medicinal plants to prevent their depletion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akwa, L., Marcus, N. D., & Rahman, S. A. (2008). Analysis of fuel wood utilization among rural women in Akwanga area of Nasarawa State Nigeria. The Abuja Journal of Geography and Development, 1(2), 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aye, T. T. (2018). The role of rural women in environmental management in Myanmar: A case study of Ngaputaw Township. Open Science Journal, 3(1), 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, D. (1983). Daughters of the dreaming. Sydeny: McPhee Gribble/George Allen & Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • CBO Kenya Consortium. (2005). www.ncbo-council.org. Accessed 5th July 2020.

  • Clark, G. (1994). Onions are my husband: Survival and accumulation by West African market women. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, G. (2010). Gender fictions and gender tensions: Involving ‘‘traditional’’ asante market women. African Studies Quarterly, 11(1–3), 43–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cotton, C. M. (1997). Ethnobotany: Principles and applications. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dankelman, I., & Davidson, J. (2013). Women and environment in the third world. London: Earthscan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Declaration, R. (1992). Rio declaration on environment and development.The United Nations conference on environment and development (pp 3–14). June Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

  • Diamond, I., & Orenstein, F. (1990). Reweaving the world: The emergence of scofeminism. San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Etta, F. E. (1999). Maroko low-income settlement in Lagos, Nigeria; Gender and Urban Natural resources management. In D. L. Smith (Ed.), Women managing resources (pp. 30–51). Nairobi: Mazigira Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, S. (1978). Woman and nature: The roaring insider her. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haraway, D. (1991). Reading Buchi Emecheta: Contests for women’s experience in women’s studies. Women: A cultural review, 1(3), 240–255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartsock, N. C. (1983). The feminist standpoint: Developing the ground for a specifically feminist historical materialism. In Discovering reality (pp. 283–310). Dordrecht: Springer.

  • Jack, S. L., & Anderson, A. R. (2002). The effects of embeddedness on the entrepreneurial process. Journal of Business Venturing, 17(5), 467–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kabutha, C., & Humbly, H. (1996). Gender concerns in agroforestry. In People and Institutional Participation in Agroforestry and Sustainable Development. First Kenya Agroforestry Conference. Nairobi, Kenya, Kenya Forestry Research Institute.

  • Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI). (2009). Status of participatory forest management impacts on poverty for Buyangu Non-PFM area Adjacent Community: Kakamega Forest: Kakamega District. Report No: KEFRI/EMPAFORM-ARPIP/NF/3/(b). Retrieved from https://kefri.org/Publications.php. Accessed 5 July 2020.

  • Kenya Indigenous Forest Conservation Programme (KIFCON). (1994). Review of KIFCON Phase I and Identification of Gaps Arising from Programme Termination: Proceedings of a Workshop at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi.

  • Kenya Institute for Public Research and Analysis (KIPRA). (2013). Kenya economic report. Retrieved from http://www.kippra.org.PDF. Accessed 5 July 2020.

  • Kiplagat, A. K., Mburu, J., & Mugendi, D. N. (2008). Consumption of non timber forest products (NTFPs) in Kakamega forest, Western Kenya: accessibility, role and value to resident rural households. Biennial International Conference, University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, England.

  • Lambrou, Y., & Piana, G. (2006). Gender: The missing component of the response to climate change. Rome: FAO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Makhabane, T. (2002). Promoting the role of women in sustainable energy development in Africa: Networking and capacity building. In R. Masika (Ed.), Gender, development, and climate change (pp. 84–91). Oxford: Oxfam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, Garry J. (1986). Ethnobotany: A methods manual. London: Earthscan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meagher, K. (2006). Social capital, social liabilities, and political capital: Social networks and informal manufacturing in Nigeria. African Affairs, 105(421), 553–582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merchant, C. (1980). The death of nature: Women, ecology and the scientific revolution. San Francisco: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mies, M., & Shiva, V. (1993). Ecofeminism. London: Kali for Women.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, N. (2004). The exploitation and disturbance history of Kakamega Forest, western Kenya. In Bleher, B & Dalitz, H. (Eds.), Bielefelder BIOTA report no. 1 (Vol. 20, pp. 1–77). Ökologische Beiträge.

