Umma Staff Publications

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Four Biodiversity Assessments of Lolldaiga Hills Ranch by the National Museums of Kenya (2014)
(National Museums of Kenya, 2015-05) Wasonga, Victor; Wamiti, Wanyoike; Abdillahi, Halima; Kinuthia, Wanja; Mwebi, Ogeto
This preliminary survey of the insects of Lolldaiga Hills Ranch was conducted between 30 October and 3 November 2014. Six sites representing distinct habitat types were surveyed. These included euphorbia thicket, grassland, Acacia drepanolobium woodland, rocky outcrop, marshy ground, riverine forest, and red cedar and olive forest. Three colours of pan traps, sweep netting, and ground searching techniqueswere used to survey invertebrates. Of the three orders of insects that have been processed, the Lepidoptera had 21 species from four families, while Hymenoptera and Coleoptera each had 12 species from three and six families, respectively. Among the Lepidoptera, the Pieridae had the highest number of species (8) while Nymphalidae had the smallest number (2). At 55%, dipterans were the most abundant of the pollinators followed by hymenopterans (35%). Yellow was the most visited pan trap colour at 58%, followed by white (24%), then blue (18%). All pollinator groups visited yellow traps as their preferred colour, while Coleopterans mostly visited white traps. The four pollinator groups, however, visited all colours. Given its relevance in biodiversity conservation and land use management, biodiversity inventories should be carried on in both dry and wet seasons.
Mainstreaming forecast based action into national disaster risk management systems: experience from drought risk management in Kenya
(Taylor & Francis, 2021-11-26) Mwangi, Emma; Taylor, Olivia; Todd, Martin, C.; Visman, Emma; Kniveton, Dom; Kilavi, Mary; Ndegwa, William; Otieno, George; Waruru, Shamton; Mwangi, John; Ambani, Maurine; Abdillahi, Halima; MacLeod, David; Rowhani, Pedram; Graham, Richard; Coleman, Richard
Drought and food security crises heighten risks to lives and livelihoods in East Africa. In recent years, a shift towards acting in advance of such events has gained momentum, notably among the humanitarian and development community. This shift is premised on tools that link climate forecasts with pre-agreed actions and funding, known as Forecast-based Action (FbA), or anticipatory action more widely. While FbA approaches have been developed by a number of humanitarian agencies, the key to scaling-up is mainstreaming these approaches into national risk management systems. This paper addresses this gap in the context of drought risk management in Kenya. We analyse Kenya’s current drought management system to assess the potential usability of climate forecast information within the existing system, and outline steps towards improved usability of climate information. Further, we note the critical importance of enabling institutions and reliable financing to ensure that information can be consistently used to trigger early action. We discuss the implications of this for scaling-up FbA into national risk management systems.