Involvement of Pastoralists in the national climate change action plan review crucial

Pastoralist counties in Kenya have been urged to set up adaptation funds, as a way towards addressing the impacts of climate change among pastoralist communities.

This will be a special fund to promote strategies, products and services that enhance resilience during drought.

Officially opening the Kenya Pastoralists Week (KPW) 2018 the Governor of Kajiado County, Joseph ole Lenku noted that with adaptation funds, community members are placed at the centre of adaptation planning and decision making, hence better climate change resilience.

Pastoralists in Kenya continue to suffer devastating effects of the more frequent and severe droughts as climate change. For instance in pastoralists in Kajiado, lost more than 230,000 herd of cattle equivalent to approximately KES139 billion in the recent drought[1].

The event was also used to call for better involvement of pastoralists in the ongoing National Climate Change Action Plan review, which will result in the plan for 2018-22. The national climate change action plan focusses on community mitigation and adaptation projects funded by the climate change fund, established through the Climate Change Act 2016. Pastoralists, among other, marginalised communities are not represented in the Task Force raising fears their concerns will be sidelined in the resultant document.

Consequent to these concerns at KPW, the Environment and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko, while receiving the zero draft of the Task Force on National Climate Change Action Plan review, specifically directed that vulnerable and marginalised communities must be involved in the consultations before the final draft is presented to him later in May 2018.

The Kenya Pastoralists Week (KPW) is a multi-stakeholder partnership project organised by the Centre for Minority Rights Development (CEMIRIDE) held annually since 2003. It brings together different stakeholders including individual pastoralists, pastoralist associations, government, private sector, academia and mainstream civil society.

This year’s event was graced by more than 3000 people, including two governors, several Members of Parliament. Members of County Assemblies and other politicians.

[1] https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2018/03/30/kajiado-pastoralists-lost-232400-cows-sh139-billion-to-drought-lenku_c1738858