Sustainable Urban Forest Conservation

Assessing Public Attitudes towards Urban Forests in Nairobi City

Bibliographic Data

ID19569735
AuthorsMirera Raphael Binyanya (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, corresponding author), Njuguna Bernard Mugwima (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology), Dennis Karanja, Karanja Kinyanjui (0000-0001-7206-4212, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology), Stella Mbiti (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology)
Year2022
Volume10
Issue04
Pages655-672
Publication date2022-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCurrent Urban Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2328-4900 • E-ISSN: 2328-4919
PublisherScientific Research Publishing, Inc. (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.4236/cus.2022.104039
OpenAlexW4312943415
LanguageEN
References cited40

Nairobi city’s rapid development has caused urban tree cover loss despite evidence of demand, and values attached to these forests by the residents. This paper investigated these values through an analysis of the residents’ attitudes towards the urban forests. Data on urban forest characteristics, composition, problems, causes, and proposed solutions were collected through open ended questions and attitudinal values using a 7-point Likert psychometric scale questionnaire with 40 attitude statements. The findings on urban forest character, problems, causes, and solutions were ranked in order of popularity while attitudes were subjected to a Relative Importance Index (RII) analysis which ranked them in order of importance. The factor “Trees make the city beautiful” ranked as the most important variable (RII = 0.9457), followed by “Urban forests protect the city against climate change effects” (RII = 0.9228). The variable “Forests in the city should be cleared to provide more land for housing” factor was ranked as the lowest (RII = 0.2069). The study recommends that Nairobi’s urban forest conservation strategies recognize and prioritize resident’s values through participatory conservation strategies. In addition, adoption of the identified proposals, improvements and suggestions in the order tabulated in this paper will promote forest conservation

Environmental planning · Environmental protection · Environmental resource management · Forest management · Geography · Likert scale · Popularity · Statistics · Urban forest · Urban Forestry · Urban planning · Environmental Science · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Mathematics · Psychology · Social Psychology · Urban Agriculture and Sustainability · Urban Green Space and Health · Ecology · Forestry

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