Background:  

I am from Kenya, and work for the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), with interests in land use science, particularly the integration of spatial (GIS) techniques with social methods to understand processes in land cover change. I am aligned to the field of Landscape Ecology, and did both my Bsc and Msc in Range Management in the University of Nairobi. My professional interests are in the links between land users and the changes in the land, particularly in spontaneous occupations such as settlement schemes, squatter and refugee camps.

Study Area: Managing the Natural Environment

Project Title: Migration, squatters and land cover change in the Chyulu Hills, Kenya

Project outline: For many people in developing countries, access to land remains the key to their survival and economic development. In an agricultural economy such as Kenya, lack of access to land and natural resources threatens not only their survival and economic well-being, but also their identity.The history of the Chyulu Hills is marked with squatter settlements,evictions, deforestation and land degradation. This project seeks to establish the factors that predispose the hills to spontaneous settlements, investigate the processes of change in land cover over,and identify the factors that best explain the process of land cover change.

Advisors:

Principal: Dr Greg Baxter
Other: Dr Clive McAlpine, Dr Chris Jacobson, Dr Bronwyn Price, Dr Leonie Seabrook

Publications:

• Muriuki, G.W., Njoka, T.J., Reid, R.S., and Nyariki, D.M., 2005. The role of tsetse control on land use change in the Lambwe valley, south-western Kenya; Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment.106 (2005); 99 – 107.
• G.W. Muriuki, T.J. Njoka, and R.S, Reid, 2003. Tsetse, wildlife and land cover change in Ruma National Park, Lambwe valley, south-western Kenya; Journal of Human Ecology. 14 (4): 229-235, 2003.
• Njoka, T.J., Muriuki, G.W., and Reid, R.S., 2003. The use of sociological methods to assess land-use change; a case study of Lambwe Valley, Kenya. International Journal of Sociology .7 (3): 181-185.

Contact Details:

• E-mail: g.muriuki@uq.edu.au