For. Sci. Prac., 2013, 15(2): 152–159 DOI 10.1007/s11632-013-0203-0

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Integrated environmental education for sustainable forest management: the case of Nandi Hills Forests, Kenya Julius Gordon TANUI Department of Educational Management of Policy Studies, School of Education, Moi University, Eldoret, 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. Keywords environmental education, sustainable forest management, forest ecosystems, indigenous knowledge

Introduction The past several decades have seen increasing awareness of the explosive growth in environmental problems throughout the world (Pandey, 2005). Consequently, environmental education (EE) has emerged as a vital tool in achieving environmental sustainability. For example, there are now at least six journals aimed specifically at scholars of environmental studies, such as the Journal of Environmental Education, first published in 1969 in Washington DC; the Environmental Education Report & Newsletter, first published in 1973 in Hanover, New Hampshire; Connect (first edition 1976) in Guilford, England and Environmental Received 12 January 2013; accepted 20 March 2013 

Author for correspondence (Julius Gordon TANUI) E-mail: [email protected]

Education Information (first print in 1981) in Manchester, England. EE encompasses both formal and informal (indigenous knowledge) systems. All too frequently, western formal science and indigenous knowledge are represented as two different, competing knowledge systems, characterized by a binary divide, a divide arguably evolving from the epistemological foundations of the two knowledge systems. Hence, they may be treated as discrete entities, separable from each other in space, which of course, if that is the case, precludes dialogue and learning between them (Mohan and Stokke, 2000). Hence, it is essential to give both formal and informal EE significant but equal weight when it comes to manage the Nandi Hills Forests (NHFs) of Kenya. While advances in modern science and technology have had significant impacts on the forest sector, these technologies remain inaccessible to many in Africa and there is a con-

© 2013 Beijing Forestry University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Julius Gordon TANUI: Integrated environmental education for sustainable forest management...

tinued dependence on indigenous or traditional knowledge in managing forests and other natural resources (Parrotta and Agnoletti, 2007). Palmer (1998) has urged that “Environmental Education should be included in and should run throughout the other disciplines of the formal education curriculum at all levels – to foster a sense of responsibility for the state of that environment and to teach students how to monitor, protect and improve it”. As early as the beginning of the 1980’s, the status of EE outside of developed countries was far from desirable, reveals Knamiller (1983). His assertion was later underscored by Tomar (2005), who argues that relatively little formal EE has permeated developing countries despite considerable efforts in recent decades by UNESCO, UNEP and the World Conservation Union (IUCN). No wonder, the proportion of forests that are sustainably managed in the developing countries remains very low (ITTO, 2006). This means that deliberate effort has to be engaged to ensure a continuous proliferation of formal EE into developing countries. Natural resources, of which forests are part, are believed to anchor the livelihood systems of man and have to be sustainably managed. This will ensure meeting the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7 on environmental sustainability, a conduit for the continuity in the provision of critical ecosystem services to mankind and environmental resources. Despite the importance of trees and forest resources as critical to human existence and economic development, current trends show that forest fragmentation, degradation, inadequate regeneration and mismanagement are threatening the supply of vital ecosystem services and provisions (Temu and Ogweno, 2007). The health and well-being of the people and the forest ecosystem together determine the progress of management practices towards sustainability (Dovers and Norton, 1994; Maser, 1994; Verma et al., 2000), and so the health of forests will definitely have an impact on humans. The NHFs contain crucial watersheds in the Lake Victoria Drainage Basin and must be protected. However, it is paradoxical, according to Hamilton et al. (2008), that watershed degradation has led to greater recognition of the numerous ways watersheds support human well-being through ecosystem services and, consequently, to

153

greater value being placed on them. Indigenous knowledge is of growing interest to forest science as it is increasingly recognized that indigenous resource management systems can help to improve the framework for sustainable forest management (FAO, 2009). Besides, the social and economic benefits from sustainable use of biodiversity can provide powerful incentives to conserve it (IUCN, 1993). Consequently, it would be imperative to create incentives to improve the capacity of formal research organizations to work with local and indigenous people and encouraging collaboration in conservation (IAASTD, 2008). To ensure sustainable management of forests, EE is a key ingredient that cannot be left out. Considering the critical roles and functions of the forest sector in supporting human development, environmental conservation, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, forestry education ought to be strengthened and better aligned with related disciplines (Temu and Kiwia, 2008). Hence new management models that take into consideration the interests of all stakeholders and the environment must be developed since public acceptance is of utmost importance to management decisions concerning forest resources (Trakolis, 2001). This means that traditional forest management systems have to be incorporated into the management criteria for forests (Kunga, 2003). The NHFs community has a closely knit relationship with the forest, which provides for their livelihoods (e.g. as wild honey, fruits, medicinal plants, edible animals, cultural site, source of fodder, source of streams and rivers and precipitation capture).

