This project aims to document and quantify impacts of the (estimated 100-year event) 2009 drought, and use this to explore the implications of future climatic change and extreme events for wildlife and livelihoods in the Amboseli ecosystem, Kenya. The project will build on a unique data set to understand the ways in which rural livelihoods, natural resources and large carnivores are linked across the ecosystem. It will use this as a case study to develop a theoretical framework and explore a range of management options to help maintain livelihood security and ecosystem services through future extreme climatic events.
This research requires primary and secondary field data: (1) Oct 2010-Feb 2011: Coursework, training, literature review, research design (London) (2) March 2011: GIS Training (US) (3) Apr 2011-Jun 2011: Pilot study, radio collaring, trial surveys/questionnaires (Kenya) (4) July 2011-Sept 2011: Upgrading Mphil to PhD (London) (5) Oct 2011 - Dec 2012: Language training; main data collection (Kenya): (a) questionnaires/SSIs with communities (b) abundance surveys of target and prey spp (c) GIS mapping (d) collate pre-drought data (6) Jan 2013-Dec 2013: Complete analysis, write up thesis
This proposal addresses key LWEC areas including climate change impacts, mitigation/adaptation to manage extreme events better, so that human health, well-being, and a healthy natural environment are ensured through use of sustainable and socially acceptable environmental management approaches and technologies. The research is also designed to manage ecosystems for human well being and protect the natural environment as the environment changes. The data collected will help assess the links and feedbacks between the natural environment, ecosystem services and human well-being; how these might continue to develop within environmental limits in the face of major environmental change; and how decision-making and local and national planning can take account of these links and feedbacks to help in the development of new social, environmental and economic opportunities. Finally, in contributing to environmentally and socially sustainable mitigation of human/wildlife conflict HWC, and in helping conservation of predator species in the long term, this work will also help protect human, plant and animal health by contributing to predicting how dryland ecosystems change under extreme event scenarios, implications for different groups and potential management actions.
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