Sustainable Livelihood Approach For Assessing Household Adoption To Eviction Mau Forest Kenya

Studies have shown that there is a challenge in protecting both natural resources and livelihoods simultaneously. However little is known when considering the number of livelihoods strategies affected by the effect of conservation methods. This paper seeks to investigate the outcome of sustainable livelihood diversification by considering the number of strategies affected by eviction on households neighboring the boundaries of the Mau forest in Kenya. It is well understood that double sustainability is achieved when environmental protection of biodiversity is attained and the livelihood of households affected focuses on a pro-poor strategy at the same time. The study employs the Negative Binomial Regression and ANOVA to estimate the effect of being a victim of eviction on the number of alternative livelihood strategies. The results indicate a significant difference in diversification between households that were victims of eviction from non victims. Significantly evicted households dominantly engage in low income earning agricultural activities. The findings suggest that evicted households diversify but depend on forests and agricultural activities as a coping mechanism towards eviction. This information is important to policy makers in assisting to achieve double sustainability by looking at forest eviction conversation and household livelihood adoption needs.