Evaluating The Resource Supply Thresholds That Trigger Livestock Movement Leading To Grazing Conflicts In Northern Kenya

Grazing conflicts in Northern Kenya is causing critical scenario that is drawing the attention of many stakeholders communities and Governments alike. The objective of this study was to find out the thresholds of grazing resources throughout the year in the Community conservancies and how these contribute to livestock movements in search of grazing resources. The study used an integrated Mixed-Method approach of experimental and social survey designs to assess how competition for limited resource triggers intra and inter-conservancy conflicts. In this study a total of eight experimental plots measuring 50mx50m were set up two in each of the three community-owned conservancies and two in a private conservancy to assess forage availability during dry and wet seasons. The privately owned conservancy acted as the control. Clip-dry-and-weigh method was used to assess forage capacities. Five samples of Clippings were obtained using 0.5mx0.5m wire quadrant randomly distributed in each plot in both seasons. Visual estimates were used to assess ground cover percentages while grass height and weight measurements were taken to assess biomass characteristics. We found that the months of June to October had the lowest forage availability. Through use of Remote Sensing we found that there are general decline in vegetation vigour during the period of January-March and June to October when most grazing conflicts are experienced and through Participatory GIS PGIS the respondents attested that this has been the cause of movements to unknown areas in search of browsable forage. It was found out that there is a close correlation between grazing conflicts and water and forage availability in the study area.