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LivestockmarketsasolutiontofoodsecurityinupperEasternKenya

TheKenyaWetlandsAtlas:Tacklingdegradationof Spectacularandvitalwetlands

NoiseandclatterthatimpairedguidedtoursinNairobihavebeensilenced

Migrantsmuggling,ivorytrafficking,herointrafficking,andmaritimepiracyidentifiedasmajororganizedcrimethreatsinEasternAfrica

InternationalYouthDay UNWomensupportsengenderingof

DisasterRiskReductionlawsinKenya DonorMissionEndsWithCallsfor

EffortstoEnhanceHumanSecurityinTurkanaCounty

UN KENYA NewsletterPublished by the United Nations System in Kenya

Delivering as One UN in Kenya September 2013

Livestock markets are the maingatewaytofoodsecurityinupperEasternKenya.Thisisaccordingto displays, presentations, and discussionsmade by the Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations(FAO)during the secondKalacha foodand cultural festival on 24-25 August2013inMarsabitCounty,Kenya.Communities in the pastoralist setting

predominately rely on livestock such as

Livestock markets a solution to food security in upper Eastern Kenya

What’s Inside:

(Left) Mr. Michael Ngutu providing a brief summary of what FAO does (Right) Mr. Joseph Mathooko demonstrating how the Epicollect technology works using an android phone @ Emah Madegwa/FAO, 2013

UN NewsletterKenya

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goats, cows, and camels as their singlemost important source of livelihood.Besidesprovidingfooddirectlyinformof meat and milk, pastoralists are able totrade to meet urgent cash needs such asschoolfeesandstaplefoods.However, the pastoralists are not

always able to sell their livestock whenthey want due to absence of vibrantlivestock markets within their reach.Even where this market exists they areoftenrundownandpoorlymanaged.Inan attempt to address these challenges,the Livestock Market Co-management

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE WITH DIGNITY FOR ALL

UN NewsletterKenya

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The Kenya Wetlands Atlas: Tackling degradation of Spectacular and vital wetlands

UNEP Executive Director Mr. Achim Steiner displaying a copy of the Wetlands Atlas © UNEP, 2013

The Kenya Wetlands Atlas,produced with funding fromtheGovernmentof Kenyaandthe Danish International DevelopmentAgency (DANIDA) and technicalsupport from the UN EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP), was launched on31stJuly,2013.The Atlas detailing the many

challenges facing dozens of importantecosystems inKenya reveals that despitethe important role that wetlands playin sustaining livelihoods in Kenya, theyhave been subjected to severe pressureand rapid degradation. The governmentis mindful of the opportunities lostthrough wetland and has embarked ona long-term strategy to conserve andenhance its rich and varied wetlands-key natural resources important for

Model, a public-private partnership(PPP) where local authorities andmarket management committees agreeto share responsibilities and revenuesin the market was initiated. Theinitiative, championedbyFAO is aimedat promoting ownership of livestockmarkets by the local communities theyserve in order to improve effectivenessandsustainability.“Livestock production remains the

bestwayof utilizingthevastrangelandsof NorthernKenyaandresearchshowsthat pastoral production systems haveverygoodreturnsoninvestment.Otherthan providing food and cash when sold,livestock also serves as an investmentjustlikelandorshares,”saysMr.MichaelNgutu, FAO field monitoring officer.Livestock is closely linked to the socialand cultural lives of several millionpastoralistsforwhomanimalownershipensures varying degrees of sustainablefarmingandeconomicstability.In Marsabit, the Livestock Market

