County Executive for Tourism, Culture, Natural Resources, and Climate Change, Elizabeth Loote has underscored the need for partners to collaborate in tackling climate change.
She was speaking during a meeting between the county Government, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), and other stakeholders on Climate Change Cluster Coordination to discuss strategic issues affecting the sector.
The meeting highlighted progress updates from partners on climate change program implementation.
Loote said partners’ initiatives on climate change-related projects should align with the county government priorities.
“Inception of new projects should be through the county government. These will help guide and identify priority areas to avoid duplication of projects,” she said.
According to her, some of the interventions being undertaken by the county in mitigating Climate Change include the enhancement of tree cover through a tree planting program.
She also emphasized the county’s awareness initiatives on embracing alternative livelihoods such as fruit trees rather than charcoal burning as an intervention to mitigate climate change.
“This workshop not only illustrates the roadmap on the progress of climate change programs but also provides an opportunity to collaborate on sustainable climate projects,” CECM Loote said.
The Director for Climate Change George Emase lauded the stakeholders for deliberating on climate change issues affecting the county.
“We appreciate the collaborative way of working with partners who have been supportive in enabling the county to work towards solutions for climate change,” Director Emase said.
University of Nairobi’s Dr. Dennis Oketch also revealed a Research Program Pan-African and Trans-Disciplinary Lens in the Margins: Tackling the Risks of Extreme Events – “PALM TREES”.
Oketch said it is set to be piloted in Turkana, whose overall objective is to leverage on socio-economic indicators and early warning information on climate extremes to strengthen resilience and livelihood sustainability in marginalized communities.
The meeting also divulged plans for the establishment of a climate change and information hub, which will be a knowledge-sharing platform on climate change for the county steering group.
Present were sector departments, meteorological departments, Kenya Forest Services, NEMA, and NDMA among others.
By Peter Gitonga
