0 Restoring rangelands for nutrition and health for humans and livestock - New Research Project

 

Drylands Transform is the new interdisciplinary research project starting up in the border region between Uganda and Kenya. The research team –coordinated by SLU – wants to modify the ongoing negative spiral of land, livestock and livelihood degradation into a positive transformation. The project aims to contribute to several of the United Nations global sustainable development goals.

Drylands cover 40% of the global land area and hosts 2 billion people of which 90% live in low- or middle-income countries. Drylands often face severe land degradation, low agricultural productivity, rapid population growth, widespread poverty and poor health. Livestock-based livelihoods, largely depending on seasonal migration are the norm.

Vulnerable to climate change

People and land are highly vulnerable to climate change, while there are also changes in land tenure, insecurity/conflicts and rapid infrastructure growth. Governance structures and institutions are often eroded.

In Drylands Transform we will investigate the links between land health, livestock-based livelihoods, human well-being, and land management and governance. We will contribute with new knowledge for transformative change and sustainable development of rangelands in the drylands of East Africa.

Stakeholder engagement

Through strong stakeholder engagement in interdisciplinary research, we set out to explore the challenges and pathways towards a social-ecological transformation in drylands that optimizes synergies among the sustainable development goals (SDGs) while minimizing the trade-offs. We will use innovative field research approaches focusing on livelihood improvement through rangeland restoration and governance interventions in some counties in the border region between Kenya and Uganda.

Sustainable development goals

The entry point of Drylands Transform is the urgent need to identify and enhance synergies between food and nutrition security (sustainable development goal, SDG, 2), land and ecosystem health (SDG15) and peaceful and inclusive societies (SDG16) for sustainable dryland development, while minimizing trade-offs between agricultural productivity (SDG2), natural resources management (SDG15) and climate change (SDG13). Interactions between the above SDGs and good health and well-being (SDG 3), gender equality (SDG 5) and access to clean water and sanitation (SDG6) will also be analysed.

For more information, please contact 

Professor Ingrid Öborn
Department of Crop Production Ecology, SLU 
ingrid.oborn@slu.se

Ylva Nyberg
Department of Soil and Environment, SLU 
ylva.nyberg@slu.se

More SLU researchers in the project

Aida Bargués Tobella, Department of Forest Ecology and Management
Ewa Wredle, Department of Animal Nutrition and Management
Gert Nyberg, Department of Forest Ecology and Management
Göran Bostedt, Department of Forest Economics

Researchers from other universities/organisations in the project 

Per Knutsson - School of Global Studies, Gothenburg University
Barbara Schumann - Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University
Agneta Hörnell - Department of Food, Nutrition and Culinary Science, Umeå University
Kristina Lindvall – Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University
Stephen Mureithi - Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology (LARMAT), University of Nairobi, Kenya
Denis Mpairwe – Department of Agricultural Production, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Alice Turinawe - Department of Agribusiness and Natural Resource Economics, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Dereje Wakjira – Resilience and Pastoralism, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Nairobi, Kenya
Leigh Winowiecki – Land Health Decisions, World Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya
Tor-Gunnar Vågen – GeoScience lab, World Agroforestry (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya

Drylands Transform 2020-2024

In Drylands Transform we will:

• Assess land health at the landscape scale and explore the links with human health and well-being
• Co-develop sustainable rangeland management options with local communities, and set-up knowledge sharing hubs (‘livestock cafés’)
• Study impacts of seasonality and climate variability on food and livelihood strategies, well-being and resilience.
• Identify innovative land governance mechanisms and practices that effectively address livestock-keepers’ dependence on both flexible and secure rights to land.
• Co-design and evaluate alternative scenarios for sustainable dryland transformation in East Africa with local and regional stakeholder groups.

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) is leading the multidisciplinary team with researchers from Umeå University, Gothenburg University, University of Nairobi, Makerere University, World Agroforestry (ICRAF) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

This research project is funded by the Swedish Research Council, Formas, 2020-2024.

PUBLISHED: 02 DECEMBER 2020

0 Tracking Sources and Fate of Groundwater Nitrate in Kisumu City and Kano Plains, Kenya

Spatial distribution of the groundwater sampling points

Groundwater nitrate (NO₃⁻) pollution sources and in situ attenuation were investigated in Kisumu city and Kano plains. Samples from 62 groundwater wells consisting of shallow wells (hand dug, depth <10 m) and boreholes (machine drilled, depth >15 m) were obtained during wet (May–July 2017) and dry (February 2018) seasons and analyzed for physicochemical and isotopic (δ¹⁵N-NO₃⁻, δ¹⁸O-NO₃⁻, and δ¹¹B) parameters. Groundwater NO₃⁻ concentrations ranged from <0.04 to 90.6 mg L⁻¹. Boreholes in Ahero town showed significantly higher NO₃⁻ (20.0–70.0 mg L⁻¹) than boreholes in the Kano plains (<10.0 mg L⁻¹). Shallow wells in Kisumu gave significantly higher NO₃⁻ (11.4–90.6 mg L⁻¹) than those in the Kano plains (<10.0 mg L⁻¹). About 63% of the boreholes and 75% of the shallow wells exceeded the drinking water WHO threshold for NO₃⁻ and NO₂⁻ (nitrite) during the study period. Mean δ¹⁵N-NO₃⁻ values of 14.8‰ ± 7.0‰ and 20.7‰ ± 11.1‰, and δ¹⁸O-NO₃⁻ values of 10.2‰ ± 5.2‰ and 13.2‰ ± 6.0‰ in wet and dry seasons, respectively, indicated manure and/or sewage as main sources of groundwater NO₃⁻. However, a concurrent enrichment of δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O was observed, especially in the dry season, with a corresponding NO₃⁻ decrease, indicating in situ denitrification. In addition, partial nitrification of mostly sewage derived NH₄⁺ appeared to be responsible for increased NO₂⁻ concentrations observed in the dry season. Specifically, targeted δ¹¹B data indicated that sewage was the main source of groundwater NO₃⁻ pollution in shallow wells within Kisumu informal settlements, boreholes in Ahero, and public institutions in populated neighborhoods of Kano; while manure was the main source of NO₃⁻ in boreholes and shallow wells in the Kano and planned estates around Kisumu. Waste-water sanitation systems in the region should be urgently improved to avoid further deterioration of groundwater sources. View Full-Text or the Abstract

Keywords: Kenya; Kisumu; groundwater; nitrate; hydrochemistry; denitrification