Socio-ecological production landscapes (SEPLs) are dynamic land use mosaics that have been shaped over the years by interactions between people and nature in ways that maintain biodiversity and provide people with goods and services needed for their well-being (Gu and Subramanian 2014, p. 1). Traditional ecological knowledge and governance structures have been useful natural resources management strategies to sustain SEPLs for provision of ecosystem goods and services across landscapes (Lee and Sung 2018, p. 92) and are recognised (Rist et al. 2010, p. 3) as a key baseline contributing to existing modern scientific resource management approaches. However, traditional approaches have been declining over time, compromising the provision of goods and services in SEPLs.

The Idaho Rangeland Commission report (2012), p. 3) defines rangelands as areas that are not farmed and mainly include grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, savannas, tundra, alpine, marshes and meadows, and deserts. Terrestrial rangeland ecosystems are generally characterised by low precipitation and are considered to be the world’s largest ecosystem biome with high biodiversity and socio-economic and cultural value (Bengtsson et al. 2019, p. 1). Rangelands cover over 54% of the world’s terrestrial surface (Rangelands Atlas 2021, p. 8) and support over 30% of world’s human population (Sala et al. 2017, p. 467). Other than food and medicinal plants, rangelands provide vital provisioning services including water, pasture for livestock, and wildlife (Selemani 2020, p. 3864) and support livelihoods (Godde et al. 2020, p. 2). Carbon sequestration, crop pollination, and climate regulation are also main rangeland regulating ecosystem services (Ahlström et al. 2015, p. 895), while cultural services include recreation, aesthetic value, and traditional lifestyles. Soil formation and nutrient cycling, habitat, and biodiversity are essential supporting ecosystem services in rangelands recognised as the basis for the production of other ecosystem services (Baer and Birgé 2018, p. 3). Furthermore, Reicosky (Ed. Reicosky 2018) concludes that soil is the basis and source of most terrestrial ecosystem services. However, these types of ecosystems have been negatively impacted by degradation, compromising their ecological ability to effectively provide goods and services. Therefore, restoration and innovative management strategies can allow the continuous sustainable provision of rangeland ecosystem goods and services to sustain biodiversity and local community livelihoods (Eds. Gann and Lamb 2006, p. 1).

Kenya’s rangelands are classified as Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), covering about 89% of the country’s land (Birch 2018, p. 2). Of Kenya’s 47 administrative counties, 23 are in ASALs (ACAPS 2022, p. 1), and 36% of Kenya’s population, 70% of its livestock herds, and 90% of its wildlife live in rangelands (Njoka et al. 2016, p. 11). The Chyulu landscape rangelands present an important socio-ecological production landscape (SEPL) because they provide distinct ecosystem services that sustain socio-economic development and maintain biodiversity for strengthened mutual human–nature interactions. The Chyulu landscape is a semiarid zone that provides dry-season grazing reserves for wildlife, and pastoral and agro-pastoral communities’ livestock. The livelihoods of over 2.5 million people in the largely pastoral communities of the Chyulu landscape are dependent on the rangelands (Opiyo et al. 2015, p. 298). The Chyulu landscape has gazetted protected areas: Chyulu, Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks, the Chyulu Forest Reserve, and local community group ranches, all of which are habitats for diverse wildlife species with potential for foreign exchange earnings. The Chyulu ecosystem is a habitat for African endemic “Big Five” animals—the elephant, African buffalo, lion, leopard, and black rhinoceros. Chyulu’s area is approximately 420,000 ha and serves as a vital water tower for over three counties in the region and beyond, including Kajiado, Taita Taveta, Kilifi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (Fig. 3.1, Table 3.1). The Chyulu watershed has been recognised as a “fountain of life” (Mwaura et al. 2016, p. 46). Chyulu grasslands are crucial for local communities, especially for the livelihoods of indigenous pastoralists, fodder provision for livestock, biodiversity conservation for diverse flora and fauna species, and soil carbon sequestration.

Though Chyulu Hills Landscape as a SEPL has significant potential to provide a variety of vital ecosystem goods and services, its socio-ecological and economic sustainability is increasingly threatened by land degradation influenced both by anthropogenic and natural factors. Likewise, Kariuki et al. (2018, p. 47) concluded that sub-Saharan Africa’s rangelands are experiencing pressures related to climate change and habitat destruction. Competing land uses, overgrazing, poor resource management, increasing demand for and overexploitation of natural resources, logging, and charcoal production are evident in the Chyulu Hills Landscape. Declining Maasai traditional natural resource governance structures and limited management skills exacerbate the land degradation trend. Human factors are compounded by climate change events, mainly prolonged droughts, floods, unpredictable rainfall and seasonality patterns, and encroachment of invasive woody species on grasslands. The expansion of agricultural land due to an increasing human population has resulted in decreasing vegetation cover and encroachment into ecosystems such as wetlands (Pellikka et al. 2018, p. 178). Degradation continues to reduce the Chyulu rangelands’ vegetation cover, in particular the grasslands’ ecological capacity to provide ecosystem services, support biodiversity, and sustain human socioeconomic development. Vegetation cover reduction affects livestock and wildlife pasture and increases surface run-off and soil erosion, resulting in a reduction in soil organic carbon.

The Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) approach and multi-stakeholder engagement that recognises multicultural indigenous knowledge and the value of nature can inspire rangeland natural resources management (NRM) and stimulate restoration actions for sustainable conservation of ecosystems in the face of climate change.Restored and managed SEPLs can sustain the provision of ecosystem services, conserve biodiversity, improve livestock productivity, and enhance the resilience of pastoralist communities to climate change. This approach can significantly reverse the land degradation trend. However, McGranahan and Kirkman (2013, p. 177) argue that sustainable rangeland management requires ecologically feasible strategies.

This chapter presents an assessment of the underlying ecological and socioeconomic dynamics of Chyulu Hills Landscape to support the designing of restoration interventions to reverse rangeland degradation and manage ecosystems for provision of goods and services for sustainable development. The specific study objectives were as follows:

1. To assess land vegetation cover changes and carbon emissions.
2. To evaluate landscape degradation and land productivity.
3. To conduct a socio-economic feasibility assessment and design a rangeland restoration project.

The assessment was done as part of the Rangeland Restoration in Chyulu (RRC) project that aims to demonstrate that improved livestock and landscape management stimulates SEPL restoration, enhances carbon capture, builds climate-resilient ecosystems, and supports community livelihoods. The project applied the EbA strategy for climate change adaptation and an integrated natural resource management approach to generate sustainable socio-economic and ecological values across the Maasai community. The Chyulu Hills Landscape restoration case study is critically significant for SEPL management to sustain local communities’ livelihoods and biodiversity conservation, which mainly depend on rangeland-grassland ecosystems.