John Warui Kiringe, Ph.D.

Kenya

 

EDUCATION

B.S. In Botany and Zoology,
University of Nairobi (Kenya)

M.S. in Biology of Conservation,
University of Nairobi (Kenya)

Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Biology,
University of Leicester (UK)



TEACHING

  • Wildlife Ecology BI/EE(NS) 372
  • Community Wildlife Conservation EE(NS) 350
  • Effective Communication Skills: Written
  • Introduction to Biometry and statistical tools
  • Statistical analysis computer lab
  • Ethical practices in research – human and animal subjects
  • Introduction to the Scientific Method
  • Introduction to Excel Spreadsheets
  • Presentation of research: External to community

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

  • Reviewer for:- 1. Society and Natural Resources 2. Journal for Arid Environments 3. Human Ecology 4. Ethno-botany Research and Applications 5. African Journal of Ecology 6. Open Conservation Biology
  • Membership:- 1. Society for Conservation Biology-Joined in 2007 2. IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (1999 - Present)

FACULTY PROFILE

John Warui Kiringe is a Kenyan and has a 16 year experience in teaching and mentoring University students. He started his teaching career in 1994 when he joined the University of Nairobi, Kenya where he worked for 6 years in the Department of Zoology as a lecturer. In September 2000, he joined SFS as a Wildlife Ecology Faculty at the Center for Wildlife Management Studies in Kenya. He is mainly an ecologist and conservation biologist with a background in botany and zoology.


RESEARCH INTERESTS

My main research interests are in wildlife ecology and conservation biology but after joing SFS, I have shifted to other others, particularly ethno-botany, water related issues and range ecology. I have conducted studies on wildlife movements and dynamics in the Hell’s Gate National Park which is situated in the Rift Valley Province, Kenya near Lake Naivasha. Hell’s Gate is was gazetted in 1983 and is one of the smallest parks in the country but it’s getting insularized due to rapid land use changes human encroachment around its immediate environs. Internally, it’s threatened by rapid expansion of geothermal energy development. Collectively, these problems are a major treat to wildlife populations and viability of the park as a conservation area.

Understanding wildlife movement and their dynamics is central to development of effective management strategies for their sustenance as well as the ecological integrity of the park. Within the Amboseli Ecosystem, I have conducted a lot of research with students, some of which has been published in journals and book chapters. Between Fall 2000 and Spring 2002, I researched Maasai ethno-botany which among other things examined use, availability and threats to medicinal plant resources in Kuku Group Ranch which is one of the 6 communal ranches in the Amoseli region.

The Maasai are a pastoral community who still dependent on local resources to meet their livelihood needs including use of herbal medicine. However, a lot of socio-economic and political forces are pushing them to a modern life style, and this is increasingly threatening their traditional knowledge and practices that promote sustainable use of natural resources such as medicinal plants. This trend will have significant impacts on their life given that herbal medicine has been and is still their main source of primary health care in a landscape with very few modern health facilities.

From 2007 to 2010, I conducted studies on the status of the rangelands in three Maasai group ranches in the Amboseli region where SFS does most of its research work. These studies examined the ecological status of the rangelands, drivers of their state and associated impacts on wildlife populations, local livelihoods and pastoralism as a land use in the region. The Amboseli ecosystem is mainly a semi-arid rangeland and has historically been used by the Maasai people for livestock production. However, a lot of land use and life-style changes have occurred in the ecosystem more so in the group ranches which collectively threaten the ecological health and integrity of the rangelands. Further, there seems to be general climate variability characterized by frequent rainfall failure and droughts which partly undermines the carrying capacity and resilience of the rangelands. If changes in the rangelands and the factors behind such changes are not understood and effectively mitigated, their ramifications on local livelihoods, conservation of wildlife and other critical resources like water and plants will affect the socio-economic welfare of local communities.

My current research interest has shifted to water-related issues and the environmental state of rivers in the group ranches given that water resources are naturally scarce but there has been a lot of abuse and general mismanagement of this vital resources. There are also concerns that climate change is affecting the ice-caps of Mt. Kilimanjaro which is the main water tower for the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem. It is there imperative that a culture of sustainable water use is inculcated among the different users in the region.


PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS (last updated June 2011)

Peer-reviewed journals

  • P. Tattersfield, C. M. Warui, M.B. Seddon and J. W. Kiringe (2001). Land-snail Faunas of Afromontane Forests of Mount Kenya, Kenya: Ecology, Diversity and Distribution Patterns. J. of Biogeography 28:843-861.
  • J. K. Mworia, J. K. Kinyamario and J. W. Kiringe (2002). Tree Layer Dynamics under Different Land Uses and Soils in Semi-arid Areas of Kenya: Discovery and Innovation-Multi-disciplinary Journal of the African Academy of Sciences, Special Edition: 68-75.
  • Okello, M. M. and Kiringe, J. W. (2004). Threats to biodiversity and their implications in protected and adjacent dispersal areas of Kenya. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 12(1): 55-69
  • Kiringe, J. W. and M.M. Okello (2005). Use and availability of tree and shrub resources on Maasai communal rangelands near Amboseli, Kenya. African Journal of Range and Forage Science 22: 37-45.
  • Kiringe, J.W. (2005). Ecological and anthropological threats to ethno-medicinal plant resources and their utilization in Maasai communal ranches in the Amboseli region of Kenya. Ethnobotany Research and Applications 3: 231-241
  • Kiringe, J. W. (2006). A survey of traditional health remedies used by the Maasai of Southern Kajiado District, Kenya. Ethnobotany Research and Applications 4:57-69
  • John Kioko, John Kiringe and Patrick Omondi. (2006). Human-elephant conflict outlook in the Tsavo-Amboseli Ecosystem. Pachyderm 56: 41-52
  • Kiringe, J. W. Moses Makonjio Okello and Sylvia W. Ekajul. (2007). Mangers’ perceptions of threats to the protected areas of Kenya: prioritization for effective management. Oryx 41(3):1-8
  • John Kioko, John Warui Kiringe and Geff Wahungu (2011). Youth’s knowledge, attitudes and practices on wildlife and environmental conservation in Maasai land, Kenya. Environmental Education (In Press)

 

Edited publications, including technical publications and theses

  • Okello, M.M., Kiringe, J. W. & Kioko, J.M. (2009). The dilemma of balancing conservation and strong tourism interests in a small national park: the case of Amboseli, Kenya. In: National Parks: Biodiversity, Conservation and Tourism. Editors: Angus O'Reilly and Doran Murphy. ISBN: 978-1-60741-465-0, Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
  • Okello, M.M. & Kiringe, J.W. (2009). The role of elephants, swamps and seasons on the density and diversity of large mammals in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Accepted chapter in the book "National Parks: Biodiversity, Conservation and Tourism". Nova Publishers, New York, USA.
  • Kiringe, J. W. and Okello, M.M. (2010). Degradation of rangelands: causes, ecological, wildlife conservation and socio-economic implications. In: Horizons in Earth Science Research. Volume 1. Editors: B. Veress, J. Szigethy, pp. 1-76, ISBN: 978-1-60741-221-2 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

 

Presentations

  • 29th August to 2nd September 2006: Attended the 2nd annual international conference at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya and presented a paper entitled “Capitalizing on the bio-economic value of ethno-botanical resources and traditional knowledge to enhance livelihoods of poor rural communities in Kenya: the case of the Maasai of Southern Kajiado District”
  • 18th to 20th April 2007: Attended the wildlife conference at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya organized by the Kenya Wildlife Service whose theme was “Research imperatives for biodiversity conservation"; I presented a paper entitled “Sedentarization of the Maasai and its implications to Wildlife Conservation in the Amboseli Region”
  • 1st-5th July 2007. Attended the 21st conference for Society for Conservation Biology (Con Bio) in Port Elizabeth South Africa and presented a paper entitled “ Bush meat crisis in wildlife dispersal areas of Tsavo West, Chyulu and Amboseli National Parks, South-Western Kenya”
  • 17th-19th September 2008: Attended the 6th Faculty of veterinary medicine biennial scientific conference and exhibition at the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and presented a key-note speech on “Impact of climate change on environmental degradation and human-wildlife conflict”
  • 11 and 16th July 2009: I attended the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) conference in Beijing China and presented a paper entitled “Perceptions on range condition changes in Maasai communal ranches and their impact on livelihoods and wildlife conservation in the Amboseli ecosystem”