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Camel Caravan 2023

11th Edition—Collective Conservation and Restoration of Ewaso Ng’iro North Ecosystem

The Ewaso Ng’iro Camel Caravan concept was first initiated in 2014 by the Partners for Resilience Program (PFR) led by IMPACT and MID-P. Members of Pastoralists Alliance for Resilience and Adaptation in Northern Kenya (PARAN) Alliance – Isiolo Peace Link (IPL), Waso Trust land Project (WTLP), Kivulini Trust and Isiolo Conservationist Trust (ICT) later joined the campaign/movement in 2018. These advocacy tool became a process of assessments, documenting community voices, conservation conversations and tree planting. The evolution from an advocacy tool to a hands-on affair, that was aimed at not just bringing awareness on the need to conserve the Ewaso basin but rather initiated a mode of doing it; based on hard evidence, research and analysis attests to the prestige of the initial idea under the tagline: Pamoja Tuhifadhi Ewaso Ng’iro

The Ewaso Ng’iro River unifies and divides communities in the basin in equal measure. However, in this period of increasing human population, large-scale agricultural activities, infrastructure development, and climate change, the river dries up, gets polluted, and is contested. Climate change has led to the increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, natural resources scarcity, and environmental degradation. Water users, including communities, livestock and wildlife, the public sector, and corporate entities, both upstream, midstream, and downstream, often lack a shared understanding of the threats facing the river system and fail to effectively collaborate around integrated water resources management. This has led to conflicts and an escalation of the threats facing river systems.

To help communities deal with this menace, this year we consolidated action points from previous Camel caravans and formulated a model that is both actionable and practicable in sustaining the entire basin and in effect protecting the livelihoods of the communities while promoting peace and cohesion. The upstream farmer communities who play a big role in the upper stream of the river were fully involved to address the challenges facing the river ,and see the impact of their activities upstream to the pastoralist communities in the mid and lower stream, this will also help promote a peaceful co-existence between and among the community’s residing in and bordering the Ewaso Ng’iro Basin.

Together, we make an impact.

Stand in solidarity with Indigenous peoples for land rights, sustainable livelihoods, and cultural preservation.