Barriers to Adapting Water Supply Management to Climate Change in Nzoia River Basin, Kenya

Abstract

Water is projected to be the most affected by climate change. Many national and county governments are now developing adaptation policies and plans in response to climate change; however, many factors could stop, delay or divert these adaptation strategies if they are not adequately identified and addressed. Research on adaptation barriers is increasing as the need for climate change adaptation becomes evident, but studies regarding identification and classification of barriers into cartegories and establishing strategies for overcoming such barriers remain limited. This research identified barriers to adapting water supply management to climate change, classified them into cartegories and went ahead to establish strategies for overcoming such barriers in adapting water supply management to climate change in Nzoia River Basin. The study used a cross-sectional survey design and a qualitative technique since major sector players' perspectives are critical in deciding the path of climate change adaptation in the basin. Three counties were randomly selected from Nzoia River Basin for study with Busia representing the lower catchment, Kakamega middle catchment and Trans Nzoia upper catchment. The study was carried out from May, 2017 to September, 2017. Stakeholders were carefully selected and consisted of water and climate change expert decision makers, practitioners, managers, scientists, academia, technology adopters, etc. Stakeholders were chosen based on their work portfolios or by other respondents' recommendations. Data collection involved questionnaires, in-depth expert-interviews, brainstorming sessions, focus group discussions, field observations and literature review. This study identified and ranked in order of priority the barrier clusters/cartegories for adapting water supply management to climate change in Nzoia River Basin as: Institutional and governance; Resources and funding; Leadership; Politics; Adaptation options/process; Science; Understanding; Technology/structural; Expertise; Attitudes, values and motivations of actors; Communication; and Personality issues. Individual barriers are seen to be highly interconnected and interdependent, allowing for the discovery of leverage areas for actions to maximize barrier elimination. This study provides valuable information for the national and county governments as they strive to develop climate change adaptation policies and plans in the basin.