Methods The study was undertaken in the Nandi Hills Forests within Nandi County, covering the north and south Nandi Forests, as well as the Nandi Hills proper on latitude 0°20′ N/0°08′ S and centered on longitude 35°0′ E. A mixed methodological design which incorporated both qualitative and quantitative data was embraced. The mixed method approaches used in this study were the concurrent triangulation and nested/embedded designs. A three-tier analysis was carried out once all the data had been coded and grouped. The analysis

154

Forest Science and Practice , Vol.15, No.2, 2013

covered three categories of the population in the study area, i.e., households, institutions and community groups. Various methods were used in establishing the research needs and postulating the research findings. The local community population sampled consisted of the true households according to the 2009 population census (KNBS, 2010). The sample unit for data generation was the household, which was chosen for this study as the lowest identifiable social institution within which production and consumption activities take place. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) among the NHFs communities and stakeholder institutions, formal interviews with forest management practitioners and personal visits to the NHFs were undertaken. The FGDs conducted for the local communities were structured such that they placed more emphasis on the informal aspects of EE but also with a few dimensions of simplified formal EE. The NHFs cover three districts, Nandi North, Nandi South and Nandi Hills (Fig. 1). This study identified 18 locations in the three districts. There was one FGD per location in the 18 locations covered, i.e., Kaptumo South, Kaptumo North,

Chebarus, Chemomi, Ndurio, Kaboi, Kamarich, Kosoiywo, Ketbarak, Keteng, Kipsigak, Kapkoiyo, Koringin, Mosine, Nandi Hills, Samoei, Sinendet and Tururo. The formal interviews with key informants from the stakeholder institutions and forest management practitioners respectively were more structured and technical in both content and language. An FGD for the stakeholder institutions was held under the auspice of the Nandi Environmental Forum, which brought together international partners, government agencies, the private sector and Community Based Conservation Groups (CBCGs). Besides, a survey of the perception held by the NHFs communities on their forest resources was also carried out through the administration of household questionnaires to strengthen empirical defence for the effort.

Results Sources of forest and forestry information During the study, a total of 882 respondents were

Fig. 1 Map of Nandi area indicating the remnant forests Website: http://www.springer.com/journal/11632 & http://journal.bjfu.edu.cn Online Manuscript Submission, Review and Tracking System: http://mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/fsc

Julius Gordon TANUI: Integrated environmental education for sustainable forest management...

interviewed, with each location accounting for 40 to 50 respondents, of which 98% in all the 18 locations were aware of the existence of forests and forest resources around them. Only 2% had no knowledge or were aware of the existence of any forest(s) in the area (Fig. 2). The respondents further reflected that a greater fraction of the community learnt of the significance of forests around them through informal means; such that 85% obtained their knowledge on the existence of the forests from informal sources, 13% learnt of the significance of the forests formally while 2% of the respondents identified their sources as both formal and informal (Fig. 3). All the respondents from Tururo, Koringin and Chebarus locations obtained information on the significance of the forests informally. Samoei Location reported the highest proportion of respondents who learnt of the importance of the forests from formal sources, which stood at 23%. On the other hand, Keteng and Ndurio locations registered the highest proportion each of 9% of respondents whose sources were both formal and informal in nature.

155

knowledge during interactions; 3) presentation of songs. Practical: 1) proximity knowledge acquisition: this entails learning of the forest existence by virtue of being a resident of an adjacent forest; 2) default knowledge acquisition on ancestral surrounding by virtue of being born there; 3) resource destination phenomena: when one accesses the forest as a source for firewood, pasture, medicine, honey and other raw materials. Formal knowledge Despite the prolific effect the indigenous knowledge system has had on the interaction of the local community with the NHFs, a fraction of the community anchors its knowledge on the pivotal role of forests on formal knowledge. The formal sources of this knowledge included: 1) lessons in class; 2) academic visits to the forests as a fulfillment of coursework in school; 3) attending seminars and workshops organized by the local CBO (define); 4) awareness creation by government agencies such as the KFS, KWS, NTZA and NEMA; 5) print and electronic media.

