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GIS in support of participatory land use planning in the Districts Keiyo & Marakwet, Kenya Land use planning: a first step to combat land degradation Beginning in July 2000 SARDEP 1 facilitated a participatory land use planning process in the districts of Keiyo and Marakwet (SAREP Keiyo/Marakwet, 2000). The participatory process was adapted to ensure the community takes a central role in the development of land use plans hence enhancing ownership and responsibility of the plans (FAO/UNEP 1992, 1993,1997, 1999; Schonhuth and Kievelitz, 1993). Communities living in the six agro-ecological zones, called transect areas 2 , were invited to come together to analyse their physical environment, identify the natural resources on which they depend and develop plans for using these resources in a fair and sustainable way for the present and future generations. Once a community has developed and agreed on its land use plan, it elects a committee to coordinate these activities in the future. These committees, known as Community Based Natural Resource Management Committees (CBNRM) are now functional in most sub-locations. The CBNRM committees are responsible for coordinating activities of different groups within the sub-location to ensure that they adhere to the land use plan. They may also undertake activities themselves aimed at protecting the environment 
1 1 SARDEP, the Semi-Arid Rural Development Programme, is implemented by SNV Kenya (Netherlands Development Organization) under a bi-lateral agreement between the Government of Kenya and the donor, the Government of the Netherlands. SARDEP operates through three decentralized sub-programmes in the districts of Kajiado, Keiyo & Marakwet and Laikipia. The programme contributes investment funds and where explicitly required, technical assistance to facilitate the implementation of community managed development processes and activities. 2 Transect areas are geographic concentration areas in which SARDEP works. Transects are zones within which people share resources particularly water. All transects contain a strip of highland, escarpment and valley. Since land use upstream impacts on the livelihoods of the people down stream SARDEP has facilitated the establishment of NGOs in these transects. One of the most important roles of these NGOs is to facilitate consultations on land use between the communities in a Transect. |