According to Human Rights Watch, regional development projects and climate change are a massive threat to the health and livelihood of the indigenous inhabitants of the Turkana region of northwest Kenya.
In a 96-page report, “There Is No Time Left: Climate Change, Environmental Threats, and Human Rights in Turkana County, Kenya, presented to human rights and environmental groups in Nairobi ahead of the climate change negotiations held in Bonn, Germany late last month, the government of Kenya faces increasing burdens of ensuring access to food, water, health, and security in the Turkana region.
According to Joseph Amon, health and human rights director at Human Rights Watch, “The combination of climate change, large-scale development, and population growth poses an urgent threat to the people of the Turkana region. Lake Turkana is in danger of disappearing, and the health and livelihood of the indigenous peoples of the region along with it.â€
Rising temperatures and shifting precipitation patterns brought about by climate change are disproportionately affecting an already vulnerable people, as they are in various countries with limited resources and fragile ecosystems.
According to data from the meteorological station in Turkana’s capital, the average temperatures have risen between 2 and 3°C in the past 45 years and rainfall patterns have changed too. This is creating insecurity and conflict in the area, with people being forced off their land by competition looking for grazing for their cattle.
Added to the climate change are a burgeoning population growth and large-scale development, all of which are threatening Lake Turkana itself, and with it the health and livelihood of the indigenous people in the area.
Lake Turkana is the world’s biggest desert lake and the source of livelihood for 300,000 Turkana residents, but hydroelectric projects and irrigated sugar plantations are threatening to vastly reduce its water levels. Turkana County is among the poorest regions in Kenya and most residents make their living herding cattle and goats or fishing in Lake Turkana.
Inhabitants are facing increased difficulties in obtaining water, with some having to walk in excess of 20 kilometres to dig for water in dry riverbeds. Children are becoming ill due to a lack of drinking water, water for agriculture, and water for personal hygiene.
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