Co-management Model has beenimplemented in Merille, Moyale,Sololo, Turbi,Korr, Illaut andKalacha.“This model has benefited both localgovernments and communities throughincreased revenue/Cess collection,infrastructure development, reduced

transaction costs, increased marketparticipation, employment, stimulationof local economies and centralization of social welfare,”Mr. Ngutu explained attheFAOexhibitionboothinthefestival.TheKalachafoodandculturalfestivalis

an annual eventheld inKalacha, in theoutcasts of Marsabit town. The eventis aimed at sharing and celebrating thecultural andnaturalheritageof thepeopleof Marsabit and Isiolo counties. It bringstogether pastoralists, fisher folk, huntergatherer, metal artisans and agriculturalcommunitiesof EasternKenyainorderto promote cultural diversity, socialharmony and sustainable development.A diversity of the region’s rich culturaland natural heritage was showcasedthrough artistic expressions, exhibitionsof traditional foods, medicinal plants anddemonstrationof traditionaltechnology.Participating communities includedthe El-Molo, Gabbra, Rendille, Boran,Somali, Konso, Garri, Burji, Waata,Samburu, Saakuye Turkana and theDaasanach.FAO tookpart in the exhibition and

displayed seven posters highlightingsome of the key interventions thatthe organization has initiated inpartnership with the government andvarious implementing partners. These

include Livestock market management;Holistic natural resource management;Community managed disaster riskreduction; Village community banking;Mobile phone data collection technology-EpiCollect; Pastoralist farmer fieldschools; andFood security assessment.Asummaryof whatFAOisdoinginthefieldwasmade andflyersdistributed todifferentparticipantsandorganizations.In his presentation, Dr. Joseph

Mathooko, FAO field monitoring officer,demonstrated the use of EpiCollect, amobile phone data collection technologythat enables veterinary officers and otheranimal health practitioners to collectand transmit data on vaccinations anddisease outbreaks usingmobile phones.“This technology is very useful especiallyfor the pastoralist region as it supportslivestock markets, disease surveillance,andwaterholemonitoringandgivesrealtimefieldsituations,”heunderlined.Plenary discussions which were part

of thesideeventswereheldandrelevantpapers presented by prominent scholarsand development agencies. Key issuesdiscussed included treasures of NorthernKenya; Pastoralism-Challenges andopportunities; Ethnicity and culture; andthefutureof NorthernKenya.

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UN NewsletterKenya

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Noise and clatter that impaired guided tours in Nairobi have been silenced

Pupils shown how the VOX headsets work by the Visitors’s Service Chief, Ms. Marian Aggrey.© UNIC, 2013

Guided tours at the UNHeadquarters at Gigiri i nN a i r o b i a r e g a i n i n gmomentum each succeeding monthsince its introduction 19 months ago. Butwithnoiseof lawnmower engines andheavy containers beingdragged aroundbyworkers in the 140-acre compound,the challenge of conducting guidedtours was becoming mission impossibleespecially with a big group of visitors.Andnow, the challengehasbeennippedinthebud.No one could hide their excitement

when a long-awaited package finallyarrived at theNairobi Visitors’ Serviceoffices on 5 August. The staff wasitching toopenaparcelcontaining100VOXheadsetspurchasedfromVienna.“Thiswasthefirsttimesuchgadgets

would be used at the UN Office atNairobi,” said Rebecca Gakonyo, tourguideat theVisitors’Serviceat theUnitedNationsOfficeatNairobi(UNON)Sheknowsalltoowellthechallenges

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agriculture,drinkingwater,flooddefenseand tourism-amid concern that many arefacingseriousdegradationanddecline.Inordertoreversetheworryingtrend

of conductingaguided tourbetween thesoundsof lawnmowerenginesandheavycontainers being dragged around byworkers.Thenoiselevelsalongthetour

route can sometimes sound likemassivetractors going through cornfields. Thenoise often made it next to impossiblefor visitors to hear presentations from

of degradation, the atlas highlights theneed for Kenya to embrace a raft of measuresundertheRamsarConventionon Wetlands’ main pillars of wise use,

designating and managing more Wetlandsof International Importance (RamsarSites), and international cooperation.During the launch, UNEP ExecutiveDirector Achim Steiner, said, “The first step is knowledge, understanding, because only then can governments both put legislation in place and then enforce it. Because it is also the impunity in not maintaining an adherence to the legislation and the law of the country, the planning regulations, the land use regulations, that create what is often called the tragedy of the commons.”TheRamsarConventiononWetlands

hasbeeninforceinKenyasince1990,andan environment-friendly Constitution waspromulgated in2010.TheEnvironmentManagement and Coordination Actand its by-laws contain a number of innovative wetland provisions, theabsenceof nationalwetlandspolicyanda sector-specificwetlands law continuesto impede the sustainable managementof thisvitalbutfragileecosystem.

