Application Of Remote Sensing Techniques To Assess Temporal And Spatial Availability Of Forage In Relation To Grazing Conflicts In Northern Kenya.

Grazing conflicts in Northern Kenya is invoking heightened concern which is drawing the attention of many stakeholders communities and Governments alike. These conflicts are as a result of many conspiring factors in the North of Kenya. However most of the grazing conflicts occur on the already established community conservancies before they filter out to the private ranches and conservancies. The objective of this study was to use Geographical Information Systems to evaluate the available forage on 4 conservancies in Laikipia and Isiolo counties as part of a larger study undertaken to predict grazing conflicts in Northern Kenya. We used Normalised Difference Vegetation Index NDVI to classify the vegetation into 11 classes using MODIS 1km spatial resolution. A 27-year rainfall data of the area was obtained from the Meteorological department for correlation with the satellite images on land use changes in the study area from 1990-2017. NDVI maps were developed to depict spatial and temporal vegetation trends to draw conclusions on the availability of forage in the study area. The results were presented in NDVI maps tables and graphs for easy interpretation. The results showed that large areas have transited from one land use type to another in the study period encompassing both reduction and increase in size of various vegetation classes. It also shows that in most areas green vegetation classes have changed to the negative as depicted in reduction in the spatial resolution. The low greenness indicated lesser availability of browsable biomass mostly in the months of January to April and June to September while the browner colours indicated mostly bare grounds around the same seasons. The results further showed that there is a positive correlation between the low precipitation and increase in grazing conflicts with the months of January-April being the most affected. The results will be useful to grazing planners drought managers and regional and national governments in mitigation of grazing conflicts.