Lake Victoria is a fresh water lake. Its declining water level poses a serious threat to the lifeline of East Africa, Sudan and Egypt among other riparian states. The decreases in surface water sources also pose threats to hydropower generation due to insufficient water in the power dams. Kenya has faced frequent power rationing because of the low levels of water in its hydro dams. The rationing has forced the country to employ the use of expensive diesel generators thereby affecting business and the manufacturing sector. Kenya has also experienced frequent long droughts which continue to impact on people’s livelihoods in areas such as the east and northeast. This has led to the death of livestock while also causing the affected communities to depend on relief food. The government has been forced at such times to appeal for international assistance to help feed the population. Because of infrequent rainfall, it has also been forced to import cereal like maize.
climate change and global warming. Following the report of the
IPCC, the global community in 1992 signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the Rio Earth Summit which was later ratified in 1994. Thereafter, several protocols have been formulated to translate the UNFCCC framework into action.
Notable cases include the
Kyoto Protocol (1997), Montreal Protocol (2005) and Copenhagen Accord (2009) which sought to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases into the environment. The Copenhagen Accord was reached in December 2009 but with no
meaningful and legally-binding reduction targets in GHGs emissions. The impacts of climate change continue to ravage developing countries due to their lack of technical and financial resources to address climate change. Africa in general and Kenya in particular are especially vulnerable since they rely mainly on rain-fed agriculture and natural resources for survival. The clear symptoms of climate
change threaten to compromise the gains being made to reduce poverty in the African continent. Africa must therefore build capacity to enhance its resilience in the face of the challenges posed by climate change.
16 | The Parliamentarian | 2010: Issue Three - Kenya
Ms Kamara takes the Oath of Office as Assistant Minster for Mineral Resources during the swearing-in ceremony at State House, Nairobi.
In Kenya, climate change has
manifested itself in pointers such as: the recession of glaciers on Mount Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro; frequent famines; an increase in maximum and minimum
temperatures; increased frequency and intensity of weather extremes (droughts/La Nina and floods/El Nino); shrinking and declining water levels in lakes and rivers such as Lakes Victoria, Naivasha, Elementaita and Bogoria, and sea level rise at the coast of Kenya.
A priority for climate change policies Kenya has therefore moved to mainstream climate change in development policies. The government has developed a comprehensive environment policy that draws on poverty and environment linkages. The policy also aims to support the country’s sustainable development aspirations through the integration of environment considerations across sectors. This policy is yet to be introduced in Parliament for the necessary legislation to commence. The efforts being undertaken in the environmental policy include pursuance of sustainable natural resource development to reduce poverty and to abate continued environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources. The policy seeks to implement sustainable development through