A Factor Analytic Approach for Sustainable Urban Forest Conservation in Nairobi City

Abstract

Urban forests face numerous threats and competing needs in the ever-expanding urban landscapes despite their benefits to urban environments. They therefore need protection through sustainable conservation which is guided by the attitudes of urban residents. This is because attitudes and values attached to something predict its protection. This study therefore sought to investigate attitudes urban residents in Nairobi have towards urban forests through a factor analysis of attitudes on a 7-point Likert psychometric scale collected using a ranking questionnaire developed through literature review on urban forests and analysis of user attitudes. Six underlying factors were extracted with a factor loading of greater than 0.5, constituting the concepts used to provide a framework for the conservation of urban forests. The findings demonstrated favourable attitudes towards urban forests in Nairobi, with most residents believing that urban forests are beneficial and need protection. Consequently, this study recommends protecting the existing urban forest ecosystems while expanding and increasing its quality, biodiversity, and habitat richness through the proposed sustainable urban forest conservation framework.