Integrated Landscape Management Approach for Scaling Sustainable Land Management Practices and Improving Food Production in a Changing Climate: Experiences from Western Kenya

Abstract Landscape degradation is widespread with significant ramifications on ecosystem services. Currently, more than 50% of all fertile soils globally are severely degraded, with 25–40 billion megagrams (Mg) being lost annually. Similarly, about 20%, 14% and 12% of the total land area in Sub-Saharan Africa, East Africa and Kenya, respectively, are already suffering from severe to very severe degradation. In Kenya, productive landscapes in the western region have been the worst hit, losing an average of 0.5 Mg of soil per hectare per year (Mg ha −1 yr −1 ) in 2017. The annual cost of land degradation in the region was estimated at USD 31 million between 2001 and 2007 using land use change as an indicator. Cognizant of the associated ecological and socio-economic impacts, several Sustainable Land Management (SLM) initiatives targeting landscape restoration have been implemented in the area. Most of the SLM initiatives adopted sectoral and isolated approaches, focusing on specific farm fields, pilot sites and production systems to demonstrate best-fit SLM practices for adoption. The impact of such narrow, localized and piecemeal approaches on the uptake of SLM practices, food security and livelihoods has, however, been low. This is mainly due to the complexity of land degradation processes, which transcend the traditional management boundaries and sectors. Effective management and unravelling of this complexity to enhance SLM adoption, agricultural productivity and livelihoods requires a new thinking that looks at ecosystem services beyond individual farms and plots, and integrates perspectives from multiple disciplines, stakeholders and institutions. In this chapter, we have presented an innovative and replicable Integrated Landscape Management approach, which was developed and applied by a model SLM Project that aimed at reducing land degradation and improving productivity and livelihoods through rapid adoption of proven SLM practices across the productive landscape of the Kakamega-Nandi ecosystem.