Lodwar – August 6, 2025 (Public Communications and Media Relations)

Stakeholders in Turkana County have urged pastoralist communities to adopt stronger collaboration in addressing conflicts over natural resources, which are increasingly fueled by climate change.

The call was made during a multi-stakeholder forum convened by the County Department of Climate Change with support from the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), under its Resilient Peace and Security Programme (RPSP), where the links between climate change, peace, and security were explored.

Turkana Central Sub-County Administrator Esther Kiyong’a praised the DRC’s role in promoting climate security.

“We require such initiatives to help nomadic pastoralists reduce congestion at water points, improve rangeland management, and promote pasture reseeding as a mechanism to mitigate conflicts,” she said, calling on organisations to pool resources for large-scale resilience projects.

DRC Peacebuilding Officer John Ekutan reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to tackling both violent extremism and natural resource disputes.

“We are focusing on community sensitisation and stakeholder cooperation to promote peaceful coexistence. This includes strengthening county climate change coordination structures, facilitating peace dialogues, and advocating for the implementation of peace agreements,” he said.

As part of resource-based conflict prevention, the County’s FLLoCA Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) focal person, Kevin Ojiem, highlighted that the grievance-handling system is anchored in the office of the CECM for Climate Change, noting that it facilitates the recording of complaints, responses, and timely resolution.

He added that FLLoCA GRM procedures are available on the county website, urging partners to make reference to them during program implementation.

Philemon Ekadeli, FLLoCA Environmental Safeguards Officer and Turkana West Climate Change Officer, noted that women and girls bear a disproportionate burden.

“They walk long distances to fetch water, exposing them to gender-based violence, yet their voices are often absent in conflict resolution forums,” he said. “We are all at risk of climate change impacts, and only a concerted effort will promote peace and climate resilience.”

Civil society representative Eliud Emeri stressed the need to integrate climate action with peacebuilding.

“Climate change is not only an environmental issue; it is a security issue in Turkana. If we do not address resource competition now, we will see more frequent and intense conflicts,” he warned.

The workshop drew participants from the county administration, community-based and civil society organisations, religious institutions, elders’ councils, and the County Climate Change Unit.