Kenya moves to complete the
National Adaptation Plan
Women in Kajiado County practising Climate
Smart Agriculture ©Noah Lusaka ALIN, 2015
Climate change adaptation has become
a global policy priority. The ongoing
process to develop the National
Adaptation Plan (NAP) marks another
landmark by the Government of Kenya
towards addressing climate change
vulnerability.
An interview with a Kenya-based director of
LTS international, a consulting and project
management firm that supports sustainable
development worldwide, Ms. Irene Karani,
highlights milestones Kenya has achieved
as it completes its NAP.
What aspects of climate change work are
you involved in Kenya?
Our focus in Kenya is on assisting in
development of the adaptation chapter of
Kenya’s National Climate Change Action
Plan (NCCAP.) LTS also coordinated the
development of the National Performance
Benefits Measurements Framework for
climate change in Kenya. In operationalizing
the NCCAP, we are working with the
adaptation thematic working group to
develop the NAP. The NAP will address
how to integrate climate change adaptation
into the medium term plan of Vision 2030
and mainstreaming adaptation into the
County Integrated Plans of all of Kenya’s 47
counties.
What aspect are you addressing to
enhance resilience?
We are working closely with the Adaptation
Consortium coordinated by the National
Drought Management Authority (NDMA) to
come up with climate change adaptation
monitoring and evaluation frameworks
for Isiolo, Kitui and Makueni counties. We
work with both county and ward adaptation
planning committees and assist them
in developing theories of change and
adaptation indicators through training
processes.
We have developed a number of training
materials with partners such as the
International Institute for Environment
and Development (IIED) on the Tracking
Adaptation and Measuring Development
(TAMD) framework which are being used to
train partners on adaptation and resilience.
What are your achievements so far?
We have designed and we are in the
process of recommending how to
institutionalise climate change adaptation
monitoring systems that are customised
to needs at all levels down to the wards.
We are creating linkages of the county
adaptation monitoring and evaluation (M&E)
systems with the National Performance and
Benefit Measurement Framework (NPBMF)
developed as part of the NCCAP. The
county level M&E systems will contribute
to aggregation of data and information on
climate change adaptation at the national
level. For example data collected on
adaptation indicators at the county level
will feed into national level data sets on
adaptation. We are also involved in the
finalisation the NAP.
The local planning TAMD manual developed
with IIED drew a lot of experience from
Isiolo and currently being used in Sudan,
Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique.
What are the achievements of the
Government of Kenya in responding
climate change?
In terms of policy achievements so far,
Kenya is the only country in East Africa with
a climate change policy, a climate change
law, a National Climate Change Response
Strategy and a National Climate Change
Action Plan. Moreover, only Kenya has
a climate change performance benefits
measurements framework for assessing
progress on adaptation and mitigation.
In terms of climate finance Kenya has subnational climate adaptation financing known
as the County Adaptation Fund (CAF) that is
assisting the most vulnerable communities
in enhancing resilience. Climate funds from
the International Climate Fund are used
to implement county and ward adaptation
actions directly.
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Page 4
What is the role of private sector in
adaptation?
The private sector is producing tea varieties
that can survive under frost conditions. They
have also come up with adaptation packages
for farmers. Amiran, a company specializing
in irrigation, has developed irrigation systems
for small scale farmers while Syngenta has
developed varieties of seeds that suit different
ecological zones. Furthermore, the private
sector also supports research, capacity
building and piloting of some of the adaptation
technologies.
What are the lessons you have learnt
during your envolvement in various
aspects in Kenya?
• In the arid and semi-arid areas (ASALs)
it is not useful to differentiate between
adaptation and drought management
because both entail the same activities.
•
In the past, infrastructure planning
should take into account climate
scenarios to ensure that facilities survive
another 30-40 years.
•
The fact that national and county
governments have set aside funds
shows that the country’s capacity to
prepare and respond to climate change
risks has been enhanced.
•
Communities no longer want food aid
but solutions so that they can feed
themselves.
Do you have any recommendation?
Yes. Adaptation is a journey – and not
a destination. National plans should be
developed and updated continuously,
progressively and iteratively. Implementation
should be based on nationally identified
priorities.
Irene Karani
Director, LTS
[email protected]
Interview was conducted by Esther Lungahi
who works with ALIN