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UN NewsletterKenya

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UNODC’s latest report which was released on 4September 2013 provides insight into some of EasternAfrica’sprincipaltransnationalorganizedcrimethreats.According to the report, more than 100,000 people

weresmuggledoutof theregionlastyearalone,generatingover$15millionfororganizedcriminalnetworksoperatingonthemaritimecrossingfromtheHornof Africa.Ivorypoaching, which results in up to 154 metric tons beingtaken annually, led to an additional $30 million in illicitrevenuejustfromAsianmarkets.Drugsareanincreasinglylucrative illicit trade. Up to 22 tons of heroin are nowtrafficked to and through the region annually, with localconsumption alone amounting to some $160 million ayear. Finally Somali piracywasworth an estimated $150million in 2011, equivalent to almost 15per centof thecountry’sGDP.Throughout2013,however,nosuccessfulhijackingsforransomhavebeenmadeintheSomaliareaof operation, and this remarkable progress shows thateventhelargestcrimeproblemscanbecounteredthroughinternationalcooperation.The report – Transnational Organized Crime in Eastern

Africa: A Threat Assessment – is aimed at highlighting themost pressing transnational organized crime threats facingthe region. Looking at some of the key areas, this latestreport focuses on four such concerns: migrant smugglingfrom Ethiopia and Somalia to Yemen and Saudi Arabia;heroin trafficking fromSouth-WestAsia toEasternAfrica;ivorytraffickingthroughEasternAfricatoAsia;andSomalimaritimepiracy.The role of transnational organized crime is evident in

migrant smuggling.This isdriven inpartbyhigh levelsof conflict and poverty which have resulted in a large and

Migrant smuggling, ivory trafficking, heroin trafficking, and maritime piracy identified as major

organized crime threats in Eastern Africa

A display front cover of the report © UNODC, 2013

tourguides.Largergroupsof 20peopleormore onlymade the challenge evengreater.“Thankstomoderntechnologythough, we now have a solution – apermanent one,” said Marian Aggrey,Chief of theVisitors’Service-Nairobi.How does it work? The tour guide

system is a lightweight set of listeningdevicesusedtoenhancetheguidedtourexperience. Visitors are each equippedwith a receiver as well as an ear-piece.The tour guide uses a transmitter witha discreet microphone to address thegroup.Large groupsof visitorsdonothave to stand close to the guide. This

enhances the tour experience as moreinformation is received by participants.Thetour-guidesystemalsoresolvestheproblems experienced by the hearing-impaired. The system is one-way, fromguidetovisitors.Two-waycommunicationispossiblewithquestionsaddresseddirectlyto the guide who then shares with therestwiththegroup.Thefirst group to use thehigh-tech

equipment comprised 56 primary schoolstudents from Thika Road ChristianSchool in Nairobi. They were thrilledas they had never seen nor used suchgadgets before. “This is what we call

technology!” remarked one of thestudents. Another student wanted totakethedevicehome.“Howmuchdoesitcost?” she asked.At the end of the tour,the students were very pleased with theirexperienceanddidnotmissaword.“With the newly purchased gadgets,

the Visitors’ Service can now efficientlyhandle larger groups and provide highquality informative tours,” noted Ms.Aggrey.Nairobi is a tourist haven, with an

averageof 1.8millionvisitsperyear.

