Northern Kenya can break droughts, floods cycle

Over the past four months in the Kenyan drylands, we have have seen a familiar cycle of drought, famine and floods followed by charity from fellow Kenyans.

But we’ll need more than emergency aid if we’re to break this cycle that strands our region in poverty. We need strategies and infrastructure to manage our existing water resources.

It was in January when the first drought emergencies were declared for most of northern Kenya, including my home county, Marsabit. Thousands of cows, goats and camels died and, with them, the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people.

RESIDENTS DISPLACED

A month later, the drought was still grinding and the government had declared an emergency in 23 of the 47 counties.

The Kenyan Red Cross appealed to Kenyans and raised Sh1 billion to mitigate the effects of the drought.

The drought ended when rains came in February and the crisis, for the moment, was averted. But the rains didn’t stop, rivers broke their banks and homes were washed away. Last month, the Red Cross was back — this time appealing for Sh499 million to help those displaced by floods.

Once again, Marsabit, along with seven other counties, was declared the site of an emergency.

CRUEL IRONY

While the Red Cross and other non-governmental organisations offer valuable assistance to areas struck by the recurrent weather-related emergencies, this goodwill cannot sustain them through these devastating cyclical events.

Kenya lost billions of shillings in the past decade to such emergencies. During drought, crops fail and livestock die for lack of water and pasture. When the rains come, thousands are at the mercy of floods.

It is a cruel irony that all the dryland counties flooded today will be dry in a few months and residents will fight for the few shallow wells. You will hear of Kenyans dying of dehydration, crop failure and loss of livestock.

Kenya’s per capita water availability is less than 600 cubic metres, which, according to the World Bank, makes it one of the most water-scarce countries. However, its rainwater potential, if captured and managed with better infrastructure, should be more than enough.

MANAGE RANGELANDS

But what can we, as pastoralists, do to better prepare for these cycles of long droughts and hard rain? I have lived through several droughts and lost herds of livestock. This is what I have learnt: Pastoralists must adapt or perish as their way of life vanishes.

Communities need to diversify their livelihoods, switch to drought-resistant livestock and manage their rangelands properly.

But then, the government must also take action — including building more water-harvesting infrastructure.

The arid counties can produce enough food — and even surplus — if runoff is properly harvested. That would also mean households don’t need to move their livestock in search of water and grazing, resulting in less conflict among Kenyans.

WATER HARVESTING

One way to improve water harvesting is to ask private companies to invest in it. Many of the most severely drought-hit counties are also home to major infrastructure developments, including wind farms in Lake Turkana and the Lamu port. We should compel the companies profiting from these developments to finance water-harvesting strategies as their corporate social responsibility.

To be sure, some progress has been made. In March, the government announced its intention to launch a National Water Storage and Harvesting Authority in a bid to improve rainwater collection and stockpiling. The goal is to help us better manage our cycles of drought and floods.

But there are concerns that the authority’s focus will be on the southern part of Kenya instead of the arid North, which has been historically neglected.

The national government has also set aside Sh12 billion in funding for development projects in 14 marginalised counties. Turkana is getting the lion’s share and has committed most of it towards water. It’s hoped that the other counties will follow suit.

DIVERSIFY LIVESTOCK

Unfortunately, the other disastrous cycle that we Kenyans are too familiar with is that of funds followed by corruption followed by fat wallets and numbered offshore accounts. We can only hope that this money will be put to good use.

We must act now to break the disastrous cycle of droughts and floods. While the government takes action, communities need not wait for this to happen. They can play a greater role in adapting and preparing for climate shocks. They must take advantage of rains and manage their water resources, diversify their livestock, plant more trees and practise disciplined rangeland management.

And of course, they should also hold their leaders to account for their promises.

Mr Omar, the co-founder and Kenya programme director for the Boma Project, is an Aspen Institute 2018 New Voices Fellow. [email protected]