Informal knowledge The high number of respondents whose source of information on forest significance was informal underscores the importance of the preservation and propagation of indigenous knowledge (IK) of the Nandi Hills Forests communities. The IK of the local community that enhanced forest conservation laid emphasis on the following practices: 1) sacredness of the forests as religious and cultural sites as sacred groves and circumcision sites; 2) strict adherence of community laws, tenets and precepts enforced by the Orkoiyot (diviner leader); 3) selective extraction of medicine, strictly carried out by the medicine men; 4) appropriation of totems to clans in the community. These practices were propagated through both theoretical and practical knowledge dissemination mechanisms. Theoretical: 1) propagation of the knowledge by storytelling and folklore by the elderly; 2) peer information propagation: peers spreading their

Fig. 2 Level of awareness on the existence of forests in Nandi

Fig. 3 Comparison of sources of information on the significance of forests (n = 882)

156

Forest Science and Practice , Vol.15, No.2, 2013

Integration of formal knowledge and indigenous knowledge systems The data sources of knowledge on forest management and conservation that were gathered through household interviews were placed in categories. After categorization, key informant

interviews (KIIs) were conducted with 18 key informants who were asked to identify scenarios of integration of formal and informal sources of knowledge they had experienced. Their responses are presented in Table 1. Observing the table suggests that opportunities exist for storytelling, peer information propaga-

Fig. 4 Sources of information on significance of forests per location Website: http://www.springer.com/journal/11632 & http://journal.bjfu.edu.cn Online Manuscript Submission, Review and Tracking System: http://mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/fsc

Julius Gordon TANUI: Integrated environmental education for sustainable forest management...

tion, proximity knowledge acquisition and default knowledge acquisition in school classrooms. Proximity knowledge acquisition has also taken place during formal seminars and during awareness creation by government. Resource destination learning had taken place during awareness creation by the government, while print and electronic media only contributed to knowledge acquisition related to resource destination phenomena.

Discussion The findings of this study point to the pivotal role EE has in enhancing effective management of the NHFs. Success in mainstreaming environmental education in the management and conservation of the NHFs is quite important. Significance in this process is the institutionalization of environmental education because it will enhance a coordinated approach. In order to avoid the state of poor access to forest management information by the public and interested stakeholders (Méthot et al., 2006), constant review of EE in relation to forests and forestry needs to be put in place to ensure that there is coherence between sustainable forest management (SFM) and the EE inputs in the ecosystem of the NHFs. The indigenous knowledge system of the Nandi Community emphasized the sustainable utilization of the forest and its forest products. They have acquired sufficient knowledge of plant and animal species, their management and use to enable them to cope with changing levels of abundance of preferred species used for food, medicine, cultural activities (circumcision and rites of passage) and other purposes. Langton and Ma Rhea (2003) corroborate this by affirming that local management and conservation of biodiversity through relevance of indigenous knowledge can contribute to immense well-being of people and conservation and management of the resources. Although the majority of the local community bases its interaction with the forests and forest resources on indigenous knowledge, formal EE needs to be more entrenched into forest management practices of the community. Singly, neither formal nor indigenous knowledge systems would