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UN NewsletterKenya

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International Youth Day

Some of the youth exhibiting their works at the KICC.© UNHabitat, 2013

International Youth Day (IYD) isan awareness day designated bythe United Nations which is heldon the 12 August annually. The firstInternational Youth Day was held intheyear2000.The themeof this year’sInternational Youth Day, was “Youth Migration: Moving Development Forward”In his message during the occasion,

United Nations Under-Secretary-General

and UN-Habitat Executive Director Dr.JoanClossaid themajorityof theworld’syoungpeople living incitiesandtowns inthe developing world where nearly 90percentof theworld’surbangrowthistakingplace.“Itisestimatedthatasmanyas60per

centof allurbandwellerswillbeundertheageof 18by2030,withasignificantpercentage of this growth being theresultof youthmigratingtourbanareas.

According to the Executive Director,the United Nations had found thatthere were nearly twenty-seven millioninternationalmigrantswhoareyouth.“They migrate for reasons such as

crisiswithintheirowncountry,accessingeducation or seeking job opportunities.Many of these youth are leaving ruralareasandmovingtocities.Forexample,a recent UN-Habitat report found thatyoung Ethiopians migrate from ruralareastocitiesduetoinsecurelandtenure.Inexamplesallaroundtheworld,youngpeople are taking on the responsibilityandrisksof moving,anditisimperativethat governments at all levels developpoliciesthatsupportthem,”hesaid.Onthisyear’sinternationalyouthday,

theOne StopYouthCentre inNairobicelebrated its ten year anniversary. Theone stop youth center programme isfunded by UN-Habitat and providesinnovative and ground-breaking spacesthat provide ameeting place for youngpeople to come together to accessinformation and resources critical toyouth-led development programmes andprojects. The objectives of the centersare:

vulnerable stream of migrants. Manyof those trying toescape thesituationsthey face are subjected to a range of abuses,includingconfinement,beatings,extortion and rape at multiple stagesof their journey. In 2012 alone, morethan 100,000 people paid smugglers totransport themacross theGulf of AdenorRedSeatoYemenwheretheirjourneytakes them onwards to Saudi Arabia,with the sea passage alone generatingover$15million fororganizedcriminalnetworks.Regional wildlife trafficking is also

increasing, and Eastern Africa appearsto be themain conduit through whichillicit ivory is flowing. Recent researchindicates that the rate of poaching inEastern Africa has risen to levels thatcould significantly threaten the localelephantpopulation.Between5,600and

15,400elephantsarepoachedinEasternAfrica annually, producing between 56and 154 metric tons of illicit ivory. In2011,two-thirdsof this,or37tons,wasdestined for Asia, worth around $30million.The regional drug trade represents

another core threat. While heroin hasbeen trafficked to and throughEasternAfricasinceatleastthe1980s,aseriesof recent large seizures suggests that thisflow has increased. Between 2010 and2012, more heroin was seized than intheprevious20yearsandinthefirstfivemonths of 2013, the seizures exceededthose of the total previous 24 months.Annually,asmuchas22tonsistraffickedtotheregion.Whileitisestimatedthatatleast2.5tonsof thisisconsumedlocallyeveryyear(worthsome$160million),theexcess suggests substantial amounts are

transitedthroughtheregion,particularlytoSouthernandWestAfrica,andpossiblybeyond.In 2011 Somali pirates reaped an

estimated $150million. In recent years,however, progress has been madein tackling this issue. Internationalcountermeasures have contributed toa dramatic decline in piracy. While inApril 2009pirateshijacked16 ships, twoyearslaterthisaveragedlessthanonepermonth; in the first half of 2013 therewerenosuccessfulhijackingsforransomintheSomaliarea.Effective interventionhas also forced pirates to move furtherawayfromthecoast:in2005,theaveragesuccessfulpirateattackwas109kmfromtheSomalicoast;in2012,itwas746km.

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UN NewsletterKenya

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UN Women supports engendering of Disaster Risk Reduction laws in Kenya

Internally Displaced Person’s camp in Laikipia© UN Women, 2013

Exhibition by the youth © UN Habitat, 2013

UN Women is pushing toengender humanitarian lawsthat deal with disaster riskreduction in Kenya. Whilst disastersaffect everyone in the community,

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women and men experience and copewith disasters in different ways due tothegenderedpolitical,culturalandsocio-economic differences and inequalitiesthatexistwithincommunities.

