Fund ASAL counties to fight climate change, say lobbies

Leaders and environmentalists in Garissa are calling on the national government to commit more funds to ASAL counties.

Speaking in Garissa town on Monday, the vice chairman of the livestock marketing council Dubat Ali Amey said despite climate change affecting the entire country, Northeastern has borne the brunt.

He said communities have varied first-hand feelings of the effects of climate change.

He said this was evident with the piles of animal carcasses strewn all over the roads, where livestock farmers continue to lose hundreds of their animals in huge numbers, leaving them destitute.

“Climate change is real and it has taken a toll on our people. It is no longer tenable to keep big numbers of livestock,” he said.

"For this reason, the government must come up with a marshal plan to cushion the livestock farmers against the vagaries of drought."

Kenya recently hosted the Africa Climate Summit, with leaders from across the globe gathering in Nairobi.

President William Ruto said the summit had lived up to its billing and offered a springboard for the take-off for the continent’s climate action plans.

He said various stakeholders had made "substantial commitments, totalling $23 billion, for green growth, mitigation and adaptation efforts across Africa”. 

While commending the President for his firm stand in defending the Arican continent, Dubat said the time had come to match the words with actions.

“I was very much satisfied with the deliberations and resolutions arrived thereafter. There are grants that directly targeted Kenya. I hope to see the funds being used or channelled in the right place,” he said.

He was referring to the deals, some directly targeted at Kenya, such as the Sh1.9 billion (€12 million) in grants from the European Union (EU) for investment in the country’s green hydrogen industry, which  are expected to accelerate Africa’s green agenda.

Abdikadir Aden, an environmentalist, said he is looking forward to seeing the government put more effort towards the nomadic community, noting that out of the 47 counties, 23 are classified as ASAL.

“Let us see more action on the ground, where people's lives are impacted positively, so that they can feel that indeed, they have a government that not only listens but cares for them as well,” he said.

“Otherwise, if we don’t take action to address the challenges, the impacts will spill over to other counties.”

Ambia Abdi called for the climate action initiatives agreed on at the summit in Nairobi to be cascaded to counties.

Addressing a high-level inter-ministerial panel at the summit, Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi said the interventions discussed will remain a pipe dream if local administrative units are not roped into designing the solutions.

Local communities have varied first-hand feelings of the effects of climate change and ways to respond to them, he said.

Ruto said there was a notable increase in adaptation financing, aligning with the ambitious Nairobi Declaration that seeks to give the continent a common voice and direction in climate change issues.

The summit proposed a new financing architecture responsive to Africa’s needs, including debt restructuring and relief, and the development of a new Global Climate Finance Charter through the United Nations General Assembly and the COP processes by 2025.