15th November 2006 - Linda McAvan MEP sees impact of climate change on Kenya's poor and calls for action

As UN climate change talks conclude in Nairobi this week, Linda McAvan warns of the devastating impact which climate change is having on poor farmers in Kenya.

The Euro MP recently travelled to North Western Kenya with international development charity Practical Action (formerly ITDG) to visit the remote and deprived area of Alale. Here, she met pastoralist communities to hear how climate change is fuelling poverty and escalating conflict.

The more frequent and severe droughts caused by climate change are hitting farmers and pastoralists the hardest, who with little irrigation, rely on the rains for growing subsistence crops and rearing livestock. Nearly 80% of pastoralist’s livestock was lost earlier this year during a severe drought. The ongoing shortage of water is worsening existing tensions between neighbouring tribes, and disputes over water are more frequently escalating into violence and conflict. The MEP learnt how struggling families are now being forced to take more extreme measures just to survive.

“The communities in Alale are already living in desperate poverty, but the impact of climate change threatens to push people over the edge. Most families I met survive off one meal a day, and women now walk nine hours just to fetch water. Where women used to marry aged 16 only a few years ago, desperate fathers are now pushing them into marriage aged just 11, so that they can receive the cattle dowry” explained Linda McAvan

The exposure tour was organised by Practical Action to show MEPs how European aid can be better spent on communities who need it most. According to the charity, small scale farmers and pastoralists represent the majority of the poor in the continent, yet European aid is currently failing to support them.

Stuart Coupe, the Practical Action’s Project Manager said “European aid is not getting to small scale producers in Africa, and instead is focussed on developing agro-business and commodity crops that are grown by better off farmers. The only aid which areas like Alale see is emergency food relief during the droughts. But if the European Commission is serious about reducing poverty in Africa, it must ensure more its aid is spent on supporting small-scale farmers and pastoralists through long-term development assistance, and not wait until the next emergency.”

McAvan will be pressing the European Commission to ensure more of its aid reaches pastoralists and farmers in rural areas like Alale. She highlighted the role that everyone can play in reducing the impact of climate change. 

Linda McAvan said:

“Climate change is already a devastating reality for poor farmers in Kenya. We must ensure that more European aid reaches the communities who are being hit hardest by droughts. But we must also work together to limit the extent of global warming for the sake of the world’s poor.”

“Simple changes in our lifestyles can cut down on greenhouse gas emissions – as well as saving us money. Poverty will never be made history unless we tackle climate change, and we all have a role to play.”

ENDS

Further details of the trip and a selection of photographs are available from the Practical Action website at http://practicalaction.org/?id=africanvoices_mep2006

Further detail:

1. The impact of climate change is causing more extreme fluctuations in rainfall throughout Kenya. Earlier this year, Kenyan farming families and pastoralists suffered famine when severe drought hit the region, leading to 3.5 million Kenyans needing food aid. This month, at least 21 people have been killed and 60,000 displaced by massive flooding in northern and coastal Kenya, triggered by three weeks of unusually heavy seasonal rains. The average person in the UK produces 40 times more carbon per year than someone living in Kenya. Kenya is one of the lowest carbon producers in the world, yet is set to suffer first and foremost from the impact of climate change.  

    

2. Practical Action has been working in Kenya to help communities cope and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Their work includes pioneering and promoting the building of Sand Dams, a simple technology which has given access to clean water for drinking and livestock, and reduces soil erosion to improve agricultural productivity. They have also worked with Massai women to diversify their livestock by investing in goats, chickens and camels, meaning they are better able to cope in times of extreme or extended drought.

    

3. Last Saturday, pastoralists from Alale joined farmers from across in country in a march in Nairobi to highlight the impact of climate change on their lives and to demand ambitious action from the UN talks. Practical Action organised the rally, which was the first of its kind in Kenya.