Interconnection Between Ecosystem Services and Local Communities: Knowledge Gap Identification in the Area of Kakamega Forest

Abstract

The potential for accelerate loss of ecosystem services exists when the livelihood of the rural poor is heavily reliant on local ecosystems. For an improvement in livelihood of the rural poor there is need for assessment of key elements of the livelihood framework. This is especially important to Kakamega forest, the last remaining tropical rainforest in Kenya. This paper is a comprehensive literature review aimed at identifyed the research gaps in the area of the relationships between local communities and Kakamega forest ecosystem services. We derived the 42 case studies using ROSES framework and used descriptive statistics to analysis the data set. 93% of the case studies analyse provisional ecosystem, 83% cultural, 55% regulating and 31% supporting ecosystem. We identified r research gaps in our interest area. Most used research methodology is the participatory rural methods which involved interviews, key informant interviews, and focus group discussion. The identified research gaps will enable us to develop tools that can be used to assess the livelihood improvement of local forest communities in Kakamega. The comprehensive review is also useful for planning the research in other parts of Kenya and beyond, in order to improve livelihoods of local forest communities.