RANGELANDS 16(6), December 1994 245

Geographic Information System as an Aid to Rangeland Management in Kenya D.J. Herlocker, S.B. Shaabani and T.L. Thurow

Natural resourcemanagement is multi- (twelve publications) presents the natur- encouraged to craft solutions that best fit faceted. Sound decisions require inte- al resource information available for the unique nature of each situation. gration of information drawn from many each district. This includes detailed infor- Therefore,the handbook is useful to a sources. Often information needed by a mation on the districts physical charac- wide variety of users, ranging from manager is available but not realistically teristics, climate, landforms and soils, administrators, planners, managers, sci- accessible. Sources of information are vegetation, and water resources. entists and teachers (Photos 1 and 2). usually scattered in reference books,sci- Various management considerations After the Range Management entific journal articles and various diffi- such as site potential, range condition, Handbook was published, follow-up cult to access project reports and infor- livestock marketing, pastoral land use investigations were conducted to deter- mal publications. Additional information patterns, and human ecology/culture of mine how it was being put to use. There is stored in the minds of the scientists, people living in the region are also were many diverse examples of how the engineers, managers, pastoralists and included. Each publication is supple- handbook was being used, but it was farmers who have experience working mented by about 20 maps illustrating apparent some individuals had a prob- with the land. Most managers do not resource inventory results at scales of lem integrating the information they have the time, money, contacts and 1:500,000and 1:1,000,000. Volume Ill needed to considerwhen making a deci- expertise necessary to fully access the (ninepublications) is a series of texts on sion. Anotherconcern was that informa- diverse existing information base. special topicsrelevant to range manage- tion on the maps would need to be Consequently, management effective- ment. updated as development took place. ness is often limited by the accessibility Range Management Handbook To address these two concerns, infor- of information. emphasis was placed on providing the mation on handbook maps was digitized To solve this problem in Kenya, the types of information planners need to and entered into a Geographic Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock devise a solution or make a decision, Information System. One benefit of the Development and Marketing (Range ratherthan simplyrecommending specif- Geographic Information System data Management Division) and the German ic developmentpackages/activities for base of Kenyan rangelands is it can be Agency for Technical Cooperation generic problems. Some management easily updated as new information teamed up to producea series of publi- options are included as examples of becomes available. For example, if a cations collectively known as the Range potential solutions, but the reader is new water point is established the water ManagementHandbook of Kenya. The objective of the Range Management Handbookis to summarizethe existing information available for Kenya range- lands and, wherenecessary, gather data needed to fill critical information gaps. The focus of the project was nine arid and semi-arid districts of Kenya where livestock production is a primary land use. These districts occupy about 250,000 km2 and approximately cover the northern half of the country. The handbook consists of 22 parts. Volume I (two publications) discusses the history, status, potentials and con- straints facing range development in Kenya and the methods used for inven- tories of the range resources. Volume II

Authorsare, respectively, Project Managerand Technical Associate, Deutsche Gesellshaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), P.O. Box 47051. Nairobi, Kenya and Associate Professor, Department of Rangeland Ecology and site andthe associated environmental factors thatinfluence it, is discussed Management, Texas A&M University, College Range potential, Station, TX 77843. fornine northern Kenya districtsin the Range Management Handbook. (Photo: U.P. Krouter) 246 RANGELANDS 16(6),December 1994

Fig. 1 Example ofhow the Kenyan rangeland data baseis used in a Geographic Information System to aidplanning. In this simplified case, data base components from MarsabitDistrict, Kenya are selected to illustrate factors that should be considered when sitinga waterpoint: (a) areas over 10 km from a permanentwater source, (b) location ofperennial grasslands, (C) location of good range condition. In (d), the Geographic Information System has formeda composite thathighlights which areas sharethe traitsof maps a, bandc andalso shows the roadnetwork In the districtthat can be usedby equipment needing toreach thesites. resource maps can be updatedby enter- developmentwhich can result in great manager wouldwant to considerand the ing the coordinates into the data base. political pressure to place the new corresponding Geographic Information Geographic Information Systems also source in ecologically inappropriate loca- System output for Marsabit District help peopleintegrate information by dis- tions. The following simplified example include: playing it in a way that is easily under- provides an objective rationale that can • Where is the distance to permanent stood. For example, placement of a new be used to aid water source placement water greaterthan 10 km? (Fig. Ia) water site can be ineffective or cause in Marsabit District. Such a rationale can • Where are perennial grasslands locat- more harm than good if the chosen site help the development agency guide ed that could provide a source of for- has a vegetation type or range condition community participation in a positive age throughoutthe year? (Fig. 1 b) that cannot accommodate additional sense by framing the discussion of site • Where are the rangelands in goodcon- grazing pressure. Also, a new water selection within the contextof ecological- dition? (Fig. ic) source is often a highly sought after ly acceptable locations. Information a • Where do these pieces of information overlap? (Fig. id) Thus, Fig. id highlights the areas for consideration based on the criteria mapped in Figs. la, lb and ic. The Geographic Information System also servesas a powerful education tool by helping students and professionals visualize how information needs to be integrated when making natural resource management decisions. Indeed, several universities in Kenya and the U.S.A. use the Kenya rangelands Geographic Information System data base to help illustrate planning methodology in range management laboratory exercises using personal computers equipped with appropriate software. Range Management Handbookpubli- cationsand the Information System data bases for the rangeland districts are available at cost plus postage from the Chief, Range Management Division, Ministry of Agriculture Livestock Projects, suchas establishing new waterpoints, can improve livestock productionefficiency Development and Marketing, P.O. Box or becomefocal for In points degradation. The Geographic formation System aids integration of 34188, Nairobi Kenya or from the Range factors that should be consideredto maximize benefits and minimize risks associatedwith Handbook GTZ, rangelanddevelopment decisions. Management Project, P.O. Box 47051, Nairobi, Kenya.