Background of why the project started: Data from previous EfD-funded work in Kenya indicated that a substantial fraction of customers in Nairobi have arrears associated with their water accounts (i.e., are behind on their payments for water and sanitation services). It is often assumed that affordability is a primary reason customers are behind on their bills.
Background of why the project started EfD-Kenya’s previous and ongoing engagement with Nairobi City Water and Sewer Company (NCWSC), the National Water Regulator (WASREB), and the Water Services Trust Fund indicate that policy makers are compelled to keep water prices low and implement an increasing block tariff (IBT) to protect the poor.
The project aims to better understand behavioral determinants and other factors impacting climate change adaptation and technology uptake by households in Eastern and Southern Africa. The results will help in designing relevant policies for successful adaptation, thus alleviating poverty and stabilizing incomes in the face of increasing threats from climate change effects.
This research project aims to increase the evidence base for socioeconomic impacts of bringing water points closer to homes and reducing water collection times. This reduction is an important form of "time poverty" alleviation. If the the hypothesis is correct, the research results will be timely to policy makers and the broader water supply sector as water quality and treatment of waterborne diseases will improve.
The specific objectives of study include, a review of literature on energy demand, choice and distributional effects of energy fuel taxes in Kenya; examine the current demand for energy and determine the key drivers of consumption; evaluate how household make choice in energy consumption; estimate distributional effects of energy fuel taxes in Kenya and lastly provide
Using a blend of qualitative and quantitative approaches, this study aims at determining the perception of households about the level of pollution in the lake and the sources of pollution. It will also use a multi-criteria decision analysis to arrive at optimal solutions to the problem, and a discrete choice model to determine the predictors of investment in environmental conservation by households within the lake catchment to inform policy.
The goal of this study is to support poverty reduction through assessing the linkages between climate change, adaptation and food security; and propose probable policy recommendations to improve food security in face in climate change.
The goal of this research is to explore co-management in the forest and water resources in Kenya and how extent to which it contributes to sustainable resource management.
The goal of this study is to support poverty reduction through assessing farm level efficiency in a changing climate and the impact of climatic factors and climate change adaptation strategies on farm productive efficiency in different parts of Kenya. The study will also propose probable policy recommendations to improve productive efficiency and climate change adaptation strategies.
This project seeks to provide policy makers information that can improve water pricing and enhance the planning and delivery of water and sanitation services. As a result, this project will advance two of EfD’s core objectives – poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability.
In Kenya we are carrying out a series of water related projects. In one project we study the Nairobi Water Company that is considering a water tariff reform. Another study is on rural water source choice and the main objective of this research is to generate information that can inform the evolution of improved water management policies in Kenya.
Despite the centrality of African parks and other protected areas to nature-based tourism, they capture only a fraction of its value. For this reason, national parks and other protected areas have mostly relied on fiscal transfers from the state to fund their conservation activities.
In 2010, EfD-Kenya embarked on a pilot study analyzing the effects of forest devolution in Kenya with a specific focus on Kakamega forest. In particular the research focuses on the formation of Community Forest Associations (CFA) that are expected to manage forests after Kenya’s recent devolution process.
The Government of Kenya has been implementing wide-ranging reforms in the water sector in accordance with the Water Act of 2002. This study’s objective is to set the stage for long-term rigorous research in Kenya’s water sector by evaluating the performance of reforms in the sector.
In Kenya, every citizen has a right to water, and the National Water Strategy commits to ensuring that the formal water supply system is accessible to everyone. However millions of Kenyans still don't have adequate access to clean, safe water and rural areas suffer the brunt of this lack of access. This project will explore household water sourcing and sanitation behavior using primary data collected from carefully selected Kenyan sites that optimize on water source and sanitation options.
Climate change poses a serious challenge to Kenya’s socioeconomic development as the key drivers of its economy – including agriculture, forestry and fisheries among others – are affected by climate change. This study will address various issues including how climate variability has affected food security in Kenya, the vulnerability of different populations in Kenya and the key policy options for mitigating the effect of climate variability on food security and vulnerability.
Kenya is a rapidly growing country, with energy demands increasing annually. Over-reliance on biomass energy within households has resulted in adverse environmental effects. Forest cover has fallen to 6%, and as a result, water levels in rivers and dams have also fallen leading to an inconsistent electricity supply. This study seeks to explore energy conservation in Kenya using quantitative methods and an established data set.
Although African countries’ GHG emissions are comparatively low, the effects of climate change are still widespread and a reduction in emissions is crucial. In a bid to reduce emissions, there has been a shift towards renewable energy such as wind, hydro-electric and of course, solar energy in Kenya. This study will explore adoption of solar technology in Kenyan households using quantitative methods.
Park pricing has been one of the major impediment to growth of the tourism sector in Kenya. Like other environmental resources and public goods, national parks benefit society in many different ways. They perform not only ecological functions but also provide recreational facilities and earn foreign exchange to the country.
Tropical deforestation, degradation and forest clearing are important contributors to green house emissions. Some studies approximate that as much as 25% of all carbon dioxide arise from deforestation and degradation.
In recent times many developing countries have experienced degradation of their natural resource base namely forests, water, fisheries etc. The resource degradation has largely been blamed on the management regime of these resources. In this study we investigate the local evolution and current status of forest management regimes in Kenya.