Socio-economic and Biophysical Characteristics of the Tana Delta,Kenya

This is original work carried out by the three scientists while working in the Lower Tana Delta Areas of Coast, Kenya. The inventory of natural resources and baseline studies of ecological, social and economic parameters in the Lower Tana Delta was carried out with an aim of documenting the current status of natural resources in the area. It places interested local communities at the centre of good, environmentally sound management of their biological resources in keeping with current national and international changes. The study was carried out in two parts namely, socio-economic and biophysical components. This was done to allow for detailed analysis of each of the components. The socio-economic component was undertaken using a range of participatory tools mainly participatory rural appraisal (PRA), Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) and Participatory Learning and Action Research (PLAR). The biophysical component employed methodologies ranging from, transects, quadrants, stratified sampling, observations, base maps, literature review and interviews. The information is of relevance to researcher studying the unique features of this important and largest Delta in Kenya.