Climate change is a major risk to development and a pathway should be found to address the challenge, Wajir Governor Mohamed Abdi has said.
Abdi, who was launching the Wajir County GIS Laboratory on Wednesday, said his county needed to urgently find a solution to water supply and sanitation problems.
He said the county is developing a Wajir County Water Policy and Legislation to guide the activities of the water sector. It will also ensure sustainable and equitable management and use of water resources.
“We have invested in a number of new water projects. But only 40 per cent of the county has access to safe water and 1.4 per cent has access to piped water,” Abdi said.
The resource lab in Wajir town will help the county in spatial planning.
“We must also endeavour to identify opportunities that may arise with changing climate and strive to tap into them. This is more realisable with the current devolved governance structure as we are mandated by the Constitution to deliver services at appropriate levels,” the governor said.
The county has established a partnership with Mercy Corps on Braced-X Programme as a way of mitigating climate change impact.
The initiative is funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID). It focuses on building the capacity of the county staff in developing appropriate policy and legislative environment to support pastoralist livelihoods.
The governor said the programme will improve livestock productivity, incomes and food security.
It will also reduce conflict for resources, better recovery from droughts and help to enhance the growth of the livestock sector and the overall economy.
The governor commended the World Bank and the national government for the partnership on the provision of clean and cheap energy through Kenya Offgrid Solar Access Project.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)
