Last modified: 2016-04-28
Abstract
Climate change and a deteriorating environment is a key challenge to sustainability, bio-diversity, food security and stability across Africa. Pollution, deteriorating soil quality, desertification and poor air quality are threatening the lives and futures of all of the continent's people.According to previous studies, the impacts of climate change in Africa will be severe, and are already ongoing in many places. The 1992 Rio Earth Summit identified climate change and desertification, and the loss of biodiversity as the greatest challenges to sustainable development. UNCCD links environment and development to sustainable land management. UNCCD addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems are found. UNCCD strategy (2008-2018) adopted in 2007 aims at forging e a global partnership to reverse and prevent desertification and to mitigate the effects of drought in affected areas in order to support poverty reduction and environmental sustainability
Desertification is intensifying and spreading in Kenya, threatening millions of inhabitants’ and severely reducing productivity of the land due to a growing imbalance between population, resources, development and environment.
In pursuit of this goal this study will use GIS modeling and data available from the WorldClim Global Climate Data to map the desertification of arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya. This paper therefore seeks to analyze the impact of these factors on the arid areas of Kenya and propose mitigating measures and interventions to avert future occurrences using Geographic Information Systems. The impacts on the ecosystem support and the growing imbalance between population, resources, development, and environment has increased the vulnerability of the areas affected.Keywords
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