INTEGRATION OF LOCAL MAPPING KNOWLEDGE WITH SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AT MT. KASIGAU, KENYA

How landscapes change over time and space are of critical interest in resource analysis and conservation. GIScience techniques keep improving to document what has changed, but less is known about how to gain, validate, and map local understanding of human and physical-environmental processes as factors influencing landscape conditions. This research focuses on how local mapping of land cover can contribute to the interpretation of geo-referenced historical and current land-cover images at Mt. Kasigau, Kenya. Working with local assistants, I facilitated group mapping sessions with men and women residents, and semi-structured interviews along mountain transects from Jora and Makwasinyi villages. The focus was on mapping and interpreting historical and present land cover. Land cover types and features mapped by the residents were plotted onto geo-referenced aerial photos for 1965 and a KOMPSAT 1 m² resolution panchromatic image for 2010. I went on transect walks with women and men residents where they showed described mapped landscape features, and talked about past-to-present changes in resource distribution patterns. They report significant areas of forest emergence after past agriculture on the mountain, contributing to a diversity of resources, some of which have extra-local value as extractive products. Moreover, they described how village growth is contributing to expanding settlements and agricultural production in the surrounding bushland, and a significant loss of loss of woody plant resources at that location. While local activities challenge the security of production at the mountain’s base, local residents emphasized their protection of montane forests for watershed protection.