PhD thesis Title Page Final _Richard Juma - Victoria University ...

Soils: The soils in the Turkana District are highly variable. They are
shallow and generally of light and medium texture as shown in Figure 8.
There are either constraints of a chemical composition, or physical
limitations such as rockiness, mantle, slope, and depth. They are subject
to compaction and capping and are susceptible to erosion. Degradation
exists along the base of Uganda, the lower portion of the basin east and
northeast of Lokichar, one of my research sites. A small section at the
middle of the Kerio valley is fairly suitable for subsistence agriculture
(EcoSystems Ltd 1985). However, it is worth noting that these areas
suitable for cultivation make up a very small part of the total land area of
the district.
Figure 8 Soils in Turkana.
Source: Fieldwork 2007.
Water: Water is crucial to sustaining the Turkana pastoral livelihood.
Water is predominantly used by their herds and for domestic purposes.
The two main rivers in the Turkana District, the Turkwel and Kerio, which
flow more or less continuously from April to September, receive the bulk of
their water from the Kenya highlands, far south of the district (Gulliver
1955). Other rivers in Turkana include the Tarach, Kawalathe, Kosipir,
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