Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Wildlife Corridors and Migratory Species: A Case of Nairobi National Park – Kitengela – Athi Kaputei Plains

Elizabeth Maende; Nathan Agutu

doi:10.37284/ajccrs.4.2.3850

Elizabeth Maende Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
Nathan Agutu, PhD Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37284/ajccrs.4.2.3850

Keywords: Wildlife corridor, Migration, Climate change, Habitat fragmentation, Species

Share Article:

Abstract

Wildlife corridors are crucial ecological linkages that facilitate the movement of species between fragmented habitats, enabling access to forage and water, gene flow, seasonal migration, and overall resilience of the ecosystem. Climate change has impacted wildlife corridors and migratory species in many ways. Invasion by exotic species, loss of habitat, dramatic shifts in physical and atmospheric conditions, climate events, natural disasters, and high prevalence of wildlife diseases are a few results of climate change. This research seeks to assess the impact of climate change on the Nairobi National Park – Kitengela – Athi-Kaputei wildlife corridor and the migratory species. The study captured a period of 30 years (1994 to 2024). The researchers examined the extent to which climate variables (rainfall and temperature) have shifted over a period of 30 years, and their impact on the wildlife corridor and migratory species. The researchers acquired satellite images for the years 1994, 2004, 2014 and 2024, respectively. The images were processed using Erdas Imagine, and maps were prepared by ArcGIS. The analysis employed the use of indices such as the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and rainfall density maps. The findings of the study were that the average temperature increased from 19.00C in 1994 to 20.00C in 2024. The average annual rainfall decreased from 89.58ml in the year 1994 to 62.76ml in the year 2004. Rainfall average further reduced to 59.02ml in 2014. In 2024, the average annual rainfall took an unexpected turn, defying the pattern by rising to 87.86ml. On the other hand, the annual average temperatures are constantly rising. The results present shifting and unpredictable climatic conditions. This study provides recommendations on future conservation plans, including strategic management actions to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change on the wildlife corridor and migratory species.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Anon. n.d. “YAP 69 - Conservation Biology - 2009 - MAWDSLEY - A Review of Climate‐Change Adaptation Strategies for Wildlife Management.Pdf.”

Boone, Christopher G., Geoffrey L. Buckley, J. Morgan Grove, and Chona Sister. 2009. “Parks and People: An Environmental Justice Inquiry in Baltimore, Maryland.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 99(4):767–87. doi: 10.1080/00045600903102949.

Calvin, Katherine, Dipak Dasgupta, Gerhard Krinner, Aditi Mukherji, Peter W. Thorne, 2023. IPCC, 2023: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (Eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland.

Copeland, Tauschia. 1995. “Habitat Corridor.” 1–4.

Dingle, Hugh, and V. Alistair Drake. 2007. “What Is Migration?” BioScience 57(2):113–21. doi: 10.1641/B570206.

Gichohi, Helen Wanjiru. 1996. “The Ecology Of A Truncated Ecosystem The Athi-Kapiti Plains.” University of Leicester.

Hoang, Nguyen Tien, Pham Van Huynh, and Katsuaki Koike. n.d. “Delineating Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Using Analytic Hierarchy Process ( AHP ) and GIS : A Case Study in Thua Thien Hue Province, Central Vietnam.” (1):1–11.

Imbahale, Susan Sangilu, John Maina Githaiga, Robert Mutugi Chira, and Mohammed Yahya Said. 2008a. “Resource Utilization by Large Migratory Herbivores of the Athi-Kapiti Ecosystem.” African Journal of Ecology 46(SUPPL. 1):43–51. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2008.00928.x.

Imbahale, Susan Sangilu, John Maina Githaiga, Robert Mutugi Chira, and Mohammed Yahya Said. 2008b. “Resource Utilization by Large Migratory Herbivores of the Athi-Kapiti Ecosystem.” African Journal of Ecology 46(SUPPL. 1):43–51. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2008.00928.x.

Lakhnarayan Kumar Bhagarathi, Phillip N. B. DaSilva, Gyanpriya Maharaj, Ferial Pestano, Chalasa Cossiah, Sushmita Kalika-Singh, and Rahaman Balkarran. 2024. “A Comprehensive Review on the Impact of Climate Change on the Ecology, Breeding Seasonality, Abundance and Distribution of Birds and Possible Approaches to Address and Conserve Bird Populations.” International Journal of Science and Technology Research Archive 6(2):021–044. doi: 10.53771/ijstra.2024.6.2.0040.

Lyam, Paul T., Joaquín Duque-Lazo, Frank Hauenschild, Jan Schnitzler, Alexandra N. Muellner-Riehl, Michelle Greve, Henry Ndangalasi, Annerine Myburgh, and Walter Durka. 2022. “Climate Change Will Disproportionally Affect the Most Genetically Diverse Lineages of a Widespread African Tree Species.” Scientific Reports 12(1):1–15. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-11182-z.

Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MENR); Directorate of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing (DRSRS); Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). 2017. WILDLIFE MIGRATORY CORRIDORS.

Ogutu, Joseph O., Norman Owen-Smith, Hans Peter Piepho, Mohammed Y. Said, Shem C. Kifugo, Robin S. Reid, Helen Gichohi, Paula Kahumbu, and Samule Andanje. 2013. “Changing Wildlife Populations in Nairobi National Park and Adjoining Athi-Kaputiei Plains: Collapse of the Migratory Wildebeest.” Open Conservation Biology Journal 7(1):11–26. doi: 10.2174/1874839201307010011.

Ogutu, Joseph O., Hans Peter Piepho, Mohamed Y. Said, Gordon O. Ojwang, Lucy W. Njino, Shem C. Kifugo, and Patrick W. Wargute. 2016. “Extreme Wildlife Declines and Concurrent Increase in Livestock Numbers in Kenya: What Are the Causes?” PLoS ONE 11(9). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163249.

Ojwang, Gordon O., Patrick W. Wargute, Mohammed Y. Said, Jeffrey Worden, Philip Muruthi, and Erustus Kanga. 2012. “Mapping Wildlife Dispersal Areas and Migratory Routes /Corridors.” Kenya Vision 2030 Flagship Project: "Securing Wildlife Migratory Routes and Corridors".

Prins, Carmel, Damodaran Sreekumar, and Veerasamy Sejian. 2025. “Climate Change and Wildlife Biodiversity: Impact and Mitigation Strategies.” Archives of Life Sciences Research 1(1):6–22. doi: 10.51585/alsr.2025.1.0003.

Quratulann, Sattar, Maqbool Muhammad Ehsan, Ehsan Rabia, and Akhtar Sana. 2021. “Review on Climate Change and Its Effect on Wildlife and Ecosystem.” Open Journal of Environmental Biology 6:008–014. doi: 10.17352/ojeb.000021.

Surasinghe, Thilina. 2010. “The Effects of Climate Change on Global Wildlife and Terrestrial Ecosystems.” Taprobanica 2(1):30–47. doi: 10.47605/tapro.v2i1.26.

Wandaka, John K. M., and Kabii M. Francis. 2019. “Analysis of Impacts of Land Use Changes in Kitengela Conservation Area on Migratory Wildlife of Nairobi National Park, Kenya.” International Journal of Applied Science 2(2):p41. doi: 10.30560/ijas.v2n2p41.