Kenya’s pastoralists: Portraits of resilience in the face of climate change

For many Kenyan communities, adverse effects of climate change are an everyday reality. Thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes, families and cultural roots. Communities displaced by climate change carry with them tales of hardship and resilience as they move from place to place. Their stories highlight how climate change is indeed a growing driver of human mobility, intertwining with demographic shift, conflict and poverty in ways that undermine progress towards sustainable development, human safety and well-being, and peace.

The impact of climate change is acutely felt in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) in Kenya, where communities face recurrent displacements as they grapple with the relentless challenges of droughts and floods, resulting in the loss of both livestock and livelihoods.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the drought which devastated the East and Horn of Africa region between September 2022 and June 2023, left over 5 million people in Kenya without access to food and clean water. The IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix documented the mass relocation of pastoralists and farmers from ASAL counties to neighboring regions in a desperate bid for survival. Many of them have been forced to walk for long distances, frequently crossing borders and coming across different communities along the way stoking communal tensions.

Here are portraits and personal stories of people who have been directly impacted by climate change.

Nur Bashir

48-year-old Nur, a livestock farmer, found himself uprooted from Walkon in the face of a severe drought that killed his herd. He resettled in the promising landscapes of Gamba, where fertile land allowed his cattle to flourish, and life appeared stable once more.

A few years later, Nur woke up to floods sweeping through the region. In the blink of an eye, he lost nearly 100 cows only managing to save a few. Faced with this devastating loss, he was forced to relocate to higher grounds in Minjila.

"I have sold almost all of my cows to make ends meet for my family,” says Nur, “In hard times, I sell a cow to make sure my children don't experience hunger."

"I worry that when I go to check on my barn one day, I won't have any cows left to sell,” adds Nur.

Abdirahman

Years back, 67-year-old, Abdirahman relied on a combination of pastoralism, crop farming and beekeeping for his livelihood. “The river we depend on changed its course, and within a few months, the once fertile land became barren and exceedingly difficult to cultivate,” says Abdirahman. “It became evident to me that weather patterns were shifting when the absence of bees disrupted my ability to harvest honey.”

Serura

Due to her advanced age, 69-year-old widow Serura from the Twafiq community relies on the support of her children. In an effort to sustain the family, some of them relocated to Hola town and started working there.

"We used to milk cows every day, there was plenty of milk available, and food was readily available," remarks Serura, "but times have changed since I became a part of this community."

Unpredictable weather patterns in the Minjila have left many families in the area are on the edge. Many are forced to look for elusive alternative sources of income.

Issa

Issa, a 54-year-old community leader in Minjila, Tana River County, reflects on the challenges faced by the residents: "A lot of people here attempted to plant, assuming it was the rainy season, only to be met with a severe drought." "How do you survive in such conditions?" he asks, "We cannot even plant crops."

"I've made numerous attempts to plant crops, but I have never been able to harvest anything, before floods strike and destroy all of our crops," says Issa.

Communities in Tana River are now resorting to cutting down the few remaining trees to get firewood to make charcoal as an alternative source of livelihood. This is further destroying the ecology of the area and Minjila is slowly becoming prone to ferocious flash floods.

Kumbizi

Kumbizi, 53, moved from Marereni to a displacement site near Minjila as economic situation got tough and living there became unbearable. On 9 November 2023, he woke up to devastating floods that washed away everything he owned.

‘I have been forced to move away from my hut again, but where do I go now? asks Kumbizi, ‘I can only wait by the road and beg people for help.’

Residents of Tana River are now reeling from the effects of the rains after River Tana burst its banks and flooded their homes.

Ekuwon

Ekwuon, 60, used to own a herd of cattle but lost them to the drought.

The former pastoralist witnessed his livelihood slowly die out due to the recent droughts plaguing Turkana County in Northern Kenya.

“In my community, our entire existence centred around having livestock. We could trade our animals for money, for food, even for paying dowries. My entire wealth was measured by how many animals I had.”

Unfortunately, the impact of climate change has made this way of life increasingly difficult, leaving little food and water for the animals.

The third and fourth weeks of October marked the beginning of the rainy season (October – December) characterized by heavy storms that caused flooding, particularly along the Coastal strip, in some areas of the Central Highlands, Southeast lowlands and several areas of Northwest and Northeastern Kenya.

According to OCHA, nearly 36,000 people have been displaced in Kenya, 17 people have died, over a thousand livestock and 221 acres of agricultural farmland have been lost as of 5 November 2023.

Cumulatively, nearly 10,230 households (61,380 people) have been affected since the start of the rainy season. These numbers are expected to spike as more rainfall is forecasted.