The Context of Climate Change and Pastoralism-Challenges and Opportunities: Public Participation Policy Formulation, Implementation and Evaluation

Pastoralists are people who live mostly in dry, remote areas herding livestock. Their livelihoods depend on their intimate knowledge of the surrounding ecosystem and on the well-being of their livestock.

Pastoral systems take many forms and are adapted to particular natural, political and economic environments. The types of livestock kept by pastoralists vary according to climate, environment, water and other natural resources, and geographical area. Pastoralism is therefore an economic and social system well adapted to dryland conditions and characterized by a complex set of practices and knowledge that has permitted the maintenance of a sustainable equilibrium among pastures, livestock and people.

Pastoral communities are marginalized and generally not given due consideration in wider socio-political analysis.

Pastoral communities face threats such as;

• ·      Marginalization and generally not being given due consideration in wider socio-political analysis.
• ·       Livelihoods of these communities are vulnerable to climate change, shifting global markets, population growth and increased competition for land and other natural resources
• ·     Little knowledge on current governance reforms and provisions of the Constitution and legal frameworks such as public participation in their socio-political affairs.

 Public Participation

The Constitution of Kenya 2010 provides that power is the foundation of public participation: Article 1 “all sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya ……….” Some ways of ensuring public participation for pastoral communities include:

·         Publicity- passing of information to pastoralists

·         Public Education- awareness among pastoralists

·         Public Input- solicit and collect ideas & opinions

·         Public Interaction- exchange views and concerns

·         Public Partnerships- pastoralists and government agreed decisions and follow ups.

Pastoralists input on development can be done in the following ways;

• ·         Participate actively and engage in decision making in utilization of natural resources.
• ·         Search for information to judge accuracy on government actions.
• ·         Participate in public/political discussions which affect them and their communities
• ·     Follow debates and voting influence of their MCAs, MPs, Senators that is important to pastoralists
• ·         Signing petitions on a desired government action or policy

·        Importance of public participation

• ·         Promotes transparency and accountability among leaders
• ·         Promotes local and community ownership
• ·         Facilitates consensus building in development projects
• ·         Enhances cooperation and trust between leaders and communities
• ·         Enhances awareness creation on development

Greater efforts are required to ensure the participation of pastoral people in all stages of project development; More attention needs to be paid to collecting and analyzing context-specific data in order to gain a better understanding of the socio-economic value of pastoralism;

Policymakers need to create an enabling institutional environment at national and county government levels that is sensitive to the specific needs and constraints of pastoralists and also provides them with space and authority for decision making.

Recommendations

1. Development planners should have a clear understanding of the national policy context, of supportive and unsupportive policies, and of the general attitude of government towards pastoralism.
2. More attention should be devoted to indigenous environmental knowledge, which emphasizes the preservation of species and habitats, thus contributing to biodiversity and making pastoralism essential for the ecosystem health of dryland environments.
3. To reverse rangeland degradation, customary and local institutions need to be strengthened so that they can make better use of traditional knowledge and ensure that pastoralism continues to be practiced and managed effectively and autonomously, without external pressures.

By: Joshua Kipsang Changwony

Deputy Executive Secretary/Programs Coordinator

Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO)

changwony@crecokenya.org

THERE IS MORE TO MENSTRUATION THAN A SANITARY PAD

Image: The Economic Times

With menstruation on the limelight in Kenya today, there have been campaigns left right and centre to donate and collect sanitary towels to keep girls in class, with even the government coming in and providing free sanitary towels to schools, but is this enough? Truth is that most of the girls like most of the Kenyans out there are not aware that there is more to menstruation than the monthly period. Menstruation is a natural biological process, which occurs in girls from ages 9-19 and varies from girl to girl yet menstruation is regarded as a silent, shameful, embarrassing or even a taboo topic in most of our cultures. The result is women and girls have over the year’s hidden and concealed menstruation, yet it is one of the issues that needs to be prioritized to achieve gender equality and inclusion.

Many girls are not able to manage their periods in a safe and dignified manner. Lack of sanitation facilities in school is one of the causes of menstruation related absenteeism; the girls opt to stay at home to avoid compromising their integrity. When they soil their dresses in school, the ridicule and embarrassment from their colleagues forces them to stay at home during this period. Menstrual cramps are also an issue as the girls do not know how to handle them, and because menstruation is regarded as a “private” topic the girls suffer in silence.  There are no safety measures for disposal of used sanitary towels in most schools and homesteads. You find that most schools don’t have menstrual bins for collecting pads and mostly not considered a priority, so the girls end up disposing them in the latrine or hiding them on shelves or cracks in the bathroom.

 Inadequate of complete lack of water mostly affects the girls, meaning that they cannot maintain good menstrual hygiene. Unhygienic practices expose the girls to reproductive tract infections that the girls cannot report lest they are accused of engaging in sex yet If not treated early; it could lead to various health issues and consequently affect their valuable lives.  Girls should therefore be made aware of the process of menstruation and importance of maintaining their hygiene before attaining menarche. They should also be made aware about its linkages with their forthcoming reproductive health.  Menstrual hygiene management education will also help demystify the myths and taboos on menstruation. On the other hand, the society should break the silence on menstruation and discuss these issues and come up with practical solutions so as to leave no one behind.     

                                                                                                                                     

By Jedidah Lemaron

Jedidah Lemaron is the Founder and Executive Director of the Malkia Initiative, which works to promote and enhance quality education for girls. Our main focus is on Mentorship, Menstrual Hygiene Management and re-admission of teenage mothers to school, she is passionate about Education, Youth,  Girls, and Women. As a Maasai girl she works to change the lives of the community by exploring ways to engage  the diverse group of actors including the Maasai elders, community gate keepers, role models, youth and women into finding even better solutions to close the evident gaps. She has worked on campaigns such as ‘Girls not brides’, and ‘Do not exchange girls with cows’ and ‘End FGM Now,’ among others.