Building Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Community Resilience Against Drought in the Context of the Paris Agreement: The Case of Isiolo County, Kenya

BACKGROUND

Under the Paris Agreement, countries that are party to the negotiations are obliged to meet its National Determined Contributions (NDC). Kenya, a member state of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or UNFCCC, has made strides in the climate change arena, keeping up with its NDCs and establishing climate change legislation and policy measures. This chapter provides insights on how resilience building amidst the climate-change induced droughts is possible through multi-stakeholder collaboration between pastoral and agro-pastoral communities, county and the national government.

GOALS & METHODS

There are two objectives of the study: (i) to review the alignment of national and county government policies and strategies for climate change resilience using Isiolo as a case study; and (ii) to assess opportunities and risks for climate change interventions in Isiolo county.  In doing so, the study conducted a review of pertinent government legislation, policies, and strategies for climate change resilience.  Isiolo County, Kenya, one of 33 counties classified as arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) prone to disaster risk, was used as a case study on how resilience of pastoral and agro-pastoral communities against drought can be enhanced and up-scaled.

CONCLUSIONS & TAKEAWAYS

Results show that, although drought will be a recurrent problem in Kenya, most especially in ASALs, there are admirable efforts ongoing in Kenya in addressing both climate change and drought. Using Isiolo county as a case study, key findings include: One, there is a need to improve coordination across institutions and between national and county governments with regards to climate change action. Two, there should be a clear and steady source of international financing to both the national and county levels pegged at $ 40 billion until 2030. In line with this is the need to lay down the groundwork to effectively implement county and national plans including resource mobilization, technical capability building, and access to and adoption of environmentally sustainable technologies. Three, addressing climate change and drought in particular should be through a multi stakeholder dialogue- inclusive and participatory to maximize the benefits for everyone. Lastly, priority action based on the country’s resilience and development plans should be focused in the gender and conflict-management arenas.