Geography Socio-political change and development interventions in Laikipia County, Kenya

This study addresses the geographies of development interventions in Kenya. In recognition of the need to improve the targeting of development interventions in terms of their type, location, and content - so that they more accurately complement the diverse ways that people make a living - the study analyses the spatial and temporal distribution of socially oriented development interventions based on the example of Laikipia County in the semi-arid region north-west of Mount Kenya. The interplay of continued population growth, climate variability, and change, increasing exploitation of natural resources and associated conflicts, and the exposure to dynamic market structures among others constrains rural actors’ livelihood options. As development interventions are also part of this socio-ecological-variability, the study references the spatial distribution of development interventions to varying socio-ecological contexts; and the time-varying role of state-mediated socio-political conditions in affecting the presence or absence of a range of development actors across different scales. An actor-oriented approach on regional development forms the core conceptual basis of the study. The approach is applied for an analysis at the regional level because it is at this scale the opportunities and constraints to development are the most visible. In this regard, the study attempts to show the extent to which the actions of development actors at different scales are related to spatially varying socio-ecological contexts, as well as to state mediated socio-political conditions. The study (1) reveals the wide disparities in socio-ecological contexts across Laikipia County; (2) contributes to an understanding of coupled human-environment systems by investigating land-use and land cover change as a reflection of both biophysical as well as socio-economic factors and their dynamic interaction in semi-arid lands; (3) identifies trends on the role of the state in mediating the development trajectories; and (4) explains how and why development interventions vary across space. The empirical findings contribute to an emergent science for dryland development and are expected to be of relevance for both development practitioners and policymakers. 

PhD Candidate: Paul Roden
Funding: Volkswagen Foundation
Project: Semi-arid areas in transition: Livelihood security, socio-ecological variability and the role of development interventions in East Africa
Duration: