By Yemi Olakitan
Pastoralists in Northern Kenya and other arid African regions hope for compensation for loss and damage during severe drought. Climate change has enormous negative impacts on humans and nature. Kenyan pastoralist Job Metuy understands this firsthand. At COP27, he described pastoralism’s drought-related suffering.
Mr. Metuy, from Torosei in Kenya’s Kajiado County, recounted the agony of losing 20 dairy cows to the heat this year. He described how he covered his nose as he dragged the rotting bovine corpses to the piles of drought-killed cattle.
He fought to save his animals. “My cows are skeletons. They drag themselves through the grass to die.” Mr. Metuy transported his cows across international boundaries to Tanzania to find fresh pastures and water, believing the drought would not end in time. However, East African pastoralists had already depleted Tanzania’s pastures and water. Mr. Metuy had to return his cows to Kajiado because they were weaker and starved. Mr. Metuy borrowed money and hired a vehicle to transfer the cattle when they could no longer walk. He returned to find that pastoralists in Kajiado, Garissa, Turkana, and Isiolo Counties were selling their cows for Kshs 2000 ($20). Africa’s COP27 was held at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022. Delivering for People and Planet was the conference topic.
More than 40,000 heads of state, climate activists, mayors, civil society representatives, CEOs, ministries, and negotiators attended the summit. Over a billion Africans—disproportionately affected by the climate crisis—had their dreams at risk.
President William Ruto addressed conference attendees about Kenya’s severe drought. Kenyans told heartbreaking accounts of stress and suffering following four devastating rain failures.
Africa’s dry and semi-arid regions rely on pastoralism. Tribal farmers have used it for millennia. Pastoralism employs 90% of youngsters and generates 95% of rural family incomes in Northern Kenya’s drylands. Climate change primarily affects Garissa, Isiolo, Kajiado, Turkana, Kitui, Mandera, Marsabit, Laikipia, Samburu, Tana River, and Wajir. The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) calls these places “alarm stage,” meaning they are in the severe drought situation.
The State Department of Animals reports that Kenya has lost 2.5 million livestock and that the remaining 10 million in the drylands are starving.
Tourism Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza said 205 elephants died in Kenya Wildlife Services protected regions between February and October 2022 due to drought (KWS).
According to Ms. Malonza, this area lost 512 gnus, 381 zebras, 12 giraffes, and 51 buffalo. The rangeland environment, where 60% of wildlife coexists with communal cattle, has no death statistics.
Addressing Climate Change
Climate change is linked to droughts, floods, locust invasions, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage compensation might cost $580 billion in 2030 and $1.8 trillion by 2050.
African countries, especially Kenya, suffer disproportionately from climate change, even though wealthier nations and their major enterprises are mostly at blame for greenhouse gas emissions. Poor people suffer most.
Kenya needs to help its poorest population adapt by building sustainable dryland livelihoods. Droughts, floods, livestock diseases, and armed conflicts are destroying their livelihoods.
Kenya’s rising poor population needs social protections and resilience-building programmes, not global crisis aid from rich and powerful nations. Authorities must mainstream drought emergency social protections, resilience-building, and alternative development interventions. National and county governments must engage impoverished youth in dryland tree-planting programmes. Rich countries must fulfil obligations to pay climate emergency mitigation and financial compensation for the poor. Governments must control their desire to tax rangeland carbon credit income going to disadvantaged populations. Post-COP27, we must pressure affluent nations to limit greenhouse gas emissions and help low-income communities adapt and build resilience.
Climate change will worsen unless we quickly address its cause.
The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report warns of species extinction, decline, and permanent ecosystem and service losses, including damage to Africa’s freshwater, land, and ocean ecosystems. It also anticipates a decrease in food production and a catastrophic loss of wildlife, livestock, and fisheries.
We urge governments, especially industrialised ones, to implement their obligations and speed loss and damage mitigation at COP28.
Pastoralists in Northern Kenya and across Africa depend on these rich countries and African governments. Delay could kill.