157

be sufficiently prolific in addressing the management and conservation demands of the NHFs. Therefore, an integrated approach that encompasses both formal and indigenous knowledge systems would yield a much more robust line of action for the sustainable management of the NHFs. It appears that formal environmental education has provided a platform for the Nandi Hills Forest communities to interact, not only with their traditional forest conservation practices, but also to appreciate modern day approaches. Matiru (1999) points out that a number of NGOs, CBOs and voluntary organizations are making reliably helpful progress in enlightening the ordinary citizens on laws and their rights in Kenya and that the emergence of environmental lobby groups has translated into greater awareness on the part of the ordinary citizens on environmental issues that affect them and the community at large. The resolutions of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (1992) to advocate sustainable development through environmental education remains a pivotal issue, internationally, nationally and in the Nandi Hills Forests. It is this premise that predicates formal environmental education as a crucial tool for effective forest management and conservation and, encouragingly, both the formal and informal systems of environmental education appear to have been embraced at several levels in the Nandi Hills, as evidenced in this study. The dimensions embraced by the various players in the practice and propagation of formal environmental education may vary in terms of curricula and approach but still remain relevant in content. Depending on the target group, the depth of information investigated in this study varied, such that the higher levels of education and research embraced more technical issues while the lower levels and community-directed levels had simpler content which was often simplified by using local examples in drawing case studies and illustrations. However, findings of this study suggest that as much as there is a large portion of the forest communities that is aware of the existence of the forests, information on the reality of their progressive destruction or conservation still remains a vital aspect that requires attention.

158

Forest Science and Practice , Vol.15, No.2, 2013

Richards (1995) warns that indigenous systems of knowledge and practices are threatened worldwide by socioeconomic and historical pressures. Borrini and Buchan (1997) submit that indigenous knowledge is of increasing interest to forest science as it is ever more acknowledged that indigenous resource management systems can help to improve the framework for sustainable forest management. They also note that limitations of local knowledge by knowledge mortality and lack of codification, which can lead to intergenerational loss of information, can be averted by documentation. These caveats suggest that the integration of formal and informal knowledge systems, which is undertaken in some instances by the government, NGOs and CBOs, is a crucial aspect that ought to be cemented further in any attempts to design environmental education interventions in the Nandi Hills Forests. As such, it appears that there is a great potential for sustainable forest management by integrating formal and informal education approaches in order to enhance sustainable management of the Nandi Forests. More than half of the respondents who indicated that they obtained information on the forests and forest resources from both formal and informal sources indicated that they had obtained their information from lessons learnt in class. Just less than half indicated that they had acquired information on the forests through proximity knowledge acquisition (see Table 1). The proximity knowledge acquisition is owed to the fact that most of those living within the Nandi Forests have lived there for a very long time. In turn, the ‘lessons learnt in class’ category of formal knowledge source is owed to the fact that most of the respondents had attained at least some formal education. Integrating both formal and informal environmental education should provide synergistic opportunities for better management and conservation of the Nandi Hills Forests by local communities. As noted earlier, two thirds of the forest communities is aware of the existence of the forests and have proximal knowledge of changes to the forest ecosystem; information on the reality of their progressive destruction or conservation still remains a vital aspect requiring attention. From the study, SFM is achievable by bridging the gap

between IK and formal EE through integration of these two fronts of EE and safeguarding a balance between the aims of production and conservation. This balance will guarantee the economic needs of the community without jeopardizing the availability of the forest resources to future generations (Rebugio and Camacho, 2005). To entrench SFM further, feasible EE approaches should be adopted, depending on the circumstances, resource availability and knowledge through an integrative process.

Conclusion The NHFs are vital natural resources not only to Kenya but to the region at large, since it is a catchment area for the Lake Victoria Drainage Basin, as well as a significant carbon sink. Hence the sustainable management of these forests cannot be overemphasized. As asserted by GoK (1965), practices tending to harm rather than conserve our physical environment must be curbed through education and legislation. The central role EE has in the management and conservation of the NHFs has been brought out quite clearly by this study. However, the fact that the awareness of the local community, especially on the need to and means for conserving the forest resources, is based on indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), illustrates minimal expert and professional dimensions of management and conservation in these forests. Therefore a purposeful approach that integrates formal environmental education and IKS would herald a competent paradigm that would take the management and conservation of the NHFs a notch higher.

Recommendations From the findings of this study, it is quite evident that EE is a key dimension that cannot be overlooked in enhancing the sustainable management of the NHFs. The local community forms a crucial component of the stakeholders that would either destroy or manage these forests with their descendants in mind. To secure the future of these forests without necessarily jeopardizing the de-

Website: http://www.springer.com/journal/11632 & http://journal.bjfu.edu.cn Online Manuscript Submission, Review and Tracking System: http://mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/fsc

Julius Gordon TANUI: Integrated environmental education for sustainable forest management...

