North Kenya Vegetation and Land Use GIS Database

1996 geospatial database for 9 arid and semi-arid districts in northern Kenya, covering approximately 283,870 square kilometers. It was created by Andrea Bottcher for GTZ at UNEP/GRID by joining existing district datasets, originally derived from a 1982 Ministry of Agriculture handbook. The final compilation includes 19 themes such as vegetation, range units, landforms, soils, rainfall, and waterpoints.

Use Cases

• Analyze vegetation and dense bush coverage against median annual rainfall data for drought impact studies.
• Model productive risk due to lacking rainfall for districts like Marsabit, Mandera, Wajir, Samburu, and Isiolo.
• Map waterpoints and seasonal rivers in relation to landforms and soils for resource accessibility planning.
• Identify range units and run-off zones to support livestock management and pastoralist community planning.
• Overlay district borders, roads, and towns with national park boundaries for conservation and land-use conflict analysis.

Strengths

• Covers 9 districts with a total approximate area of 283,870 square kilometers.
• Includes 19 distinct geospatial themes providing multi-faceted environmental data.
• Compiled from multiple data sources including field surveys, satellite images, and aerial photographs.

Limitations

• Data is from 1996 and may not reflect current land cover or conditions.
• Original focus was on high and medium rainfall districts with good commercial conditions, potentially introducing bias for arid zone analysis.
• Specific row counts, column details, and sample data are unavailable for assessing granularity.

Provenance

Source

Compiled by Andrea Bottcher for GTZ at UNEP/GRID, based on original datasets digitized by DRSRS (Department of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing).

Collection Method

Data was joined from existing district datasets, derived from a 1982 Range Management Handbook, and compiled from field surveys, satellite images, topographic maps, aerial photographs, district reports, and previous studies.

Time Range

Primary source material from 1982, compiled into final database in 1996.

Freshness

Last updated in 1996.

Geography

Covers 9 arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) districts in northern Kenya: Baringo, Elgeyo Marakwet, Isiolo, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu, Turkana, Wajir, and West Pokot.