Lodwar, April 9, 2024 (Public Communications and Meia Relations)
County Executive Member for Tourism, Culture, Natural Resources, and Climate Change, Elizabeth Loote, led a team in meeting World Vision Kenya to discuss joint planning for natural resource management interventions for the upcoming 2024–2025 financial year.
The meeting deliberated on the alignment of the interventions to the Governor Lomorukai’s Nine-point Agenda and the third generation of the five-year County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) 2022-2027.
In her remarks, CECM Loote emphasized the need for collaboration and noted that serving the general population was a shared goal for both the government and development partners.
The CECM acknowledged the organisation’s involvement in the natural resource management (NRM) sector through their seven-year Intergrated Management of Natural Resources for Resilience in Arid and Semi Arid Areas (IMARA) project 2018–2025 in Turkana South.
The CECM added that local residents will be the greatest beneficiaries of the joint interventions between the County Government and World Vision Kenya.
“This partnership will assist in bridging policy gaps, especially in the utilization of natural resources using environmentally friendly approaches as envisioned by both the county and the world vision,” said CECM Loote.
Citing Turkana’s riches in forest cover, wildlife, prosopice and indigenous medicinal plants, CEC Loote emphasized the need for joint intervention development partners to develop appropriate policies and legal frameworks.
CECM Loote added that the department would also work closely with the office of the Governor’s advisor on partnerships and resource mobilization led by Peter Lolem in their future engagements with World Vision and all other development partners.
On his part, the World Vision Manager for, Tom Masinde, described the need for collaboration as timely and significant.
Masinde added that Turkana stood to gain from the wide experience gathered by the organisation’s as it has implemented similar NRM programs in seven other ASAL counties.
The manager pledged to support joint NRM interventions for the purpose of building the resilience of communities and addressing vulnerability at the household level.
So far, under the NRM initiative, World Vision Kenya has supported Moringa commercialization at Kaputir, the Aberukori Ushanga women group at Lokichar, the tree nursery project at Kainuk, pasture regeneration project in Katilu, disaster risk reduction trainings (DRR) and water access.
Other County Senior officials present during the meeting included Clement Nadio (Director for Natural resources) Peter Lolem (Governor’s partnerships advisor) Pauline Ngoli Pusiye (D/Director Natural resources) Boaz Ekiru (Assistant Director, and Seth Lodio (Lobokati ward Administrator).