pendence of the local community on the NHFs, there is need for the following. 1) Identification, documentation, promotion and propagation of the IKS of the Nandi and Ogiek communities that have been the inhabitants of the NHFs. This will facilitate effective and efficient bequeathing of future generations with robust practices that have been in consonance with the conservation of these forests. 2) Harmonization of the relationship between formal education offered in schools, research and modern technology and the IKS of the Nandi Hills Community to make them complementary dimensions of conservation rather than contending ones. 3) Comprehensive implementation of the Kenya Forest Act of 2005, that seeks to enhance stakeholder participation on decisionmaking on issues affecting forests. Still, much remains to be done before the full implementation of this act will usher in commensurate community ownership and responsibility over the NHFs. 4) More collaboration between the government, multi-national organizations and other non-state actors and the local community in instituting and strengthening structures for Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES). This will be a vital incentive for the local community to be actively involved in the management and conservation of the NHFs. 5) For the government in consultation with the local community to take deliberate efforts in following up and redeeming the vital climatic contribution of the NHFs to the global environmental economy through carbon credits.

References Dovers SR, Norton TW. 1994. Sustainability: questions for ecosystem management. In: Norton TW, Dovers SR, (eds). Ecology and Sustainability of Southern Temperate Ecosystems. CSIRO, Melbourne, pp 1–9. FAO. 2009. State of the World’s Forests 2009. Rome. Government of Kenya. 1965. Sessional paper no. 10 of 1965: African nationalism and its application to planning in Kenya. Nairobi: Government of Kenya. Hamilton LS. 2008. Forests and Water: A thematic Study Prepared in the Framework of the Global Forest Resource Assessment 2005. FAO, Rome. IAASTD. 2008. Executive summary of the synthesis report. International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development. http:// www.agassessment.org/index.cfm?Page=IAASTD%20

159

Reports&ItemID=2713. Accessed 23 Nov 2012. ITTO. 2006. Status of tropical forest management 2005. ITTO Technical Series No. 24, Yokohama, Japan. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. 2010. Kenya 2009 Population and Housing Census Highlights. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Nairobi. Knamiller G. 1983. Environmental Education for Relevance in Developing Countries. The Environmentalist. Springer, Netherlands. Kunga N. 2003. Challenges in forestry conservation in East Africa: Is community based forestry the key to forest survival? East African Ecotourism, Development and Conservation Consultants, Nairobi. Langton, Ma Rhea. 2003. The "wild", the market, and the native: Indigenous people face new forms of global colonization. In: Vertovec S, Posey D (eds). Globalization, Globalism, Environments and Environmentalism: Consciousness of Connections, The Linacre Lectures. Oxford University Press Oxford, Oxford, pp l41–167. Maser C. 1994. Sustainable Forestry: Philosophy, Science and Economics. St. Lucie Press Inc., FL. Mohan G, Stokke K. 2000. Participatory development and Empowerment: The dangers of localism. Third World Quarterly, 21: 247–268. Palmer JA. 1998. Environmental Education in the 21st Century: Theory, Practice, Progress and Promise. Routledge, New York. Pandey VC. 2005. Environmental Education. Isha Books, Delhi-110033. Parrotta JA, Agnoletti M. 2007. Traditional Forest Knowledge: Challenges and Opportunities. For Ecol Manage, 249: 1–4. Rebugio LL, Camacho LD. 2005. Reorienting forestry education to sustainable forest management: The case of the University of the Philippines Los Banos College of forestry and natural resources. For Sci Technol, 1(2): 193–198. Temu A, Ogweno D. 2007. Global forestry education guidance and monitoring: how imperative is it? In Temu A, Kiwia A, Kaboggoza J, Kung’u J, Chamshama S, Chikamai B (eds). New perspectives in forestry education. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya. Temu A, Kiwia A. 2008. Future Forestry Education: Responding to Expanding Societal Needs. World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi. Tomar A. 2007. Environmental Education. Kalpaz Publications, Delhi-110052. Trakolis, D. (2001). Perceptions, preferences, and reactions of local inhabitants in Vikos-Aoos National Park, Greece. Environm Manag,28(5): 665-676. Verma K, Ferguson I, Wild I. 2000. Decision support system for the sustainable forest management. For Ecol Manage, 128: 49–55. World Conservation Union. 1993. Guidelines for the ecological sustainability of non-consumptive and consumptive uses of wild species. IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland.