Poverty and Ecosystems: Prototype assessment and reporting method – Kenya case study

The report applies a prototype framework to Kenya, finding a simultaneous decline in biodiversity and human well-being. It identifies land-use change, resource consumption, demographics, and economics as primary drivers of ecosystem change. While Kenya's PRSP addresses several social opportunities, it is found to be less effective in addressing demographic drivers and lacks a concrete implementation strategy for environmental regulations.

• Biodiversity and ecosystem services in Kenya are in a state of decline across almost all eco-regions, with 551 of 6,400 known species designated as at risk, vulnerable, threatened, or endangered.
• Provisioning and regulating ecosystem services are declining; specifically, 93 per cent of land is degraded, and yields for cereals, cotton, and sisal were lower in 2003 than in 1992.
• Human well-being indicators show a general decline, with life expectancy dropping from 55.5 years in 1993 to 45.2 years in 2002, and adult literacy rates falling from 84.3 per cent in 2002 to 73.6 per cent in 2003.
• Kenya is increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters; of the 12 droughts recorded between 1964 and 2006, seven occurred from 1992 onwards.
• The four predominant drivers of ecosystem change in Kenya are local land-use and cover changes, harvest and resource consumption, demographics, and economics.
• Land-use changes are primarily driven by food and fibre provision, leading to deforestation and land conversion to agriculture in areas such as the Embu highlands and Tana Floodplains.
• The tourism sector, which accounts for approximately 19 per cent of GDP, negatively impacts the coast through the clearing of mangrove forests to build hotels.
• Kenya's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) focuses heavily on social opportunities (health, water, education) but provides little attention to participative freedom and lacks a specific implementation strategy for environmental legislation.
• The PRSP's mix of responses is judged to be most effective at controlling land-use, resource consumption, and economic drivers, but is less successful at addressing demographic drivers.

APA

Duraiappah, A. K., & Roy, M. (2007). Poverty and Ecosystems: Prototype assessment and reporting method – Kenya case study. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/poverty_eco.pdf

Chicago

Duraiappah, Anantha Kumar, and Marlene Roy. Poverty and Ecosystems: Prototype assessment and reporting method – Kenya case study. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2007. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/poverty_eco.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Duraiappah |first1=Anantha Kumar |last2=Roy |first2=Marlene |title=Poverty and Ecosystems: Prototype assessment and reporting method – Kenya case study |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=July 2007 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/poverty_eco.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{duraiappah2007poverty, author = {Duraiappah, Anantha Kumar and Roy, Marlene}, title = {{Poverty and Ecosystems: Prototype assessment and reporting method – Kenya case study}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2007}, month = jul, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/poverty_eco.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }