Background

The severe and prolonged drought that has affected much of East Africa in 2009 has had a devastating impact on people, livestock and wildlife in Kenya’s arid lands, characterised by escalating competition and conflict over scarce and diminishing natural resources. More worryingly, it seems likely that the impacts of climate change in northern Kenya will in the future intensify competition and conflict between different communities and between wildlife and people. This study was designed to explore the underlying linkages between conservation, conflict and climate in northern Kenya’s arid lands, and to assess how effective and sustainable natural resource management practices can potentially mitigate conflict, promote peace and facilitate adaptation to the challenges presented by climate change. The project chiefly focused on community wildlife conservancies, which are an emerging approach to natural resource management and provide a potentially powerful mechanism for managing conflict and climate risk. The study provided policy recommendations for supporting the practical applications of the lessons learnt as well as for promoting broader application in other arid and semi-arid areas.

Our contribution

CDC undertook the initial background research and consultations, which then provided a basis for the subsequent development of the study’s analytical framework. We also conducted the field investigations in the target community conservancies. These field investigations utilised a variety of participatory tools for understanding the conservation, conflict and climate relationships, including hazard mapping, historical timelines and seasonal calendars, as well as conflict-sensitivity tools, such as conflict trees and conflict-sensitive screening. Overall, the study showed that the community conservancies provide an effective approach to addressing the core problem of natural resource competition, and can also provide a mechanism for resolving natural resource-based conflicts in the region. However, the success of this approach will ultimately hinge on the ability to replicate the conservancy model throughout the region. This scaling up process will inevitably have social impacts that will need to be managed carefully in order not to further exacerbate competition and conflict between different groups. Much will also depend on the continuing economic viability of the conservancy model, which will largely hinge on the support and incentives that are provided by government as well as wider economic factors, such as the continuing prosperity of Kenya’s tourism industry. The study report can be downloaded here.

Customers