Abstract
Turkana County has a long history of drought and development interventions and remains one of the poorest counties in Kenya. In Turkana, livelihoods are increasingly under threat because of climate change, conflict, and the changing land use and management. There are complex interactions between the multiple drivers of change in landscapes and livelihoods in the region. The question addressed here is: How have external development interventions contributed to the changing pastoralist livelihoods in Turkana? This study is specific to the lower part of the Turkwel River basin, particularly the Nanyee irrigated area in Turkwel, Loima sub-County of Turkana County. This article examines the external development interventions during the colonial, post-independence, and contemporary periods to reveal the ways that land use practices and livelihoods have changed across these periods. Land use practices are changing due to the growing human population, droughts, urbanization, and dispossession of grazing areas through state and donor-supported interventions. It is suggested in this article that the change from a system of customary, unrestricted grazing to one of enclosed pastures has threatened pastoral territories, as well as cultures and livelihoods over the past six decades. The new set of development interventions introduced by international and national actors have failed to support local livelihoods, instead joining the list of existing problems that undermine pastoralism, including drought, livestock diseases, and cattle rustling.
Highlights
Kenya has a land area of 580,728 km2, of which 89% is classified as arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) or drylands
Data used in this study comprises detailed oral histories, archival materials, focus group discussions (FGDs), participant observation, and key informant interviews, including representatives of national and county governments, Non-Governmental organizations (NGO), and local leaders
Factors influencing pastoralist livelihoods’ change The findings presented in this article discuss how pastoralist livelihoods have changed in Turkana’s Nanyee irrigated area, with particular attention to the influence of the Turkwel Irrigation Scheme Association (TISA), one of the earliest interventions to promote irrigation development
Summary
Kenya has a land area of 580,728 km, of which 89% is classified as arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) or drylands. Nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoralism has long been the dominant form of land use in the dryland areas of northern Kenya (Adams 1992:46). Developers have seen these areas as sites of famine, destitution and impoverishment, contributing little tax to State coffers (Lind et al 2020; Catley et al 2013:12). Pastoralists have for centuries been exposed to drought, conflict and famine, to which they have adapted strategic responses (Catley et al 2013; Kratli 2013). People often depend on their own experience to understand changes in their environment (Castro et al 2012:175).
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