Time to turn policy into action – Kenya’s arid lands policy

Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) are home to more than 30 percent of the country’s population. Many years of underdevelopment and poor policies in these regions mean that pressure is increasing on nomadic pastoralists in arid lands, where poverty is higher than in the rest of Kenya.

Oxfam International is calling on Kenya’s government to end decades of marginalisation and implement its popular policy for arid lands. Covering 80 percent of Kenya, ASALs and the people living there contribute significantly to Kenya’s economy, mainly through livestock production, which currently accounts for roughly five percent of GDP. Most people living in arid lands are livestock producers. When droughts hit, like the one in 2006 that killed an estimated 70 percent of their animals, the local impact is enormous and the national economy also suffers.

Oxfam argues that appropriate long-term development in these areas would not only improve people’s lives but would also contribute to Kenya’s economy and reduce the high costs associated with emergency drought assistance. Continuing to ignore the specific needs of ASALs will result in increased poverty and environmental degradation. The effects of drought are worse every time rains fail, as people become less and less able to recover from the last one and cope with the next.

Analysis of arid lands over many years and a comprehensive consultation process in Kenya produced the National Policy for the Sustainable Development of the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands of Kenya in 2005. This policy has strong support and the potential to reduce poverty and increase resilience to drought in arid lands. It aims to:

• involve local people in development through improved local institutions and decentralised planning
• improve water systems, land management, animal health, marketing and alternative income opportunities to pastoralism
• improve the legal framework for land tenure, management and land conflict resolution
• provide appropriate basic services, such as mobile schools and clinics
• focus on equality and opportunities for women and girls, who are particularly disadvantaged and especially affected by drought because they have responsibility for providing food and water to their family
• increase links with other areas to open up markets and develop financial services.

Pastoralist groups, as well as NGOs and UN agencies, support this policy. However, it has been slow to reach Cabinet and to be approved and implemented. While it may provide the solution to many years of underdevelopment, until it is passed, nothing will happen. Government needs to:

• increase its commitment to this policy and push it through the political system, despite Kenya’s slow legislative process
• take strong action to get all key ministries to support the policy and its implementation
• prioritise the budget for policy implementation and ensure that all relevant ministries are held accountable for spending the funds needed
• use current donor support and willingness to help with the humanitarian crisis to secure long-term commitment to funding the policy’s implementation.

Source(s):
‘Delivering the Agenda. Addressing chronic under-development in Kenya’s arid lands.’ Oxfam Briefing Paper 88, by Mary Kirkbride, 2006 Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 9 March 2007

Further Information:
Mary Kirkbride
Policy and Advocacy Consultant
Oxfam GB
Oxfam House
John Smith Drive
Cowley
Oxford OX4 2JY
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1865 473727
Contact the contributor: kirkbridemary@hotmail.com

Oxfam GB

Other related links:
'Making the case: A national drought contingency fund for Kenya' Oxfam Briefing Paper 89

'How do pastoralists cope with increasing pressure on land? '

'Overcoming threats to pastoral livelihoods in Somali Region'

'Management of rangeland resources in areas of climatic variability'

'The impact of conflict on pastoral economies in eastern Africa'

'Turning research into policy for dryland development'