Browsing by Author "Chiawo, David"
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- ItemAvian frugivore and pollinator composition in changing land use systemsChiawo, David; Kombe, Wellington; Craig, AdrianBiodiversity conservation calls for identification of biodiversity hotspots where exceptional concentrations of endemic species are undergoing continuous loss of their habitats. Degradation of tropical forests due to land use have resulted in loss wildlife life and associated ecosystem services. Although Arabuko - sokoke forest is a protected area, the neighbouring landscapes are undergoing anthropogenic modifications which could subject it to a mere conservation “island”. It is a biodiversity hotspot and one of the Kenya’s 60 important bird areas. However, little information is available on effects of land use on different bird guilds and those that offer important ecosystem services in the area. Bird community, vegetation structure and land use characteristi cs were studied in one primary forest (Arabuko Sokoke forest), one plantation forest and surrounding agricultural farmlands. The study aimed to assess the effects of land use on diversity and abundance of bird frugivores and flower visitors. A total of 81 point counts distributed equally and randomly over the 3 habitat types were surveyed once per month from May 2012 to September 2013. Total bird individuals recorded by sighting and calls formed the abundance at each point count. Bird Species diversity will be measured by Shannon - Wiener Index. ANOVA, regression and multivariate analysis will be performed to determine the response of different bird guilds to different land use systems. The findings are expected to provide a baseline data that would inform dec isions on ecosystem management and land use planning for conservation management of bird communities in the area
- ItemFluctuating tourism patterns : SME’s adaptive strategies in Nairobi(Strathmore University, 2014) Njamiu, Daisy; Chiawo, DavidTourism seasonality has been well reviewed in available literature. However, research on effects of seasonality on Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has been limited, especially in East Africa. This study sought to investigate on fluctuating tourism patterns and possible effects on tourism SMEs in Nairobi area. We examined coping strategies applied by SMEs to the fluctuating patterns. We analysesd primary data from 80 SMEs and additional cases from available database. Tourism off-peaks showed significant impact on tourism SMEs with near 100% of surveyed groups indicating significant effect. Among the strategies applied to cope with the tourism fluctuating patterns included; cooperation with other SMEs, marketing, promotions and discounts. Product diversification and innovations appeared to be major coping strategies with significant socio-economic returns among SMEs. Despite the need for such adaptive strategies, some SMEs had none in place and had limited consciousness to such fluctuating tourism patterns with negative economic impacts to their businesses. There is need for intervention of major tourism stakeholders including, Government, established tourism enterprises, tourism product developers and marketing agencies to improve innovation and entrepreneurship among the small holder tourism businesses. Having a wide range of strategies to deal with the effects of tourism seasonality showed viable economic gains and competitive advantage.