A F RICA 
RELATIVE LOCATION 
OF STUDY AREA 
Figure 1 
  
  
  
  
Z 
1982 CMS. 
uses. (FAO, 1980). These causations are further aggravated by increasing popu- 
lations, increased demand for food and greater energy needs in the face of 
diminishing supplies. |t is, therefore, essential to develop innovative approaches 
in resources management which can meet the increasing needs whi le protecting 
and maintaining the environment of Kenya. 
Kenya, with an area of over 500,000 square kilometers, dissected by the 
Great Rift Valley, provides a wide range of physiographic features as well as 
climatic regimes. The latter is closely tied to the elevation changes from sea 
level to 5,200 meters on top of Mount Kenya fueled by two opposing climatic 
patterns. Kenya's forests are of the upper and lower montane types and consti- 
tute only three percent of the total land cover of the country. The former type 
are conifer and comprise the largest forest area in Kenya. The lower montane are 
semi-tropical rain forest of broad leaf evergreens. The upper montane forests 
are the most significant for Kenya in economic terms (Doute, 1980). 
Nature's ecological harmony depends on its ecological balance. The dis- 
ruption of this balance through changes other than slow evolutionary processes 
results potentially in detrimental alteration of the environment.  Unchecked 
deforestation of the Mau Forest results in soil erosion, reduction of water 
catchment potential, increased stream siltation, disruption of the aquatic eco- 
system, added danger of more severe flooding, destruction of agricultural lands 
and further reduction of hydro-electric potential for the region (The Weekly 
Review, 1982). Presently, deforestation has resulted in all of the above in the 
Mau Forest and the socio-economic implications for this region associated with 
this practice cannot be readily absorbed by the economy of the country. 
To prevent unchecked deforestation in any region, it is necessary to apply 
monitoring techniques suitable for any specific geographic area. It is not un- 
common to find extensive air surveys and field surveys to monitor parts of Europe 
or the United States of America. However, these time and money consuming tech- 
niques are frequently not available in so-called less developed nations such as 
Kenya (Doute et al., 1980). Furthermore, the whole concept of forest manage- 
ment may be fairly new to the government of such developing nations and coupled 
with limited financial resources the idea of repetitive air photo coverage, 
ideally suited for this purpose, may be remote at best. Therefore, alternative 
options or avenues must be explored to be applied to effective forest management 
of such 
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