28
VOICES FOR WETLANDS AND WATER: CASE STUDIES ON WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT & WASH IN KENYA
Changing Times for Pastoralists
Kudoti WRUA is based in the semi-arid Mukogodo Location of Laikipia North with only 105 registered members out of 3,000 water users. Payment of water fee is poor and irregular, making it difficult for the WRUA to execute activities outlined in their SCMP. Kudoti water users are split into upper, mid and lower zones. The upper zone has a surface dam and one borehole constructed by the County Government. The mid zone has one surface dam on Loirien River while the lower zone has one surface dam and three boreholes dedicated to the community. Two dams are dedicated for Doldol Town. All the dams were constructed by a donor. Access to water in the interior is a challenge, especially during prolonged dry spells when residents walk 5-10 kilometres to the nearest spring. But because dams built for wildlife have silted up, elephants troop to the springs too, destroying vegetation and creating conflict with locals. The community abuts the Samburu who, in times of drought, migrate to Mukogodo in search of pasture in the forest that serves as a catchment for the area’s springs and seasonal rivers.
Daniel Kimalel, Kudoti WRUA Chair
We post community scouts to protect the springs from human destruction and have a grazing committee to secure key areas of the forest from livestock.
They however need two boreholes repaired, water piped to the interior, a dam for wildlife, earth dams for livestock and shallow wells for domestic use. In remote pastoralist communities such as Mukogodo, stakeholders must make a deliberate effort to reach and strengthen WRUAs, raise awareness and invest more in provision of water in sufficient quantities and quality for domestic and livestock use.
Climate change is a threat to pastoralists who are forced to cover longer distances for pasture and water
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online