A number of images showing emaciated people have been doing rounds in Kenyan media platforms. This comes in the wake of an ongoing drought that has affected parts of the nation. The drought follows what was a heat wave experienced where abnormally high temperatures were recorded following a prolonged dry season. Now, an estimated  1.1 million people face starvation according to current reports. The condition has witnessed a rising death toll of people in affected areas, death of hundreds of cattle of livestock dependent pastoralist and children abandoning schools to search for food, water, and pasture.

A Vulnerable Nation

In 2016 Kenya ranked 31st in the most vulnerable country to climate change.  The reality of Kenya’s vulnerability to climate change has come to play with the hard-hitting drought and erratic weather patterns that the country has experienced in the past few years. Kenya has gone through periods of drought for the past 30 years, however, in recent years the droughts have become more frequent. The droughts have also become more prolonged and cover increasingly larger areas.  However, increasing droughts are not the only changes experienced due to climate change. Abnormal extended wet seasons have been observed. Just last year, torrential rains from March to May caused severe flooding and landslides which led to the death of hundreds of people, displacement of a quarter of a million people and significant environmental damage. Scientists and weather experts agree that these erratic weather patterns have been attributed to Climate change.

Kenya's vulnerability to climate change is due to its dependence on climate-sensitive sectors such as rain-fed agriculture, tourism and hydro-power generation and readiness which is the capacity to adapt. Although the country is a very small carbon emitter in global rankings, human activities locally have increased its carbon footprint.

Kenya, today, is among countries with a forest cover which is less than 10% of total land mass. Forest cover has declined from 12% in the 1960s to 7% due to deforestation. Activities such as illegal logging, agricultural production, charcoal production, and human settlement have led the encroachment of forest land. Forests, which help in the reduction of carbon emissions released into the atmosphere.

Greenhouse gas emission has also been on a steady rise. According to data, the agricultural sector has been the biggest contributor so far emitting 62.8% of total emissions. The energy sector follows with 31.2%, industrial processes and waste sectors contribute 4.6% and 1.4% respectively.

Government Efforts

In response, the government has adopted laws and policies to mitigate impacts and fight climate change.

In 2013, a five year National Climate Change Action Plans (NCCAP) was developed. The action plan addressed the options for a resilient development pathway that has low-carbon climate impact which aims to mitigate increasing emissions.

In July 2015, the country pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 which was its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), under the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The following year, a Climate Change Act, 2016 was enacted. This act of parliament provides a framework for responding to climate change and provides mechanisms to achieve development sustainably. The act also required the development of The National Climate Change Action Plans (NCCAP) 2018-2022 an action plan for mainstreaming of adaptation and mitigation actions into the National and County governments sector functions. The NCCAP which builds on the first action plan also serves further implement the INDC pledge. Some actions include diversifying renewable sources of energy by expansion of geothermal, solar and wind energy production. The country has also seen the adaptation of low carbon and efficient transport by shifting focus to railway transport, afforestation and reforestation projects to restore forest cover and improved waste management. 

Some projects are still at infancy stages of implementation, others only at conceptualization while others have been stagnated due to political influence.

After a national drought disaster was declared in 2017, the government allocated resources to national drought response. A livestock insurance programme was also set up to enable pastoralists to purchase animal feed, or sell their herds and restock whenever conditions improve. 

Although the government has made commendable effort, many still wonder whether the country is doing enough to reduce vulnerability of the nation to climate change that has threatened food security and the economy. For a country whose economy and development is highly dependent and sensitive to the climate, more proactive vs. reactive action needs to be taken to ensure a sustainable nation in order to prevent disasters in the first place especially with the current weather patterns that climate scientists have predicted will continue to change.Despite the country being a small contributor to greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale, Sustainable long term solutions and increasing awareness should start being implemented with the urgency it deserves.