Assessment Of Climate Change Impacts On Natural Resources And The Different Gender Among The Pastoralist Communities Of Samburu, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Climate change due to anthropogenic induced global warming is one of the greatest and

defining challenges of the current and future centuries. The Intergovernmental Panel on

Climate Change (IPGC) has unequivocally affirmed it and directly linked it to

anthropogenic Green-House Gases (GHGs) emissions from fossil fuel burning and land

use changes. Although the impacts of climate change are global, they will be differently

felt and distributed among different regions, generations, age classes, income groups,

occupations and genders. Pastoralists, who inhabit the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands

(ASALs), are among the people most likely to be affected by these impacts because of

their high sensitivity and vulnerability, low adaptive capacities and resistance to climate

change. For several years, they have been managing climate variability, however, the

unprecedented rate arid scale of human induced climate change impacts; droughts and

floods are beginning to pose bigger and more challenges to their livelihood sustainability.

These impacts are affecting men, women and children differently due to different

household roles; use of natural resources; differential access to resources, technology and

education. This study was carried out in Wamba Division in the eastern area of Samburu

County, to assess impacts of climate change on natural resources and gender. Specifically

the study focused on identifying the key natural resources in the district and their use by

different gender, assessing impacts of climatic hazards (drought and flood) on the key

natural resources the subsequent effects on different gender and determination of gender

specific coping strategies. Semi ;tructured questionnaires were administered to 36

households (Manyattas) per ranch randomly selected from five community group

ranches. Key informant interviews, focus group discussions and specified transect walks

were undertaken. The study revealed a 99.4% awareness level of climate change among

communities. The most observed indicators included prolonged droughts (93.9%), loss of

pasture (98.8%), increase in livestock diseases (81.1 %), and drying of water sources

(78.9%). Key natural resources in the area in order of importance were rated as water,

pasture, mountains and hills, medicinal plants, forests, wild animals and crops. The study

showed females use natural resources more than males due to gender roles. Females main

roles were herding of livestock, milking, collecting water, firewood, building materials,

wild fruits and berries, fodder and charcoal burning whereas males roles included

watering livestock, honey and bush meat provision. There were significant differences

between livestock numbers owned in 2010 and those owned in 2005 and 2000 at p