Review of Policies

1. Review of Policies Increasing Community Resilience to Drought in Sakai sub-Location, Kisau Division, Makueni District 4-7th January 2007 Garden Hotel, Machakos Maggie Opondo (PhD) University of Nairobi

2. Situation Review of ASAL Policies in Kenya • Prevalence of drought disasters in ASALs in Kenya (80% of total landmass) • ASALs pose a challenge since a large proportion of the population is unable to contribute positively to development • Adaptation necessary to reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience in response to observed or expected changes in climate and its effects

3. Situation Review of ASAL Policies in Kenya • The government in conjunction with international development partners has initiated policies to curb the effects of drought in the ASALs • Effective planning is thus necessary to alleviate the increasing negative impacts of drought

4. Situation Review of ASAL Policies in Kenya • The UNFCC in accordance with the Marrakech Accord is distributing funds and resources to encourage the formulation of National Adaptation Programs of Action (NAPAs) to be included in various policy implementation frameworks • Through NAPAs, countries identify priority activities that must be implemented in the immediate future to address urgent national climate change

5. Situation Review of ASAL Policies in Kenya • Policy formulation should be done in conjunction with the affected people otherwise they become relevant, such as the first ASAL policy of 1979 • First ASAL policy considerably inefficient necessitating the formation of a new policy in 1992 • New policy attempted to improve its content based on past experiences but also a failure => top-down approach and adequate knowledge of situation of target groups

6. Situation Review of ASAL Policies in Kenya • Previous ASAL policies =>greater emphasis on symptoms rather than tackling root causes • Led to recognition that future plans should: • adopt livelihood rather than sectoral approach • focus on immediate, medium and long term impacts of CV • ensure integration of indigenous and traditional knowledge • ensure procedural fairness through interactive participation and self mobilization • proactive rather than knee-jerk responses - crop & livelihood diversification, seasonal climate forecasting, famine early warning systems, insurance, and water and food storage - should be enhanced in anticipation of CC

7. National Disaster Management Policy(November 2004) • Focus: • Strengthening of communities’ capabilities in preparedness and withstanding adverse impact of disasters • Integrating disaster risk management in the national developmental process • Weakness: • Focus on institutional framework approaches to enhance capacity of communities • Meanwhile these communities had little if any engagement with the projects initiated and therefore could not identify with the projects

8. Sessional Paper on National Disaster Management (December 2004) • Formulated to provide guidelines for mainstreaming of disaster risk management into poverty reduction and sustainable development initiatives • Emergency Drought Recovery Programme in 199-1996 to restore livelihoods, reduce vulnerability and enhance food security in drought prone areas • Programme culminated in the current Arid Lands Resource Management Programme covering 22 districts

9. Sustainable Development of Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (September 2005) • Focus: • Revitalization of the ASALS • The ALRMP has demonstrated that drought can be effectively managed if proper policy and institutional structures are in place • Lesson: • Previous uncoordinated aid initiatives should be avoided as this has been detrimental to policy implementation

10. Sessional Paper on Sustainable Development of Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (January 2006) • The overall goal of this policy is to contribute to poverty reduction and wealth creation through investments in sustainable and equitable development in the ASAL areas

11. Project Objectives vis-à-vis Policies • Assessment and validation of the efficacy of draft policy instruments • Identification and evaluation of activities and measures currently being undertaken to reduce vulnerability to drought • Review and analysis of policies • Identification of key policy stakeholders through participatory meetings (communities and the District Steering Group) • Consultations with the Arid Lands Resources Management Project • Presentations of the project objectives and activities to the District Steering Group • Consultative meeting with the community leaders to present the project goal, objectives and activities and to seek their acceptance of the project • Needs and priorities assessment household survey • Participatory stakeholder meetings with communities and policy stakeholders

12. Project Objectives vis-à-vis Policies • Improvement and up-scaling of preferred SAPs • The promising SAPs will be scaled up to more than one region in the district • Feasible policy elements identified will be used to advice national policy • Presentation of draft policy • Recommendations to be made based on experiences gathered through the project execution and engagement with stakeholders

13. Project Objectives vis-à-vis Policies • Policy implementation plan • Results and recommendations from the stakeholders workshops will be brought to the attention of the Kenya Food Security Steering Group for discussion and support • The reports from the KFSSG will be disseminated to the line ministries for incorporation into their planning process and policy modification

14. etcend of talking capacity! Thank You!