{"id":4059,"date":"2025-04-15T07:29:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T07:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fs.kibu.ac.ke\/?p=4059"},"modified":"2025-12-27T00:34:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T00:34:57","slug":"the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/","title":{"rendered":"The Role of Nyayo Tea Belt as A Buffer Zone in Sustainable Conservation of Kakamega Forest, Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The Role of Nyayo Tea Belt as A Buffer Zone in Sustainable Conservation of Kakamega Forest, Kenya<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

2025<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

KIBU Authors<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Konje Martha<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVIEW ON PUBLISHER SITE<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Abstract<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

This study investigated the effectiveness of the Nyayo Tea Zone (NTZ) as a buffer zone in the conservation and management of Kakamega forest, Kenya, and assessed the impact of human activities on forest health. The research employed a mixed-methods approach, combining questionnaires administered to 339 randomly selected households within 5km of the NTZ boundary, structured interviews with key stakeholders, and experimental vegetation sampling. Four study sites were selected: Handidi, Lukusi, and Isecheno (adjacent to NTZ) and a Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) site as control. Vegetation sampling used belt transects to assess tree species diversity, richness, canopy surface area, and seedling density. Results revealed that only 22.19% of the cleared forest land was utilized for tea plantation, while 59.02% was allocated to exotic forest species. All study sites adjacent to NTZ showed significantly lower species diversity, richness, canopy surface area, and seedling density compared to the KWS control site. Human activities (logging, grazing, debarking, and charcoal burning) demonstrated significant negative correlations with forest health indicators. Furthermore, 80% of respondents reported continued forest access despite the NTZ’s presence, with only 2.5% recognizing its role as a conservation barrier. The study concludes that the NTZ buffer zone has not effectively achieved its conservation objectives, highlighting the need for more integrated approaches to forest protection and community engagement.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\u00a0<\/div>
Keywords<\/div>

Biodiversity, Encroachment, Indigenous forests, Land use, protected areas<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2025 KIBU Authors Konje Martha VIEW ON PUBLISHER SITE Abstract This study investigated the effectiveness of the Nyayo Tea Zone (NTZ) as a buffer zone in the conservation and management of Kakamega forest, Kenya, and assessed the impact of human activities on forest health. The research employed a mixed-methods approach, combining questionnaires administered to 339 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research-list"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Role of Nyayo Tea Belt as A Buffer Zone in Sustainable Conservation of Kakamega Forest, Kenya - Faculty of Science<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Role of Nyayo Tea Belt as A Buffer Zone in Sustainable Conservation of Kakamega Forest, Kenya - Faculty of Science\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"2025 KIBU Authors Konje Martha VIEW ON PUBLISHER SITE Abstract This study investigated the effectiveness of the Nyayo Tea Zone (NTZ) as a buffer zone in the conservation and management of Kakamega forest, Kenya, and assessed the impact of human activities on forest health. The research employed a mixed-methods approach, combining questionnaires administered to 339 […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faculty of Science\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-15T07:29:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-27T00:34:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"kibabii\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"kibabii\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"kibabii\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#\/schema\/person\/fc9b7f13eeb65cf0be520197c35b17d6\"},\"headline\":\"The Role of Nyayo Tea Belt as A Buffer Zone in Sustainable Conservation of Kakamega Forest, Kenya\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-15T07:29:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-27T00:34:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/\"},\"wordCount\":244,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Research List\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/\",\"name\":\"The Role of Nyayo Tea Belt as A Buffer Zone in Sustainable Conservation of Kakamega Forest, Kenya - Faculty of Science\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-15T07:29:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-27T00:34:57+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Faculty Publications\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/faculty-publications\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Role of Nyayo Tea Belt as A Buffer Zone in Sustainable Conservation of Kakamega Forest, Kenya\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/\",\"name\":\"Faculty of Science\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Faculty of Science\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/KIbabii-Logo-1024x923-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/KIbabii-Logo-1024x923-1.png\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":923,\"caption\":\"Faculty of Science\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#\/schema\/person\/fc9b7f13eeb65cf0be520197c35b17d6\",\"name\":\"kibabii\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1290ba6f5d0e2707a88baa0e2f5a00b8214d0c1dce43336da834b265d51f88f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1290ba6f5d0e2707a88baa0e2f5a00b8214d0c1dce43336da834b265d51f88f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"kibabii\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/author\/kibabii\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Role of Nyayo Tea Belt as A Buffer Zone in Sustainable Conservation of Kakamega Forest, Kenya - Faculty of Science","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Role of Nyayo Tea Belt as A Buffer Zone in Sustainable Conservation of Kakamega Forest, Kenya - Faculty of Science","og_description":"2025 KIBU Authors Konje Martha VIEW ON PUBLISHER SITE Abstract This study investigated the effectiveness of the Nyayo Tea Zone (NTZ) as a buffer zone in the conservation and management of Kakamega forest, Kenya, and assessed the impact of human activities on forest health. The research employed a mixed-methods approach, combining questionnaires administered to 339 […]","og_url":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/","og_site_name":"Faculty of Science","article_published_time":"2025-04-15T07:29:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-27T00:34:57+00:00","author":"kibabii","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"kibabii","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/"},"author":{"name":"kibabii","@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#\/schema\/person\/fc9b7f13eeb65cf0be520197c35b17d6"},"headline":"The Role of Nyayo Tea Belt as A Buffer Zone in Sustainable Conservation of Kakamega Forest, Kenya","datePublished":"2025-04-15T07:29:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-27T00:34:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/"},"wordCount":244,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Research List"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/","url":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/","name":"The Role of Nyayo Tea Belt as A Buffer Zone in Sustainable Conservation of Kakamega Forest, Kenya - Faculty of Science","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-04-15T07:29:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-27T00:34:57+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/the-role-of-nyayo-tea-belt-as-a-buffer-zone-in-sustainable-conservation-of-kakamega-forest-kenya\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Faculty Publications","item":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/faculty-publications\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Role of Nyayo Tea Belt as A Buffer Zone in Sustainable Conservation of Kakamega Forest, Kenya"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#website","url":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/","name":"Faculty of Science","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#organization","name":"Faculty of Science","url":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/KIbabii-Logo-1024x923-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/KIbabii-Logo-1024x923-1.png","width":1024,"height":923,"caption":"Faculty of Science"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#\/schema\/person\/fc9b7f13eeb65cf0be520197c35b17d6","name":"kibabii","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1290ba6f5d0e2707a88baa0e2f5a00b8214d0c1dce43336da834b265d51f88f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d1290ba6f5d0e2707a88baa0e2f5a00b8214d0c1dce43336da834b265d51f88f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"kibabii"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs"],"url":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/author\/kibabii\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4059"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6081,"href":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4059\/revisions\/6081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kibu.ac.ke\/fs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}