5. Conclusion
While soil erosion processes are complex and multifaceted, co-design of land management policy tailored to the needs of specific communities can be achieved through participatory engagement where scientists and the community work together to identify evidence of the problem, evaluate the drivers and share knowledge to inform actions. This contribution demonstrates how communication of land degradation process knowledge, through an established interdisciplinary participatory approach has supported community-led change in land management in an East African agro-pastoral community. High resolution aerial photography coupled with flow connectivity modelling and geospatial analysis demonstrated the importance of upslope overland flow generation and routing from recently converted cultivated land to downslope grazing land where severe erosion is observed and formerly believed to be wholly caused by overgrazing. Herein community adaptability that is needed to cope with the challenges brought by dynamic people-land-water connectivity can be undermined by a lack of ability to respond due to a lack of ‘slack’ in their systems caused by erosion of their resources and their options. This study demonstrates that such barriers can be overcome wherein impact from research evidence bases was realized though a knowledge exchange workshop with community leaders, livestock owners, farmers and District Council officials. Key outcomes were the formation of a tree planting committee, implementation of a targeted planting programme of 200 trees and shrubs in hydrologically vulnerably hot spots, new grazing management regimes and commitment to a longer-term community land management plan. The study demonstrates the critical importance of integrated upstream/upslope and downstream/downslope thinking when tackling complex soil erosion challenges.