The government has called for harnessing of the available resources to change the arid and semi-arid lands regions.
Asals and Regional Development PS Kello Harsama said arid regions have enormous opportunities that would transform people’s lives if the available resources are utilised optimally.
He said Kenya’s Asals constitute an estimated 89 per cent of the country's landmass, and that 70 per cent of the national livestock herd is found in the areas.
“The areas have enormous renewable energy potential (solar and wind), conducive weather for sufficient food production and processing. In addition to perfect environment that allows the tourism and hospitality industry to thrive, just to name a few,” Harsama said.
He spoke during the Horn of Africa Pastoral Expo in Addis Ababa.
The PS however noted that despite these enormous opportunities, Asals face several challenges.
These challenges include the fragility of the ecosystem, hazards and disasters such as drought which has become regular and severe, floods, pests (locust invasion) and diseases.
The PS said he identifies with these challenges because he was born and brought up in Marsabit county, one of the 23 Asal counties in Kenya that is severely affected by persistent drought and occasional floods.
In Kenya, over 16 million people (about 30 per cent of country’s population) reside in the Asals and earn their living through a mix of pastoralism and small-scale subsistence agriculture.
“The areas are characterised by precarious food insecurity, limited access to basic social-economic services and infrastructure, and poor livelihood opportunities. As you all know, the region is recovering from the worst drought in 40 years where in Kenya alone, approximately 4.4 million people were food insecure and over 2.6 million livestock mortalities reported,” Harsama said.
Other than being home to pastoralists, the PS said Asals are also home to refugees. “It is estimated that more than 26 per cent of the world’s refugee population is found in this part of the world,” he said.
The Horn of Africa, a region with an estimated 242 million inhabitants, hosts about 3.5 million refugees. The problem largely affects Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
Kenya alone, hosts about 574,000 registered refugees. Majority of these refugees are accommodated in Kakuma (248,929) and Dadaab (233,661) refugee camps, in Turkana and Garissa counties respectively.
“The refugee problem, compounded with other mentioned challenges have led to further degradation of natural resources and more often than not, lead to resource-based conflicts,” he added.
Harsama said to address the challenges facing pastoralist communities, the government has made deliberate efforts to transform the lives of the people in its Asal regions.
In 2012, the government formulated a national policy sustainable development of the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands.
"That marked an important milestone in the institutionalisation of appropriate policy responses to the marginalisation and underdevelopment in the Asals. The policy proposes interventions in infrastructure, human capital, peace and security just to mention but a few,” the PS said.
He added that the government also allocates 1.5 per cent of all the revenue collected each year to provide basic services to the Asal regions, including water, roads, health facilities and electricity.
This is done through the Equalisation Fund which was established in 2010.
The PS said the approach has significantly reduced the gap between the pastoralists and the rest of the country.
The Horn of Africa Pastoral Expo aims to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of pastoralism while fostering awareness, collaboration and policy advocacy to help build resilient pastoral systems in the region.
The expo also seeks to help learn and exchange ideas on best practices for transforming lives of people living in the Asals.