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Briefing 31 Africa SMA Justice Briefing no 31 “Active non-violence is a way of showing AFRICA: Impact of climate change that unity is truly more powerful and Lake Turkana - a Case Study more fruitful than conflict. Everything “The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” in the world is inter- Ps 24.1 connected.” Pope Francis: Message for World Day of Peace 2017. (cf also Laudato Si’ 16. 117 & 138.) its degradation due to over-use - as well Towards a Solution as the scarcity of water - are the main The governments of Kenya and Ethiopia factors at play in the conflict between need to show more urgency in ensuring Lake Turkana is situated in The area around Lake Turkana is regarded by the Merille and the Turkana people. that the human rights of their peoples are North-West Kenya - with its many as being the birthplace of humanity. The respected, and that the needs of their peo- northern tip going into Ethiopia. fossil humanoid skulls discovered in the 1960s These conflicts have resulted in killings ples are being met. For over a half million It is also known as the Jade Sea, by the Leakey family are dated around 2.5 (for example, the so-called “Todonyang people in this area, climate change is not because of its greenish-blue or million years old. Further discoveries by the same team have been the “Turkana Boy” massacres”). The latest reports of vio- an abstract concept. It is part of their turquoise colours, which come (1984) and a 3.5 million year old skull which lence were in August 2016 at a Church everyday lives. from algae that rise to the sur- Service in Todonyang and retaliatory at- has been called Kenyanthropus platyops (1999). The International Community also has a face in calm weather. tacks just two weeks before Christmas Lake Turkana itself is home to about fifty spe- responsibility. Some prominent nations At a length of 290 kilometres in a 2016. The few educational and health cies of fish - the most common being Tilapia, and banks are providing substantial funding north-south direction and a services being provided in the area have Nile perch and “elephant-fish”. There are hun- for the Omo Basin project. They are in a width of 40 kilometres, Lake Tur- dreds of species of birds in the area – including broken down. Increasing numbers of peo- position to - at least - insist on mitigation kana is the world’s largest perma- the colourful flamingo. The Lake is also an ple are being displaced. There is steps to offset the hardship of the people. nent desert lake, and among the hunger....anger....uncertainty.... death.... important flyway passage Finally, in the interests of humanity and of top three of the world’s alkaline and stop-over for migratory lakes. The Lake’s only perennial birds. Plankton in the Lake “Lake Turkana is in danger future generations, experts and academics have repeatedly called on the United Na- tributary is the Omo River, which feeds the fish and the birds. flows from Ethiopia and supplies of disappearing and the tions to safeguard the Lower Omo basin Crocodiles are there in 90% of its fresh water. Lake Tur- health and livelihood of and Lake Turkana, as “they comprise a abundance – many thou- kana also lacks outflow – its only series of World Heritage sites, known for sands – and it is also a the indigenous peoples of water loss being through evapo- breeding ground for many their exceptionally important biodiversity ration. With an altitude of only types of snakes. In a word, the region along with it” and for their central role in the human 300 meters above sea-level, it is Lake Turkana is an outstand- evolutionary story”. (The Human Rights Watch Report “There a hot place – with the tempera- ing laboratory for the study is No Time Left “: 15 October 2015) (cf. “The Downstream Impacts of Ethiopia’s Gibe 111 ture often reaching well above of plant, fish, bird, animal Dam” published by International Rivers: January 2013) the forty degree Celsius mark. and many other forms of life. Download SMA Justice Briefings on other topics at www.coistine.ie/resources/justice-briefings Produced by the SMA Justice and Peace Office. Web: www.sma.ie. E-Mail: [email protected] tion with neighbouring tribes for grazing, ● There are more frequent droughts and ● A big drop in the Lake water levels. land and water. It has also a history of diminishing herds. The average depth of the Lake has been being neglected by colonial and subse- about 30 meters. Some estimates quent national governments. However, ● Migration patterns are changing. indicate a drop of at least 13 meters. there are two noteworthy events which ●There is increased competition for grazing ● A marked decrease in the Lake’s have occurred in recent times, that have lands and for water – thus heightening the nutrients. exacerbated an already difficult situation. likelihood of conflict and insecurity. According to data from the Meteorologi- ● Disruption of fish spawning cues and ● Women and children walk long in the productive habitat of fish. An estimated 300,000 human beings live cal station in the Turkana County capital distances for water - with subsequent along the shores of Lake Turkana. They (Lodwar), maximum and minimum aver- negative health effects. ● A clear decrease in catches of fish. obviously form part of this intricate eco- age temperatures in the area rose be- system. They interact with it and gain tween 2 and 3 degrees Celsius between ● The proliferation of illegal arms is a ● Declining wild-life and an unstable their livelihood from it. Most of them are 1967 and 2012. Various explanations cause of great concern. ecological system. from the Turkana ethnic group who eke are put forward and debated. However, ● The second event which has exacerbated out a living – either as pastoralists (who one thing is clear: the Turkana people With the higher air temperatures, there herd goats, cows, camels and donkeys) or cannot be held responsible! But they are the difficult situation in Turkana is the are also increasing rates of evaporation. as fishermen (who rely on the Lake). An impacted by the results. As a Human construction of Dams (3) by the Ethiopian In the Omo River basin itself, the con- important element, however, is the fact Rights Watch Report (October 2015) government. It has done this within its struction of the Dams is having a pro- that the waters of the Lake are alkaline concludes: “..climate change, in combi- own borders along the Omo River. These found impact. Built to support vast (high concentration of carbonate salts) nation with existing political, environ- dams, situated some 600 kilometres from commercial plantations, hundreds of and is thus not fit for human consumption. mental and economic development Lake Turkana, are already having a devas- kilometres of irrigation canals are divert- challenges in Turkana, has had an impact tating effect on the Lake and on the hu- ing the waters to these plantations. The Another significant factor is the presence on the Turkana people’s ability to access effects on the delicate ecosystems of of 200,000 Merille (Dassanach) people man population along its shores. The new food, water, health and security” the region are clear – the drying out of from Ethiopia who inhabit the Omo River dams are reducing the fresh water of the the riverine zone, the disappearance of Delta. This is a large area - about 1,300 Omo River flowing into Lake Turkana by ● The rainy season is much shorter, silt deposits and the elimination of pas- square kilometres – which provides land between 50% and 70%. The results are resulting in less grazing land. ture and trees. for recessional cultivation i.e. planting in already becoming evident: the floodplain areas after the waters In the midst of all the environmental recede, as well as pasture for cattle and changes – on both sides of the porous other animals. This is situated where the international border between Ethiopia Omo River empties into Lake Turkana. The and Kenya - are human beings. Their international border is far from precise livelihoods – always precarious – are and has long been a matter of dispute. now in disarray. Due to the decline of land and water resources, life-style al- The Problem: Turkana County (where terations are demanded of the people. the Lake is situated) has a long history of They are “forced” to migrate. There is recurring famines, drought and competi- no doubt but that the lack of land, and.
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