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Climate change exacerbates three categories of water shocks: too little, too much, and/or too dirty water. The resulting water vulnerability and its unsustainable use in agriculture affect agricultural production and its efficiency in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Kenya. Consequently, farmers have resorted to traditional coping measures to face the impacts of these new, prevailing, and changing climate patterns. This study attempts to unveil the role and importance of local knowledge and skills in agricultural water conservation. It highlights the role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in achieving climate adaptation, while pointing out their limitations for sustainable utilization and management of water and its related resources in Mount Kenya region and other ASALs of Kenya. The study addresses this gap through a comparative analysis of the usage of climate information and water resources by smallholder farmers living in Ngusishi and Bwathonaro catchments, Meru County (of Mount Kenya Region), and Muooni catchment, Machakos County (of Eastern Kenya Region) during the period starting from 2012 to 2022. Results show that IKS are not only undervalued because of their inherent limitations during critical periods, but also due to the emphasis on the provisioning aspects of natural goods and services, which have a “direct use value” in a globalized capitalistic economy. Very little attention has been paid to this indigenous ecological, cultural, social, political, and spiritual knowledge systems for solving water issues in the course of climate change, particularly in Kenyan ASALs. Farmers living in Muooni, Ngusishi, and Bwathonaro catchments were commended for coupling their indigenous climate information and early warning systems (EWS) with modern climate science, using their own judgment, to achieve adaptation to climate variability with adherence to some forms of soil and water conservation (SWC) measures, including the trade of Green Water Credits (GWC). Thus, the study recommends these GWC schemes as innovative funding schemes for the sustainability of watershed management and farmers’ adaptation to climate change.

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Changing Patterns of Indigenous Knowledge Systems Used for Water Conservation and Adaptation to Climate Change in Mount Kenya Region (2012–2022)

  • 动态工具书词条

  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • Cush Ngonzo Luwesi,
  • Obed Matundura Ogega,
  • Dzigbodi Adzo Doke

摘要

Climate change exacerbates three categories of water shocks: too little, too much, and/or too dirty water. The resulting water vulnerability and its unsustainable use in agriculture affect agricultural production and its efficiency in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Kenya. Consequently, farmers have resorted to traditional coping measures to face the impacts of these new, prevailing, and changing climate patterns. This study attempts to unveil the role and importance of local knowledge and skills in agricultural water conservation. It highlights the role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in achieving climate adaptation, while pointing out their limitations for sustainable utilization and management of water and its related resources in Mount Kenya region and other ASALs of Kenya. The study addresses this gap through a comparative analysis of the usage of climate information and water resources by smallholder farmers living in Ngusishi and Bwathonaro catchments, Meru County (of Mount Kenya Region), and Muooni catchment, Machakos County (of Eastern Kenya Region) during the period starting from 2012 to 2022. Results show that IKS are not only undervalued because of their inherent limitations during critical periods, but also due to the emphasis on the provisioning aspects of natural goods and services, which have a “direct use value” in a globalized capitalistic economy. Very little attention has been paid to this indigenous ecological, cultural, social, political, and spiritual knowledge systems for solving water issues in the course of climate change, particularly in Kenyan ASALs. Farmers living in Muooni, Ngusishi, and Bwathonaro catchments were commended for coupling their indigenous climate information and early warning systems (EWS) with modern climate science, using their own judgment, to achieve adaptation to climate variability with adherence to some forms of soil and water conservation (SWC) measures, including the trade of Green Water Credits (GWC). Thus, the study recommends these GWC schemes as innovative funding schemes for the sustainability of watershed management and farmers’ adaptation to climate change.