A draft Bill on Disaster RiskReduction(DRR)has alreadybeentabledin Parliament awaiting discussions andassent. At the same time, theNationalDrought Management Authority isworkingonadraftpolicyonthebestwaytomanagedroughtsinKenya.At a meeting between UN Women,

the Kenya Women ParliamentariansAssociation(KEWOPA),UnitedNationsOffice for Disaster Risk Reduction(UNISDR) and other MPs, held at theIntercontinental Hotel in Nairobi lastmonth, it was noted that theDRRBilland draft Disaster Risk Managementpolicy shouldbe aligned to internationalstandardssuchastheHyogoFrameworkfor Action 2000-2015 which states thatgenderperspectivesshouldbeintegratedin allDRRpolicies, plans anddecision-makingprocesses. The legislation on DRR presents

a key opportunity to consolidate thedevelopment gains made over the pastfew years, especially with reference toparticipation of women in legislativeprocessesinkeepingwiththeConstitution

• Employment and Capacity Building: replicable systemsfor vocational training andapprenticeships in placewith increased employment

opportunities gender and agemainstreaming,newemploymentideas,andslumupgrading.

• Crime Prevention: progresson crime and delinquency

prevention, and support tothe empowerment of youth indifficultcircumstances.

• Urban Governance: youngpeople as active participants onissuesof governance.

UN-Habitat also launched a photoandvideocompetitiondubbed#Home is where we live Instagram contest asking young people to show what “home” really means to them.The competition ends on 30

September 2013, asks the contestants,those aged between 18 and 32, to takea picture of either their homes ortheirhangout joints andpost themonInstagramorFacebook.The top two submissions will be

profiled on the official UN-HabitatFacebookpageandwebsite.For more information, visit our

websiteat:http://www.unhabitat.org.

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Donor Mission Ends With Calls for Efforts to Enhance Human Security in Turkana County

Looking for food at Makutano Internally Displaced Person’s cam in Laikipia © UN Women, 2013

There is need for greatercommitmentintheeffortsbytheGovernment of Kenya, CountyGovernments and United Nationagencies, to enhance human security inTurkanaCentralandLoimaSub-counties.Thiswas the resoundingmessage fromajointdelegation from theUnitedNationsinter-agency coordination group andgovernment representatives, following athreedayfieldvisitbytheChief of Unit,United Nations Trust Fund for HumanSecurity (UNTFHS) Unit Ms. MehrnazMostafavi. Ms. Mostafavi, was in Turkana to

assesstheprogressundertakento improvehuman security among pastoralistcommunitiesinTurkanaCountythroughsustainable interventions in livelihoods,foodsecurity,education,childlabourandhealth.ThefieldvisitprovidedMsMostafavi

an opportunity to better understandthe progress made and determine theeffectiveness of translating the humansecurity concept into practical actionsand sustainable results as recommendedbytheUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly.Shealsohadanadvantageof interacting

of Kenya,2010.UN Women is committed towards

providing members of KEWOPA andParliamentwithtechnicalgendersupportto ensure that theDRRBill and draftpolicyaregender-responsive.UNWomen is dedicated to working

with the Government of Kenya,and more specifically the ministrieswhose mandate include addressing thechallenges of climate change, povertyandgenderissues,andotherstakeholdersincludingcivilsociety,inordertoensurethat DRR strategies and initiatives areholistic and address the different needsof women,girls,boysandmen.

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withtheprojectbeneficiaries.Turkanaregionsuffersfroma‘climate

change-migration-conflict-nexus’ whererecurring, severe drought cycles lead toincreasinglyfrequentoutwardmigrationsof pastoralistswithinKenyaoracrosstheborder,insearchof waterandpastureforlivestock.

Considering the mobile natureof pastoral border communities, theproject targets the most vulnerable of the Turkana Central population as wellas selected neighbouring cross-bordercommunities by providing opportunitiesto interact inapeacefulmanner throughjoint training and the establishment of

Time to read and write in Turkana County © IOM, 2013

UN NewsletterKenya

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****

Karibu UN!It’s your World!

