COMMUNAL LAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND CONFLICTS IN SAMBURU COUNTY, KENYA
COMMUNAL LAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND CONFLICTS IN SAMBURU COUNTY, KENYA
Haithar Taquyudin Abdi - Master of Arts in Public Policy and Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
Dr. Edna J. Moi - Department of Public Policy and Administration, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
In Samburu County, where pastoralism serves as the primary livelihood, communal land is essential for sustaining local communities. However, conflicts frequently arise over access to grazing land, water resources, and territorial boundaries, leading to loss of life, displacement, and significant economic disruption. These conflicts undermine social cohesion and hinder development in the region, highlighting the critical need for effective land management practices. Therefore, this study sought to assess communal land management practices and their relationship with inter-communal conflict in Samburu County, Kenya. The specific objectives include assessing the effect of communal land tenure systems, evaluating communal grazing management practices, determining the influence of communal land-use planning, and examining local governance structures on inter-communal conflict. The study adopted Common Pool Resources and Conflict Theory and used a descriptive research design to collect and analyze data. The target population consisted 370 respondents, and a sample size of 142. Stratified random sampling was be used. Data collection employed semi-structured questionnaires and interview guides, and was analyzed using SPSS to generate descriptive and inferential statistics. Analysis results reveal that communal conflict in Samburu County is primarily driven by competition over vital grazing resources, exacerbated by governance systems that lack community trust and transparency. Specifically, grazing management had the strongest positive predictive effect on conflict, land tenure had a weak positive and statistically significant effect while the effect of local governance was positive but only marginally significant. The study recommends that grazing management plans be formalized, well communicated and enforced by local land management committees, for tenure systems to be strengthened to ensure they are more equitable, locally-owned, and transparent, and for laws to protect land rights for women. Additionally, the study recommends for more efforts to communicate and make community members more aware of grazing practices, land use and tenure policies through community-led awareness campaigns. These should be hyper-localized and address the community’s unique needs.
