Resource Mobilization

Ensuring fairer access to land for Kenyan pastoralist communities

Rapid population growth in Kenya has led to increased demand and competition for land and the goods and services associated with it.
With research showing that effective control of land has great influence on people’s capacity to construct livelihoods, overcome poverty and malnutrition and improve food and nutrition security, the project was implemented to support the Government of Kenya in its efforts to provide more equitable access to land resources for communities in two pilot areas of the country, Tana River and Turkana counties.
This was to be achieved using existing national and global guidelines designed to contribute to eradicating hunger and poverty.

What did the project do

Maps of the pilot areas were created to ensure a complete understanding of the dynamics, potential tensions in or between communities, traditional rights to land and the rights of women, youth and other marginalized groups. A crucial part of the project was the support provided to local institutions working with land and land use. The project trained staff to understand and use national tools and guidelines to ensure fairer management of local land. This also led to fresh ideas on ways of resolving conflict and organizing communities more effectively. The county governments of Tana River and Turkana were strengthened, and by the end of the project were able to restore consistency and fairness in land acquisition in the affected communities.

Impact

The efforts made by the project contributed to improving food and nutrition security, as land is now more easily accessible for pastoralist communities, in particular their most vulnerable or marginalized components. With more equitable access to surrounding land resources and mechanisms in place to resolve conflicts (such as that witnessed between the Ormacommunity of Wayuand a Somali tribe from Wajir County), livelihoods will be boosted, laws more widely and understood and enforced and sustainability of land use strengthened.

Activities

  • Assessment of women and youth’s access to community land
    in Tana River and Turkana counties conducted.
  • 350 national and county officials trained (116 women and
    234 men).
  • Four multistakeholder platforms in place and three natural
    resources management fora (two in Tana River and one in
    Turkana) established. The forum brings together various
    stakeholders from public institutions, CSOs and development
    partners every two months.
  • Land Information Management System developed for Turkana
    County.
  • Four policy analyses into community law and land use planning
    conducted in Tana River, Turkana and Marsabit.
  • Animal Control and Grazing Bill drafted, published and
    introduced to County Assembly for debates, public
    participation.
Project symbol: GCP/KEN/077/EC
Project title: Support for Responsible Land and Natural Resource
Contact: FAO Office in Kenya
Email: [email protected]
Download PDF: http://www.fao.org/3/a-bs194e.pdf