The effects of population pressure on the environment: an example of land use crisis of a Kenyan village

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Periodical article

Title:	The effects of population pressure on the environment: an example of land use crisis of a Kenyan village
Author:	Ngugi, George Njuguna
Year:	2002
Periodical:	Discovery and Innovation (ISSN 1015-079X)
Issue:	Special issue
Period:	April
Pages:	21-25
Language:	English
Notes:	biblio. refs., ills., maps
Geographic terms:	Kenya East Africa
Subjects:	environment fuelwood Environment, Ecology environmental degradation land use Demographic pressures
Abstract:	This paper presents an account of some aspects leading to environmental degradation in Kenya, by specifically looking at the land uses in a rural setting - Mai-ai-ihii village in Kiambu District, Kenya. The village is approximately 4.5 square km with about 200 persons per square km and 7 people per household. Land distribution displays an unequal pattern with 88.54 percent of households owning less than 4 acres. This makes it clear that there is serious land squeeze due to the competing land uses. The study reveals that 2.1 acres of land for fuelwood production and 2 acres of land for maize production are needed. Given the current average farm size of 3.1 acres in the study area, there is deficit of 1.0 acre; coupled with demographic pressure, this contributes to the environmental degradation. Bibliogr., sum. in English and French.