Forestry provisioning ecosystem services extraction by forest adjacent communities-evidence from Chyulu hills forest, Makueni county, Kenya

Abstract

A study was carried out to examine the types of forest provisioning ecosystem services (FPES) extracted from Chyulu Hills Forest by small holder farmers living in the forest adjacent area. Using a Survey Research Design, the study area was stratified into two sites to enable a comparative analysis approach. This was on the basis of ease of access to the forest. Thus, Mangelete sub-location which lies adjacent the part of the forest with an electric fence and Kiu sub-location on the section of the forest without a fence were chosen. An interview schedule having closed, and open-ended questions was used to gather information on extraction of FPES from the respondents. Results indicated that Chyulu hills forest is important in providing11 types of FPES namely; khat, firewood, charcoal, medicinal plants, poles and posts, timber, game meat, wild fruits, fodder, carving wood and honey.