The role of squatters in retention of native vegetation: A case study of the Chyulu Hills, Kenya Grace Muriuki a, b, c, * , Clive McAlpine c , Leonie Seabrook c , Greg Baxter c a The University of Queensland, School of Integrative Systems, Gatton 4343, Queensland, Australia b Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kenya Soil Survey, P.O. Box 14733, Nairobi 00800, Kenya c The University of Queensland, Landscape Ecology and Conservation Group, Centre for Spatial Environmental Research, School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia Keywords: Kenya Land cover change Remnant vegetation Squatters abstract Squatters form an increasingly important component of rural demographies in many countries. Despite advances on the role of human populations in the removal of native vegetation and land cover change, the contribution of squatters to this process is not clearly exemplified. To contribute knowledge to this gap, we tested alternative postulates of the role of biophysical, household socioeconomic, access and institutional factors in the variation in remnant vegetation in villages in Chyulu Hills, Kenya, which has a long history of squatter occupation. We addressed this goal by modelling the proportion of remnant vegetation in villages. Using Generalised Linear Models, model averaging and hierarchical partitioning analyses, we selected the best set of models within a 95% confidence interval, and ranked the relative importance of the explanatory factors in the variation in remnant vegetation. Squatter presence and their associated characteristics were the most significant factors. We found that institutional and socioeco- nomic factors explained the largest proportion of variation in remnant vegetation. Because many squatter settlements are in proximity of protected areas, implications for conservation under changing rural landscapes can be severe. We propose options that recognise squatters’ role in change and their incorporation in planning to allow for more targeted interventions in conservation, and in supporting sustainable livelihoods for rural squatters. Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Many factors have been shown to cause land cover change and the loss of native vegetation. Research has demonstrated the roles of human population, biophysical land attributes, policy and institu- tional environments, access factors, as well as cultural and techno- logical backgrounds (Carr, 2005; Lambin & Geist, 2006; Nassauer, 1995). Such changes affect critical ecosystem services, biodiversity and can reduce the ability of landscapes to sustain human liveli- hoods (Chhabra et al., 2006; Tilman, May, Lehman, & Nowak, 1994). At a continental scale, Africa lost approximately one third of the global area deforested between 2000 and 2005 (FAO, 2009), despite supporting only 16% of the global forest area. Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced some of the largest changes in land cover over the last 25 years (Brink & Eva, 2009), and is predicted to experience even more intense deforestation than the Amazon in the future (Witmer, 2005). Most of this change will occur in the rural areas as the continent is predominantly rural and will likely remain so for the next decade and beyond (FAO, 2010). The impacts of land cover change are likely to become more severe with impending climate change, which will greatly impact on human populations, partic- ularly in Africa (Boko et al., 2007). Through its direct impact on crop yields, severity and frequency of droughts, climate change is likely to further compromise the livelihoods of rural people, who have little capacity to adapt to change through irrigated agriculture, improved seeds or alternative micro-enterprises (Fischer, Shah, Tubiello, & Velhuizen, 2005; UNEP/GRID-Arendal, 2009). Among the suite of causes of native vegetation loss, attributes of human populations including growth rates, densities and patterns of distribution constitute perhaps the most significant factors (Lambin & Geist, 2006, p. 53). Migration has a significant influence on land cover and environmental change, particularly at decadal or longer time scales (Bilsborrow, 1992; Walsh, Rindfuss, Prasartkul, Entwisle, & Chamratrithirong, 2005). Squatters are those migrants * Corresponding author. The University of Queensland, School of Integrative Systems, Gatton 4343, Queensland, Australia. E-mail addresses: g.muriuki@uq.edu.au (G. Muriuki), c.mcalpine@uq.edu.au (C. McAlpine), l.seabrook@uq.edu.au (L. Seabrook), gbaxter@uqg.uq.edu.au (G. Baxter). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Applied Geography journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apgeog 0143-6228/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2010.11.017 Applied Geography 31 (2011) 577e589