Interactions between climate change and infrastructure projects in changing water resources: An ethnobiological perspective from the Daasanach, Kenya

Abstract

The fast and widespread environmental changes that have intensified in the last decades are bringing disproportionate impacts to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. Changes that affect water resources are particularly relevant for subsistence-based peoples, many of whom already suffer from constraints regarding reliable access to safe water. Particularly in areas where water is scarce, climate change is expected to amplify existing stresses in water availability, which are also exacerbated by multiple socioeconomic drivers. In this paper, we look into the local perceptions of environmental change expressed by the Daasanach people of northern Kenya, where the impacts of climate change overlap with those brought by large infrastructure projects recently established in the Omo River. We show that the Daasanach have rich and detailed understanding of changes in their environment, especially in relation to water resources. Daasanach understand observations of change in different elements of the social-ecological system as an outcome of complex interactions between climatic and non-climatic drivers of change. Our findings highlight the perceived synergistic effects of climate change and infrastructure projects in water resources, driving multiple and cascading impacts on biophysical elements and local livelihoods. Our results also demonstrate the potential of Local Ecological Knowledge in enhancing the understanding of complex social-ecological issues, such as the impacts of environmental change in local communities. To minimize and mitigate the social-ecological impacts of development projects, it is essential to consider potential synergies between climatic and socioeconomic factors and to ensure inclusive governance rooted in local understandings of environmental change.

Keywords: Omo-Turkana basin; dams; environmental change; local ecological knowledge; water grabbing.

Figure 1. Location of the study area and illustration of the Daasanach interactions with water.

(A) Map of the region around Lake Turkana and the Omo delta. Names of the ethnic groups (in italics) indicate their approximate geographic distribution (according to Carr 2017). The Daasanach currently occupy the region at the northeastern part of Lake Turkana. The region depicted in the main figure is indicated with outlined rectangles in the inset maps. The specific study area is indicated with a square in the main figure, and the location of the Gibe III Dam in the Omo River is indicated in the inset map. (B) A Daasanach herder bringing his cattle to graze and drink in the shores of Lake Turkana. (C) A Daasanach fetching water from a hole dug in a dry riverbed. (D) Daasanach fishermen in Lake Turkana. Photos by Daniel Burgas.

Figure 2. Euler diagrams showing the categorization of drivers of environmental changes perceived by the Daasanach.

(a) Drivers of all observations of change (OC), (b) drivers of OC directly observed in hydrological processes (e.g., changes in precipitation), (c) drivers of OC caused by changes in hydrological processes (e.g., changes caused by shifts in precipitation). Sizes of the circles are proportional to the number of OC in each driver category. Numbers indicate the number of OC affected by individual or overlapping drivers, and numbers in parenthesis indicate the total number of OC in each driver category.

Figure 3

Representation of the network of environmental changes collectively perceived by the Daasanach, focusing on water-related changes. Blue, green, orange and yellow boxes indicate changes reported in the climatic, physical, biological and human systems, respectively (sensu Reyes-García et al. 2019), while the gray boxes indicate non-climatic drivers of change. Changes on water processes and reservoirs are indicated by dashed boxes. This visual representation is based on Daasanach’s perceived changes and drivers, mentioned in the semi-structured interviews and the focus group discussion.