ITCER — Monitoring Macrobiome Biodiversity in Siaya County

Project: Monitoring Macrobiome Biodiversity in Siaya County

Siaya County, located in Western Kenya, faces rapid environmental changes driven by both climate dynamics and human activities. To address the urgent need for ecological baselines and restoration planning, this project focuses on documenting macrobiome biodiversity—including vascular plants, insects, earthworms, macrofungi, birds, and other fauna—through spatially distributed photographic surveys and subsequent DNA barcoding.

Species observations are geo-referenced and integrated into a county-wide biodiversity monitoring framework. The ITCER experimental plots in Ng’iya serve as a core reference point within a broader Siaya County grid network, whose optimal spatial resolution is under development in collaboration with local stakeholders.

A key element of this initiative is the involvement of citizen scientists, including trained motorbike riders and local photographers. These contributors generate primary biodiversity records while supporting regional employment models. Field data are quality-checked and validated through scientific verification pipelines, ensuring reliability and consistency of contributions.

The overarching goal is to create a robust biodiversity inventory that supports renaturation efforts, enhances ecological understanding, and provides actionable knowledge for land-use planning and climate adaptation. Further integration with GIS tools and platforms like GBIF is envisioned in cooperation with the Siaya County Administration.

This project complements ITCER’s ongoing research on soil mycobiomes and microplastic pollution, forming part of a larger vision for integrated environmental monitoring and sustainable development in the region.

Project lead: International Training Centre for Environmental Research (ITCER), in collaboration with the Siaya County Government.