Vulnerability to climate change and conflict, its impact on livelihoods and the enjoyment of human rights : case study: pastoral communities in Northern Kenya (Turkana, Pokot and Samburu Districts)

Abstract

The relationship between climate change and conflict is a complex one. Violent conflicts
 involving pastoralists have become widespread and increasingly severe in the North Rift and
 North Eastern regions of Kenya. This study examines the factors contributing to such
 conflicts, and discusses issues and priorities for conflict prevention and peace building. The
 pastoralists in the three districts under study are largely nomadic. They live primarily in arid
 or semi-arid areas and depend on livestock (cattle, sheep, goats and camels) for their
 livelihood. They rely on access to pasture and water, for the survival of their livestock. Such
 resources are scarce and under increasing pressure. Conflicts involving pastoralists associated
 with resource competition, cattle rustling and wide availability of small arms are widespread
 and of increasing concern. This Study thus provides a useful case to examine in depth factors
 contributing to conflict, issues and priorities for conflict prevention. This study also looks at
 how the livelihoods of pastoralists in Samburu, Pokot and Turkana is vulnerable to climate
 change and conflict and ways in which these systems adapt to these conditions. The last part
 of this work looks briefly at how climate change and conflicts affect human security.
 Conflicts interfere with human rights like the right to life, the rights to adequate housing, the
 right to health and the right to food. It discusses briefly how these rights are directly affected
 when a society is hit by climatic changes like droughts or floods. The study uses interviews,
 semi-structured and focus group interviews to gather data from local communities,
 government officials and experts. It also uses secondary data from published and unpublished
 sources and systematically analyzes this material using qualitative analysis. The result shows
 that climate change is evident in the three districts in Northern Kenya. There’s evidence of
 decreasing precipitation and increasing temperatures. Drought and unpredictable rainfall have
 impacted greatly on the people’s livelihoods and this has resulted to migration,
 overpopulation and resource conflicts. The vulnerability of pastoralism to climate change and
 conflict is further worsened by the fact that this way of life is greatly marginalized. They
 receive no support from the government and this just worsens the situation. Some of the
 coping strategies that have been applied are mobility, trading, crop farming is slowly being
 introduced, and drought resistant livestock like camels and goats are slowly being kept. This
 paper suggests ways to reduce vulnerability thus ensuring that people’s rights are not violated.

M-IES