Evance Ouya
Other projects
30 Jul 2018
Establishment of a Tree Nursery for Environmental Education and Community Awareness at Selected Degraded Sites in Narok County, Kenya
13 May 2020
Environmental Management through Tree Growing for Climate Change Mitigation as a Platform for Public Education and Community Outreach Programme in Narok County
Globally, it is estimated that 2.5 billion people use biomass such as wood fuel and dung for cooking. This number is projected to increase to at least 2.7 billion by 2030 due to a growing human population (Adria & Bethge 2013). This shows that the over-reliance on biomass energy is one of the major causes of environmental degradation and a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The situation in Narok County is not any dissimilar. Justifiably, as proposed in this project phase, our efforts will focus on reducing overreliance on fuelwood. This resonates with other efforts across the region that are developing more efficient and clean energy technologies to reduce Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to mitigate climate change and its adverse effects.
Through this project, we desire to upscale and incorporate lessons learned from the previous two Rufford Grants and purpose to embark on Education for Sustainable Development efforts through training the public on climate action and solutions to address present and emerging challenges that erode gains made from various regional and global conservation goals. In so doing, we plan to increase our tree-growing efforts and establish an alternative source of energy to drastically reduce overreliance on fuelwood that leads to illegal logging of natural forests, a major cause of climatic change related catastrophes in the Narok and Mara River basin socio-ecological landscapes.
Training of Maasai Mara University members of wildlife and environmental club on tree nursery establishment. © Ouya, 2024.
Manoa et al. (2017) concluded that simple designs of energy-saving stoves reduce the time used for cooking, save energy and wood fuel used per session and reduce carbon emissions. Therefore, our efforts to use and promote uptake of energy-saving cookstoves and charcoal briquettes will support conservation efforts and mitigate climate change that has already affected global biodiversity by altering reproductive cycles, growing seasons, and ways in which species interact (OECD/IEA 2006). Notwithstanding, we believe energy-saving cookstoves will be produced at a low cost, hence providing a cost-effective solution to the locals, speeding up our environmental protection efforts, and improving livelihoods.
JS Ole Naeku Primary School students pose for a photo with our project team prior to tree planting session. © Ouya, 2024.
Lastly, the initiative of establishing energy-saving cookstoves and charcoal briquettes as opposed to overreliance on fuelwood would significantly achieve SDG 1 (No poverty); SDG 3 (Good health and wellbeing); SDG 4 (Quality Education); SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth) among the locals in Narok County. This is because, among the locals in Narok County, children contribute to family labor such as firewood fetching where labor-saving technologies such as energy-saving stoves are not in place (IFAD, 2006).
Header: tree planting session at JS Ole Naeku Primary School. The students and members of the community fully participated in training on Climate Action, and thereafter, tree planting. © Ouya, 2024.