Abstract:
Transportation infrastructure play key role in movement of goods and services
within and between countries, contributing to economic and social growth. Kenya,
with support from the Chinese government, is currently constructing a standard
gauge railway (SGR) to support the country’s Vision 2030 development agenda.
Although the actual land area affected by the SGR cover only a small proportion along
the corridor, a significant proportion of the area supports ecologically fragile and
important ecosystems in the country. The aim of this paper was to broadly identify
the actual ecological impacts of the SGR vis à vis the perceptions of stakeholders
and to support ecologically sensitive design of linear infrastructure. Qualitative
data was collected through 24 group interviews and meetings comprising over
40 key informants in 14 sites along the Mombasa to Narok sector of the SGR.
Qualitative content analysis methods using the Qualitative Data Analysis Miner
Lite (QDA) software were applied to code and categorize qualitative data. ArcGIS
10.4 was used to spatially map the SGR, key ecosystems and protected areas. Four
dominant themes emerged: 1) ecosystem degradation; 2) ecosystem fragmentation;
3) ecosystem destruction; and 4) impacts of climate change. Ecosystem degradation
was the most commonly cited impact while ecosystem destruction was of the
least concern. Climate change issues mainly related to current shifts in climatic
conditions, loss of forest cover and drying up of rivers and streams and concerns
about their future changes. Our results show that the SGR affected key ecosystems
in the country and noted the asynchrony between impact mitigation, construction
and operations, and stakeholder views. The paper presents a conceptual model
that highlights how ecologically sensitive project design and implementation can
be better undertaken for mega linear infrastructure. Therefore, we recommend
that project proponents develop sustainable and ecologically sensitive measures to
mitigate the impacts.
