Kitui County Climate Change Policy 2023

Abstract

Kitui county is in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) of Kenya, which is climatically fragile and vulnerable to the adverse impacts of Clima te Change and variability. Environmental and climate chang e issues are both multi -dimensional and multisectorial. Hence, this policy shall be implem ented in the county functions of Agriculture, Water, Livestock Development, Education, Gender and Information Communication Technology, Environm ent and Natural Resources, Health, Tourism, sports and Culture and Infrastructure, Transport and Communication, among others. The policy identifies many challenges to the implementation of environmental conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation measures and prioritizes interventions in the following; lack of policy, legal, regulatory and institutional framework on climate change adaptation and mitigation; low community and ecosystem resilience and inadequate adaptive capacity to climate change impacts; vulnerability of human and ecosystem to climate change impacts; low county resources' mobilization, low capacity for climate change financing; lack of mechanisms that facilitate climate change research and development; and inadequate coordination of climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives. In matters of environment and climate change, this policy is awake to the reality that there are winners and losers, hence has documented the opportunities that it presents and the strategies that shall be used to transl ate t hem into economic benefits for the county residents while mitigating th e impacts of cl imate change and variability. The level of skills and knowledge of the ben efi ciaries and their purchasing power predispose them to vulnerability to the issu es at hand. Therefore, structured capacity building is central to successful adaptation and mitigation initiatives .