Biodiversity Conservation of Forests: The Contribution of Indigenous Communities

Abstract

Excessive exploitation of the planet's resources has led to rapid environmental degradation, reinforcing the need for biodiversity to become a central aspect of public policy. Indigenous communities’ contributions in safeguarding biodiversity have received growing recognition amidst increasing biodiversity loss. Human activities such as agricultural encroachment, illegal logging and deforestation, have put Mau Forest, in Kenya, under chronic jeopardy yet it is an important water catchment area. This is a study of how Ogiek indigenous people's traditional knowledge and creativity plays an instrumental role in conservation of Mau Forest biodiversity. The study used a cross-sectional design and integrated both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. A total of 235 members of Ogiek community were selected by a statistical formula, and 13 key informants were selected using purposive sampling. The results show a statistically significant positive relationship between the indigenous community's contributions and biodiversity conservation, with the Ogiek’s indigenous ecological practices exerting a significant influence on the health of the Mau Forest ecosystem The regression analysis conducted to assess the relationship between Ogiek practices and biodiversity conservation shows that all independent variables, including Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), Shifting Cultivation, Cultural Practices, Oral Literature, and Apiculture, have a statistically significant positive influence on the dependent variable, biodiversity conservation. Therefore, it appears that Ogiek practices as a whole play a role in maintaining and enhancing biodiversity in the Mau Forest Complex. The data had a highly significant F-statistic (934.741, p < 0.001) and an R-squared value of 0.953, indicating that the model can explain a substantial proportion of variation in biodiversity, concluding that while Ogiek traditional ingenious practices are of little value when contrasted with modern conservation strategies, there is a need to integrate them in modern conservation strategies for long term biodiversity conservation of the Mau Forest. It suggests a collaborative approach, involving Kenyan government, conservation organizations, and the Ogiek community, to evolve conservation policies inclusive of indigenous knowledge and contribute to forest protection.