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For this project, we (Kenya) collaborated with New Zealand to form a bilateral group. We opted for WhatsApp as our means of communication, but this soon proved to be a difficult process due to the major time difference between the two parties. Regardless of this hurdle, we still managed to come up with substantial work.
Coincidentally, we both had case studies concerning oil drilling - according to activity 2c - and so this made our choice simple.
Together with New Zealand we found out that; REDD+ allows countries the flexibility to take on their own action plans which coincide with their regions and various policies and recognizes the importance and necessity of adequate and predictable financial and technological support for the creations of the national strategy. Kenya has had significant policy, legislative and institutional changes have occurred in Kenya to help aide the REDD+ efforts in the country. This included: The Constitution, National Development Plan (Vision 2030), The Arid and Semi Arid Lands Policy, the National Land Policy, the National Climate Change Response Strategy and Action Plan and The Environment and Forest Policies.
We also found, that even though New Zealand has had no presence regarding the degradation and deforestation of land; there's potential for the REDD+ program to have influence over the country's government's choices. This can be shown by REDD+'s partnering with Pacific Rainforest Carbon Group in projects such as: The Nakau Program ( which is a financing program that operates in the REDD+ sector involving strengthening and supporting community governance, business management and financial discipline in order to operate a carbon project. This program has three pilot demonstration projects covering three REDD+ activity types in three different countries: Fiji, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.
In collaboration with New Zealand once again, we decided to do the Pacific Islander’s resistance towards the Canadian Tar sands mining operation. It is not right to be exploiting fossil fuels in the 21st Century, when there are clean, renewable and affordable energy sources. Environmental damage is the result of these mining operations and companies are profiting at the expense of indigenous people, communities who live on nearby land and damage the environment around them leaving the land barren and wasted of all resources. Yet companies still manage to find ways to keep mining and putting at risk the health of the communities around them by disposing off the by products in the nearby rivers and the environment.
The same thing is happening here in Kenya with the people in Turkana. Oil drilling in Turkana started in 2012 when it was first discovered. The people of Turkana were promised many different things including water being pumped from the ground(Harmful to the environment), but to date they haven’t been taken care of and have been displaced in their own land. Companies started the drilling processes as soon as they could get permits and the government has been keen on helping them as it is economically beneficial to the nation. Strategies and methods used by the Pacific Islanders should be adopted by the people of Turkana and environmental organizations contributing to the fight.
These people do not contribute to climate change and do not have education on it. Awareness should be there to guide because if they knew the potential harm they were causing by allowing companies to use their land to drill oil from the ground, they would have acted differently. This is another obstacle towards the fight in climate change. The Pacific climate warriors should be an example to other communities facing such problems to use and implement the strategies they use to fight against exploitation of natural resources and the “bullying” that indigenous people face.
Just like the Pacific warriors, indigenous groups of Africa should join hands and stand up for their rights by going against all activity that poses a threat to Mother Nature. I would love to see the Turkana community going against the Kenyan government with matters about the oil drilling in their land. However, there is a huge obstacle standing in their way. That is a lack of proper education on climate change. The men, women and children of this group have very little knowledge on climate change and would therefore require those who are well aware of the issue to teach and lead them into this battle. This issue not only affects Kenyans, but it’s neighbors as well, so let us all unite and never forget that there is strength in numbers
The local Organisation we picked was known as the "Green belt movement". this organisation, empowers communities, particularly women, to conserve the environment and improve livelihoods. The aim of the organization is to respond to the needs of rural Kenyan women who reported that their streams were drying up, their food supply was less secure, and that they had to walk further and further to get firewood for fuel and fencing. GBM encourages these women to actively participate in fighting climate change by growing seedlings and planting trees to bind the soil, store rainwater, provide food and firewood and receive a small sum of money for their work. The women decide how climate change is addressed and act to fight it. These rural communities are the main benefiters of the program since these trees being planted provide a stable food supply, firewood and predictable rainfall patterns.
What REDD+ can learn from GBM
The Green Belt Movement focuses more on teaching and educating rather than going to the government and seeking their help (which is something understandable due to the corruption in the Kenyan government). They don’t believe that climate change policies (I think this includes REDD+) provide the community with the option of sustainability or environmental conservation. This is why GBMs aims are mostly to provide support and understanding to rural communities on how they can help on climate change. I believe that this is something that the REDD+ could take into account and they engage the community and not just the government in the fight against climate change
What GBM can learn from REDD+
REDD+ works with its governments to try reduce carbon emissions and deforestation which is something that the movement could work towards, they talk about the illegal deforestation and encroachment within Kenya but don’t propose any solutions or any definite actions. Therefore, GBM could work with other groups and the government itself to propose further actions and work with the communities to get then done.
Lastly, Colonial relations are being reinforced because of the fact that we are not exploiting the oil found in Turkana but in fact other companies are for example, Tulow oil, from the UK. This just continues to strengthen the colonial ties we had with them before. If we as a country decided to leave the oil and diverge into renewable resources and refuse the company from exploiting our oil then we would break our ties instead we have happily welcomed them in in hopes of more development and money.
This comes back to decolonization. As a result of this and many other companies which are exploiting Kenyan’s resources, Kenya is unable to break away from the ways of our colonizers. And thus we are still letting them influence our beliefs fully, to a point where there is no question about it.
This collaboration really opened our eyes and made us more aware about the struggles countries face and the effects we all have on each other. We need to work hand in hand and accept our mistakes, as well as correcting them rather than playing the victim. WE also need to make people more aware about what is going on, because we have come to realize that many of us are ignorant to what’s going on.
In conclusion I would like to end this blog with a quote which I believe is the key.
“Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is the progress. Working together is the success”
