Economic Assessment of Selected Regulatory Ecosystem Services (RES) in the Elgeyo and Nyambene Watersheds Ecosystems in Kenya ()
ABSTRACT
Evidence of increased valuation
of ecosystem services (ES) globally is significant. However, most of these
studies focus on marketed subsets of ES at national and international levels.
Ecosystems differ in spatial scale, biophysical and ecological structure, and
functionality. This requires conducting studies at the local level to
understand how, for example, the watershed ecosystem contributes to humanity
locally and nationally. This study focuses on selected regulatory ecosystem
services (RES) in Kenya’s catchment area ecosystems (Elgeyo and
Nyambene). Field-based sampling and Landsat imagery with secondary information
were used to generate biophysical and ecological data. The study used market
price-based, cost-based, and unit transfer methods for RES valuation. The study
estimates the total value of the six selected regulatory ecosystem services
(RES) at KES 41.4 billion (US$386.7 million) and KES 14.73 billion (US$137.71
million) for Elgeyo and Nyambene, respectively. This equates to KES 1.64
million (US$15,331.19) and KES 2.72 million (US$25,375) per hectare per year.
Extrapolating the study estimates to the national level, the country’s regulatory ecosystem
services would range from US$18.4 billion to US$30.45 billion annually. This
equates to between 16.7% and 27.7% of Kenya’s GDP in 2021, underscoring
the importance of watersheds to the national economy.
Share and Cite:
Eregae, J. , Njogu, P. , Karanja, R. and Gichua, M. (2023) Economic Assessment of Selected Regulatory Ecosystem Services (RES) in the Elgeyo and Nyambene Watersheds Ecosystems in Kenya.
Open Journal of Forestry,
13, 200-224. doi:
10.4236/ojf.2023.132013.
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