Long-term solutions needed to tackle drought

Kenya is struggling to counter the catastrophic effects of prolonged drought.

Seasonal rivers have dried up and rivalry is spewing between cultivators and pastoralists who graze animals on farms to save them from death.

Water and food supply has become a challenge in many places. The scope of risk to contracting human-animal diseases widens due to sharing of water points.

Already, the extended drought in the country has led to livestock deaths, narrowing means to livelihood in many households and counties where the dry weather has pressed the most.

Spread of vector and water borne diseases such as malaria, typhoid and cholera has increased in the recent past owing to the fluctuating weather. A drastic change in environment makes vectors causing diseases to mutate, making it difficult to control their multiplicity.

The drought severity in Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu and Turkana alone has affected over 2.5 million people and what they do to earn a living. These are those who experience the direct effects of the intensified weather.

Drought like floods has both direct and indirect effects. Although drought has extended effects and the effects of floods only localised, both they affect economies nearly by equal measure.

Combined, the catastrophes have a potential to retard Kenya’s growth by a tune of five per cent on annual basis. This is because the adverse weather events interfere with the productive sectors of the economy.

The potential of arable land to produce is impeded and the size of land that can be cultivated in the absence of irrigation is reduced. The vigour of cultivator to till the field with vitality is degenerated.

Some of the indirect effects of weather are real in the counties of Baringo and Marsabit where there is an upsurge of malaria. The increased pricing of farm produce in the market is another effect just to name a few.

Ecological responses to climate and weather variability suggest a weakening marine and terrestrial ecosystem that is on the verge of losing a score of its species. Threats to biodiversity are on the increase.

Habitats are being destroyed and demands quick response by governments of the world and community of experts restore them. Disaster risk attenuation due to an upsurge of micro and macro animal and plant species invasion should be monitored, understood and contained to prevent added harm to livestock and crops.

Latest research techniques that are not limited to data science and mapping by use of the Geographic Information System (GIS) should be utilised to achieve this goal.
Drought and flood risk response bodies should come up with innovative ways to not only cushion from danger those that are susceptible, but to monitor and quantify loss incurred through (water and wind) soil erosion, effect on tourism and in marine and estuarine fishes and fisheries and other processes that slow economic activities.

The county governments should also work together with the national government in preparing and in implementing laws and policies that may provide a solution to these recurrent challenges. The government should also make the adoption of alternative energy sources to households affordable.

Since climate is irreversible and meteorological data suggests that the two events of floods and drought follow each other, it is important for policy makers to rethink the Kenyan future by investing heavily in the future and by drawing cross-sectoral synergies in developing an economic growth model that will encapsulate the reality of climate change.

Incorporating climate change in the school curriculum is also important in order to widen the understanding of climate change knowledge and avenues of adapting and to mitigate.

Above all, while drought can be used to generate solar power, flood water can be harvested and used for irrigation when the rains ceded meaning both events can be turned around into our inclusive gain.

Without these deliberate efforts to understand weather and climate-induced disasters and turning those disasters into opportunities, the country will always waste resources in its post-disaster management projects.

Obed Nyangena, Narok, via email