State Department for Cabinet Affairs Principal Secretary Idris Salim Dokota has called on environment stakeholders to promote climate resilience in order to foster peace and security.
Dokota said climate resilience revolves around climate change effects adaptation and mitigation initiatives which guarantee peaceful and secure communities across the world.
“Climate resilience would mitigate against community conflicts on water resource competition, human-wildlife conflict, industrial conflict as well as social conflicts leading to security and tranquillity,” the PS explained.
“These three phenomena; climate resilience, peace and security make up an interconnected trinity whose manifestations are associated to positive socioeconomic outcomes.”
Dokota made the remarks during the national stakeholder’s workshop on the intersection between climate resilience, peace and security in Kenya
He stated that Sustainable Development Goals were created with the aim of "peace and prosperity for people and the planet,” while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests.
“SDGs are about the interconnection between climate resilience, peace and Security for people and the planet,” he added.
The PS added that achieving the aspirations of SDGs, Africa Agenda 2063 among others regional and national aspirations requires remodelling of investment policies, and interventions that build adaptive capacity to climate change thus promoting peace and security
“To a large extent, the matter of adverse climate change effects is a trigger of loss of peace and security in a society. These effects precipitate competition for the available resources that the environment can offer, such as water scarcity for livestock, humans, industrial and agricultural endeavours,” he said.
The PS noted that Kenya has dedicated substantial resources towards climate resilience, peace and security,
He said the inadequacy of water is a major contributor to many upheavals, breaches of peace and security especially in the frontier regions of Kenya.
