Kaya elders launch programme to combat climate change

The programme dubbed, ‘Kaya na Mazingira’ which loosely translates to 'Kaya and environment' seeks to use a transformative empowerment approach to trigger community-led solutions to better environmental outcomes. 

They will leverage on the influence of the Kaya elders to foster positive environmental practices.

Already the Kaya elders have come up with the Kaya conservation concept that is documented with all the strategies they would want to use and will be working with both the county and national government to achieve it.

“The approach is anchored on the principle that locally available traditional structural leadership has the ability to meet environmental care practices. This would mean piggy-backing in a pre- existing traditional administration or creating a specific forum to address the environmental issues affecting the communities,” the concept document reads in part.

Among the practices they intend to use include elders barazas, encouraging environmental health seeking behaviours and implementation of their police power to do away with retrogressive practices that compromise the environment.

Further their aim is to push for community empowerment to demand for the rights of the environment.

The Kaya elders will contribute towards positive environmental practices in their communities by identifying cultural and religious beliefs and tradition that support environmental conservation.

They shall also work with National Environmental Management Authority and other environmental agencies and professionals to share basic health environmental-related information to community events, and incorporate environmental messages in traditional songs among others.

Among the trees they wish to plant include neem trees, mango trees, coconut, cashewnut, moringa, sorghum, castor oil plant, baobab trees, mkwaju, mkunazi, paw paws, guavas, traditional banana trees, traditional maize plants and cassava, among others.

The trees, the elders said, are able to survive under the hot climatic conditions in the Coast, adding that among them are food, medicinal and even tree cover.

Speaking during the unveiling of the concept paper at Kaya Fungo in Kilifi, the Mijikenda Kaya Elders Association coordinator Tsuma Nzai  said currently the communities in the coastal region are suffering because of the persistent drought.

“Our aim is to ensure we conserve our environment [and] we shall involve the county and national government,” he said.

Nzai said most often there are calls for people to plant trees but there is lack of sensitisation on the kinds of trees to be planted which can survive the ecosystem in the diverse areas.

He said they would go to all subcounties and locations to sensitise the communities on the importance of the environment so that trees are protected to conserve the environment. 

Tsuma said it's through conservation that they can fight against hunger and drought as relying on relief food is not a solution.

Naomi Cidi, the patron and spokesperson of the Mijikenda Kaya Elders Association, said they want to begin plating trees in the Kayas which after 20 years it will be easy for anyone to recognise the area as a sacred forest.

She said the elders have to be involved in combating climate change because they are powerful spiritual leaders who have been disrespected for long.

Cidi said in other areas there are council of elders such as Luo, Embu, Meru, Kikuyu who are respected but surprisingly those in Coast region are not respected.

A survey conducted by the elders listed some of the barriers to environmental conservation as the belief that the outcome of rain is predetermined from God, lack of reinforcement of environmental laws and by laws, more trust in traditional rituals associated with rains and natural calamities.

Others are traditional practices that promote clearing of vegetation cover, reduced involvement of Kaya elders in decision making, unlimited physical access to forested areas, including the public reserved forest lands and inability to met basic needs from alternative sources of income, giving charcoal burning as the only option.

The Mijikenda Kaya Elders Association concept note indicated that despite significant investment towards improving the environmental challenges in the Coast region, deforestation and the degree of land without vegetation cover is high.

Currently the report showed that the region’s vegetation cover is at 36 per cent against the Nema recommendation of 60 per cent, adding that at least 1,000 trees are cleared everyday against 100 planted trees.

 

(edited by Amol Awuor)