Participatory Geographic Information System (PGIS) Mapping; an Integrated Flood Management Tool in the Flood Prone Areas of Lower Kano Plains, Kisumu County, Kenya

Abstract

For decades floods have continuously threatened communities’ livelihoods and destroyed properties and the ecosystem as a whole. In an attempt to minimize the destructive nature of these events, different flood mitigation strategies have been employed. Nevertheless, the challenge with these strategies employed is that they seldom give audience to the people affected, instead focusing on technical solutions. Thus the need to employ an integrated floods management approach that puts local knowledge into consideration. Although some studies have emphasized the need to have this incorporated with technical expertise to get more lasting solutions to the negative flood effects, much work still needs to be done. This study was conducted in the Nyando sub-catchment, of Lower Kano Plains in Kisumu County, Kenya. The study utilized both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Stratified sampling technique was used to select the three flood-prone areas in Lower Kano Plains, namely, Nyando, Miwani, and Lower Nyakach as study sites. Simple random sampling technique was then used to select 100 households for the survey while Purposive sampling was used to select the key informants. Methods of data collection included questionnaires, key informant interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs), GIS-integrated participatory community mapping, and desk reviews. The main research findings were that 65.93% of respondents in this study live downstream of river Nyando, of which 60.00% resided in Nyando Sub County, thus exacerbating the risk to floods. The study concluded that Miwani, Nyando, and Lower Nyakach were found to be the flood risk areas of Lower Kano Plains.