Human Nature Relations: exploring the intertwinement of human-nature relations and ecosystem restoration strategies in Trans Nzoia, Kenya

Abstract

In Trans Nzoia County, the bread-basket of Kenya, the interplay between human society and nature is guided through precarious realities and the increasing recognition of the dependency on nature. The dynamics between the precarious lives in Trans Nzoia, and nature, can be understood through what Tsing (2015) describes as an interconnected approach to human society and ecological systems. Nature is perceived as a service provider, being inherently part of both human economy and ecological livelihoods. Due to the complex socio-economic-, and political- dynamics, and the sense of precarity intertwined with poverty, human livelihood strategies in fragile natural environments are threatening the ecosystems. Conservation organizations aim to not only ‘save’ the natural environment, but rather to create a more stable and secure environment for all the precarious lives that are present, including that of society. However, the context in which discursive human-nature relations are constructed (Pálsson 2016), simultaneously shapes and challenge ecosystem restoration strategies.