| dc.description.abstract | Environmental degradation and loss of resources that requires conservation is a pressing
developmental issue. The scope of study Public participation is emphasized as a factor by
Public participation bill 2018 and remains a critical determinant in environmental
conservation in Kakamega County to safeguard the environment against further
degradation The overall objective of the study was to evaluate the contribution of public
participation in environmental conservation .The specific objectives of the study were (i)
to Determine the individual household’s participation in environmental conservation in
Kakamega County; (ii) to Examine the influence of governmental and non-governmental
actors on public participation in environmental conservation in the County and (iii) to
Evaluate strategies in public participation, influence in environmental Conservation.
Corresponding research questions were developed to guide the study. The literature
reviewed revealed key gaps in that little had been done by way of evaluating public
participation in conservation. Key theories and models reviewed, Hardins ‘Tragedy of
commons”, “Primary Environmental Care” and the “Ladder of Citizen Participation”
selected to underpin the research. The study design was descriptive and evaluation survey;
with inferential aspects to evaluate how independent and dependent variables affected
public participation in conservation. Three sub counties were selected as study area. Data
were collected using random, probabilistic sampling techniques, quantitative and
qualitative tools, namely questionnaire, KII Interview Guides, FGD Guide and Direct
Observation Guide. The sample size was 384 households responded, the sampling strategy
was clustered/multistage, employing both purposive and non-purposive techniques.
Ethical issues were observed, by the lead researcher and research assistants. Descriptive
statistics were generated using SPSS v20, and a 3-point public participation ranking score
to measure the level of participation, based on the model provided in literature. The first
objective found that livelihood factors of individual households result in a low level (30%)
of the public participation, which points out to a 10% degree of contribution; the second
objective pointed out that governmental actors influence public participation at a 20%
level; and that non-governmental actors influence the public to participate at a 10% level,
translating to a 30% contribution.. The third objective’s findings were that a strong
political will at all levels and a congenial economic environment is necessary to effect
measures to mitigate environmental degradation. The correlation between the level of
education and knowledge of any environmental committees in the community was
significant at (R=0.147; P=0.5) indicating a high correlation of level of education and
environmental committees and initiatives. the Pearson moments correlation between
personal initiatives to protect rivers and forests and perception on importance of
environmental committees in Kakamega county was high at (R= 0.101; P=0.5). The
findings reveal that the process of interaction between service providers or project
implementers and the community with the aim of improving decision making during the
planning, design, implementation and evaluation phases of the project is key to
environmental conservation. The study recommends that constant monitoring and regular
evaluation of all stakeholder participation be legislated, adopted and implemented. | en_US |
