Unraveling complexity: Understanding the land-water-food nexus in Elgeyo-Marakwet, north-west Kenya

肯尼亚西北部埃尔格约-马拉克维特的社区居住在温带的切尔兰加尼山脉和干旱的凯里奥谷的生态连续体上。它们严重依赖于土地-水-食物的关系，提供了一个经过充分研究的例子，说明了在过去200年中面对多种环境变化时的韧性(Davies和Moore 2016)。早些时候，PI、COI和团队的研究重点是：通过用于农业和家庭目的的已建水道网络管理水；通过复杂的保有权和休耕模式对农业土壤进行复杂的管理；对包括各种本土和进口作物在内的植物资源的管理；以及具有水力功能和作为收集的药品和食品储备的森林的重要性。然而，最近的工作表明，人们越来越担心新的生态变化的影响，包括对气候变化的普遍担忧，以及转向水密集型单一种植、引进新作物和安装管道灌溉，这加剧了获得水资源的不平等。虽然后几种变化旨在帮助缓解粮食不安全，但研究表明，它们可能产生了相反的效果，加剧了土壤退化，引入了陌生的杂草和作物疾病，并给现有水源带来了压力。与此相关的是对传统自然资源管理的丧失、具有文化价值的生物多样性的丧失以及对粮食安全的影响的关切。雪上加霜的是，切尔兰加尼森林集水区内的土地利用发生了变化，特别是由于农业和牧业活动的增加而砍伐森林。这引起了人们对化肥径流、土地退化、生物多样性丧失以及整个旱地-山谷生态连续体的水质和水量下降的担忧。当地社区和县政府迫切希望了解这些新挑战的影响并制定切实可行的解决方案。我们的重点是理清切兰加尼森林保护区和半干旱的克里奥河谷之间复杂和相互依存的土地-水-粮食关系。利用人种学、访谈、植物学调查、航空摄影、地理信息系统测绘和建立现有的协作优势，我们将沿着两个轴心实现这些目标：1.森林管理和2.农业。我们将整理、审查和扩展现有的数据，以了解土地-水-食物之间的关系，以及与历史和未来潜在的环境变化的关系。我们还将审查关于区域气候变化的现有文献，并整理当地气象站数据，以实际了解这些关键轴线(森林和农业)如何应对气候波动。对气候造成的潜在影响进行更高分辨率的分析似乎特别重要，因为目前对东非的预测在空间上是不同的，而且往往不确定。为了为实际政策制定提供本地化和扎实的知识，我们将与埃尔格约-马拉克韦特县议会、附近的埃尔多雷特大学(UOE)、马拉克韦特研究站(MRS)、东非英国研究所(BIEA)、肯尼亚国家博物馆(NMK)和肯尼亚林业局(KFS)合作，将研究成果直接纳入新的县级环境和保护规划。我们已经与县官员举行了初步会议，并与UOE和夫人建立了谅解备忘录。这项工作将推进发展当地研究能力的长期目标，鼓励适当的资源管理，并通过聚集专家、公民社会和政策制定者来设计跟踪和应对新出现的气候变化和其他生态影响的政策框架。风景、时间和文化韧性。东非研究杂志10：67-87

The communities of Elgeyo-Marakwet, northwest Kenya reside across the ecological continuum of the temperate Cherangany Hills and arid Kerio Valley. Heavily reliant on the land-water-food nexus, they offer a well-studied example of resilience in the face of multiple environmental changes over the last 200 years (Davies and Moore 2016). Earlier research by the PI, CoI and team has focused on management of water through a network of built water channels used for agricultural and domestic purposes; the sophisticated management of agricultural soils through complex patterns of tenure and fallowing; management of botanic resources including diverse indigenous and imported crops; and the importance of forests which serve hydraulic functions and as reserves of gathered medicines and foodstuffs.However, recent work indicates growing apprehension of the impact of new ecological changes, including general concerns over climate change, as well as a shift towards water-intensive mono-cropping, the introduction of new crops, and the installation of piped-irrigation which is exacerbating unequal access to water resources. While these latter changes were meant to help mitigate food insecurity, research suggest that they may have had the opposite effect by increasing soil degradation, introducing unfamiliar weeds and crop diseases, and placing pressure on existing water sources. Related to this are concerns about the loss of traditional natural resource management, the loss of culturally valuable biodiversity, and the implications for food security. Compounding these tensions are land-use changes within the Cherangany Forest catchment, especially deforestation resulting from increased agricultural and pastoral activities. This has raised concerns of fertilizer runoff, land degradation, biodiversity loss, and decreased water quality and quantity across the upland-valley ecological continuum. There is pressing interest among local communities and the County government, to understand the implications of these new challenges and develop practical solutions. We focus on disentangling the complex and interdependent land-water-food nexus across the Cherangany Forest reserve and the semi-arid Kerio Valley. Using ethnography, interviews, botanic survey, aerial photography, GIS mapping and building on existing collaborative strengths, we will effect these aims along two axes: 1. Forest Management and 2. Agriculture. We will collate, review and extend existing data to understand the land-water-food nexus in relation to both historic and potential future environmental changes. We will also examine existing literature on regional climatic change and collate local weather station data to produce a practical understanding of how these key axes (forests and agriculture) have and may respond to climatic fluctuation. Production of more highly resolved analyses of potential climate induced impacts seems especially important since current predictions for Eastern Africa are spatially heterogeneous and often of low certainty. To produce localized and grounded knowledge for practical policy making we will partner with Elgeyo-Marakwet County Council, nearby Eldoret University (UOE), the Marakwet Research Station (MRS), British Institute in Eastern Africa (BIEA), National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and Kenya Forestry Service (KFS) to produce research to be directly incorporated into new county-level environmental and conservation planning. We have undertaken preliminary meetings with County officials and established MOU's with UOE and MRS. This work will advance longer-term goals of developing local research capacity, encouraging appropriate resource management, and devising policy frameworks that track and address emerging climate change and other ecological impacts by bringing together experts, civil society, and policy makers.Davies, M.I.J and Moore, H.L. 2016. Landscape, time and cultural resilience. Journal of Eastern African Studies 10:67-87