Publication: Climate change, pro-poor schemes and water inequality: strengths and weaknesses of Kauti Irrigation Water Users’ Association, Kenya
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2015
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Lightning Source UK Ltd
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Abstract
tinent. According to the IPCC
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report, climate change is causing
an increased incidence of drought, and growing variability and uncertainty in
rainfall, and these changes are putting Africa’s food security and survival at risk
(IPCC 2012). In Kenya, for instance, the combined economic impacts of recurrent drought and related shocks is estimated to cost the economy 0,7–1,0 percent
of the GDP (Demombynes and Kiringai 2011). A recent report by the International food policy research Institute (IFPRI) indicates that climate change is a
major factor in water conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (Priscoli and Wolf
2009, IFPRI 2015). Minimising these risks is a priority for the continent and
there is a sense of urgency in improving the provision, security and utilisation
of water resources for food, feed and fibre and other products (CAADP 2003).
Second, global pressure on and competition for water is also rapidly growing across the SSA region. Since the late 2000s, regional and global food and
energy demands and insecurity have increased dramatically. Following the food
and oil crisis of 2008, the proportion of land and water resources that have
been transferred to investors, both foreign and domestic, for commercial farming has increased dramatically (Land Matrix 2015). In these transfers, water
is the key resource that attracts investors (Mehta, Velderisch and Franco 2012;
Woodhouse and Ganho 2011). A recent study indicates that the volume of water
transferred in these large-scale land deals is equivalent to the volume of water
that would be required to address the food insecurity of, and malnutrition in,
the countries that are hosting the investments (Rulli, Saviori and D’Odorica
2013). The pattern observed is that the land allocations take place in areas where
water is available, mainly along rivers and lake basins. Construction of largescale dams is also booming in parts of Africa, as in the case of the Nile and Lake
Victoria Basins.
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Kenyatta University, Kenyatta University