Contribution of peace initiative policy to the wellbeing of households affected by natural resource based conflicts in Laikipia North sub -county, Kenya

Abstract

he recent upsurge of Natural Resource Based Conflicts in Laikipia County in Northern Kenya have been linked to lack of equitable access and sharing of key resources of pasture and water found within the several large private wildlife conservancies and ranches during periods of severe drought. Peace Initiative Policy (PIP) were instituted to counter these conflicts by the government and other agencies and this study aimed at assessing the contribution of these policies on the wellbeing of households that were affected by the conflicts. The objectives of this study were to: evaluate the contribution of the opening of large ranches for grazing by pastoralists to the status of livelihood in households, analyse the contribution of improvement of availability of water to the status of livelihood, assess the contribution of conservation and sustainability of natural resources to the status of livelihood in households, assess the contribution of market creation to the status of livelihood in households. The sampling frame was 43,712 pastoral households in Laikipia North Sub County. A stratified random sample of 211 households was used. Data on the study variables were collected by use of an interview schedule and 50 Key Informants Interviews. The data were analysed using descriptive (frequency distributions, means and standard deviation) and inferential (chi-square tests) statistics. The Peace Policy initiatives significantly (p < 0.05) contributed positively to the wellbeing of the households that were recovering from conflicts. Specifically, the opening of large ranches for grazing by pastoralists had a mean of 3.48 on a scale of 1 to 7, while improved water availability had 3.77, creation of marketing institutions had 3.82, and the conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources had 1.42. The study recommended proper planning and a review of pastoral development policies by the Ministry of Natural resources to increase the peace initiatives so as to enhance the wellbeing of the people. A steering committee to coordinate all the efforts of the stakeholders (county government, local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and community leaders) involved in the development of pastoral communities in the study area.