Visit us! Take a Tour!

© UNIC-NairobiWebsite: http://visitors.unon.org

Open for ToursTuesdays to Thursdays

9:00am – 2.00pm

For ReservationsEmail: un.tours@unon.org

Tel: 254 -20-762 2034

Kindergarten Ksh.100 Primary School Ksh.100 Secondary School Ksh.200 University Ksh.200

Ksh.300 Resident Student Ksh.500 Resident Adult Ksh.500

Non-Resident Student Ksh.500Non-Resident Adult Ksh.1000Exclusive Tours Ksh.5000

Ksh.500 Ksh.500

Technical Tours Ksh.500

Prices are pocket friendly for UN Tours

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jointmarketsandtradeopportunities.This project builds on

recommendations by communitiesthemselves to strengthen local capacitiestopreventdisasterandmitigateshocksof aclimatic,economicandconflictnature. The pastoralist populations of

Turkana Central are faced with acuteeconomic-, food- and health- insecurity,as well as environmental, personal-andcommunity insecurity. These threats areinterlinked and feed on each other, withmost characterized by their chronic and

pervasive nature. Increasing weatherextremities and unpredictability is evidentin Turkana, with escalating severity andfrequencyof droughts. The project “Strengthening Human

Security in theBorderCommunities of Turkana, Kenya” officially launched in2012isa6.1MillionUSD3-yearprojectfunded by the United Nations TrustFundforHumanSecurity. The proposed activities aim to

improve human security in a contextof UN inter-agency coordination

including United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP), Food andAgriculture Organization (FAO), WorldHealthOrganization(WHO),InternationalOrganization for Migration (IOM), UnitedNation Children’s Fund (UNICEF),International Labour Organization(ILO) and UNTFHS and building onthecapacitiesof localCBOs,localpeacecommittees, local governments and thegovernmental Arid Lands ResourceManagementProject(ALRMP).

UN NewsletterKenya

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Karibu UN!It’s your World!

Visit us! Take a Tour!

© UNIC-NairobiWebsite: http://visitors.unon.org

Open for ToursTuesdays to Thursdays

9:00am – 2.00pm

For ReservationsEmail: un.tours@unon.org

Tel: 254 -20-762 2034

Kindergarten Ksh.100 Primary School Ksh.100 Secondary School Ksh.200 University Ksh.200

Ksh.300 Resident Student Ksh.500 Resident Adult Ksh.500

Non-Resident Student Ksh.500Non-Resident Adult Ksh.1000Exclusive Tours Ksh.5000

Ksh.500 Ksh.500

Technical Tours Ksh.500

Prices are pocket friendly for UN Tours

1. Provides food to 90 million people in 73 countries2. Vaccinates 58 per cent of the world’s children, saving 2.5

million lives a year3. Assists over 36 million refugees and people fleeing war,

famine or persecution4. Combats climate change; heads a campaign to end leaded

fuel use in over 100 nations5. Keeps peace with 120,000 peacekeepers in 16 operations

on 4 continents6. Fights poverty, helping 370 million rural poor achieve better

lives in the last 30 years7. Protects and promotes human rights on site and through

some 80 treaties/declarations8. Mobilizes US$12.4 billion in humanitarian aid to help

people affected by emergencies9. Advances democracy, assisting some 30 countries a year

with their elections10. Promotes maternal health, saving the lives of 30 million

women a year

For more information please visit: www.un.org

www.un.org

EVERY DAYthe United Nations works to

tackle global challengesand:

KNOW YOUR UNITED NATIONS - It’s your Organization

This Newsletter is compiled by the UN Communications Group in Kenya (UNCG)designed and edited by the United Nations Information Centre, Nairobi.

For more information contact: UNCG Chair, P. O. Box 67578-00100 Nairobi, Kenya.

Tel: 020-76221102, E-mail: nairobi.unic@unon.orgUnited Nations Information Centre Nairobi @unicnairobi