  • Montanari, B., & Bergh, S. (2019). Why women’s traditional knowledge matters in the production processes of natural product development: The case of the Green Morocco Plan. Women’s Studies International Forum, 77, 102–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mooko, N. (2002). The use and awareness of women’s groups as sources of information in three small villages in Botswana. South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science, 68(2), 104–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muller, D., & Mburu, J. (2009). Forecasting hotspots of forest clearing in Kakamega forest, Western Kenya. Forest Ecology and Management, 257(3), 968–977.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthoni, J. W., & Wangui, E. E. (2013). Women and climate change: strategies for adaptive capacity in Mwanga District, Tanzania. African Geographical Review, 32(1), 59–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthuki, J. (2006). Challenging patriarchal structures: Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt movement in Kenya. Agenda, 20(69), 83–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Njoroge, R. (2015). Chama—A driver of the non-formal economy in Kenya. http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/chamadrivernonformaleconomykenya/2866813.html. Accessed 15th July 2020.

  • Omare, S., Kiyiapi, L., & Kamaara, E. (2013). The role of women in the conservation of the Kakamega forest, kenya: a feminist perspective. Theologies and cultures, 10(1), 102–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ondiba, H. A., & Matsui, K. (2019). Social attributes and factors influencing entrepreneurial behaviors among rural women in Kakamega County. Kenya. Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, 9(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ondiba, H. A., Matsui, K., & Karanja, J. M. (2017). Women’s success attributes in small and micro enterprises in Kenya. Paper presented at 3rd International Conference On Regional Challenges To Multidisciplinary Innovation, Nairobi, Kenya.

  • Ortner, S. (1974). Is female to male as nature is to culture? In L. Lamphere (Ed.), Women, culture, and society (pp. 67–87). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ouma, O. K., Stadel, C., & Eslamian, S. (2011). Perceptions of tourists on trail use and management implications for Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning, 4(4), 243–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pickering, A. J., & Davis, J. (2012). Freshwater availability and water fetching distance affect child health in sub-Saharan Africa. Environmental Science and Technology, 46(4), 2391–2397.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rodda, A. (1991). Women and the environment. London: Zed Books Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saalu, F. N., Oriaso, S., & Gyampoh, B. (2020). Effects of a changing climate on livelihoods of forest dependent communities. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 12(1), 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sachs, C. E. (2018). Gendered fields: Rural women, agriculture, and environment. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sachs, J., Tornell, A., & Velasco, A. (1996). Financial crises in emerging markets: The lessons from 1995 (No. w5576). National Bureau of Economic Research.

  • Sheridan, M. J. (2009). The environmental and social history of African Sacred Groves: A Tanzanian case study. African Studies Review, 52(1), 73–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shiva, V. (1989). The violence of the green revolution: ecological degradation and political conflict in Punjab. na.

  • Steiner, A., & Cleary, J. (2014). What are the features of resilient businesses? Exploring the perception of rural entrepreneurs. Journal of Rural Community Development, 9(3), 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Were, E., Roy, J., & Swallow, B. (2008). Local organisation and gender in water management: a case study from the Kenya Highlands. Journal of International Development, 20(1), 69–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • World Bank. (1991). Women and development in Malawi: Constraints and actions. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, D. A. (2001). The avifauna of the Kakamega Forest, western Kenya, including a bird population study. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 149, 257–339.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the support of the County director of environment (County Government of Kakamega) Mr. Peter Mathia and Ms. Vivian Namayi of Soroptimist International women club.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Doctoral Program in Sustainable Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Hesborn Andole Ondiba

  2. Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Kenichi Matsui

Authors
  1. Hesborn Andole Ondiba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kenichi Matsui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hesborn Andole Ondiba.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

The study and survey comply with the laws of the Republic of Kenya.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ondiba, H.A., Matsui, K. Drivers of environmental conservation activities among rural women around the Kakamega forest, Kenya. Environ Dev Sustain 23, 10666–10678 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01077-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01077-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation