To support improved rangeland resource management and monitoring for nomadic pastoralists in northern Kenya, we used a task-based mobile application to incentivize pastoralists provide more than 100,000 surveys containing information on local rangeland, water and livestock resources. In this contribution we explore the potential of combining this information with remote sensing data for improved characterization of rangeland resource use and accessibility through integration of local socio-ecological knowledge into land cover mapping methods.

In January 2018, the Rangelands Association of Kenya and ILRI partnered to host the Rangeland Communities Exchange Conference. ILRI’s support to the conference was undertaken through the 'Restoration of degraded land for food security and poverty reduction in East Africa and the Sahel: Taking successes in land restoration to scale' project. The conference facilitated community-to-community exchange of knowledge on rangeland management practices and on the ways in which management and governance frameworks interact with these practices.

This paper explores the relationship between land cover change and albedo, recognized as a regulating ecosystems service. Trends and relationships between land cover change and surface albedo were quantified to characterise catchment water and carbon fluxes, through respectively evapotranspiration (ET) and net primary production (NPP). Moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat satellite data were used to describe trends at catchment and land cover change trajectory level. Peak season albedo was computed to reduce seasonal effects.

The adoption and adaptation of enclosures in the arid and semi-arid rangelands of sub-Saharan Africa is driven and
sustained by a combination of factors. However, reviews indicate that these factors cannot be generalized, as they
tend to be case specific. A study was therefore conducted to explore the history and reasons for enclosure establishment
in Chepareria, a formerly degraded communal rangeland in north-western Kenya. While Vi-Agroforestry Organization
accounting for 52.5 % was the main source of knowledge on enclosure establishment; it has now emerged

The problem of vegetation degradation in Kenya's semi-arid areas must be addressed, if these areas are to support the increasing human and livestock population. However, efforts to rcvcgctatc denuded rangelands will be beneficial only if the right species and cultural practices arc employed.