| dc.description.abstract | The nomadic pastoralists in Turkana have developed coping mechanisms to protect
themselves from the long-term effects of droughts that decimate livestock which forms
their primary source of livelihood. Turkana is suffering from water scarcity disrupting
routine activities like small scale farming. This study aimed to assess the effects of
drought coping strategies on the socioecological wellbeing of the pastoralists in Turkana
West Sub County. The study objectively sought to determine the influence of livelihood
diversification; evaluate the influence of remittances to the households; determine the
influence of credit access; assess the influence of collective action and investigate the
influence of food relief and NGO interventions on the socioecological wellbeing of the
households in Kakuma and Oropoi locations in Turkana West sub-county, Turkana
County. The study employed the use of a descriptive research design targeting a
population of 115,134 (23,048 households) respondents. The study used cluster
sampling to select a sample size of 273. The study adopted questionnaires for data
collection and utilised descriptive and inferential data analysis methods to analyse the
collected data. The results showed that three independent variables had positive and
significant influence on the socioecological wellbeing, namely credit access (ß= .151,
t= 2.519, p < .05), collective action (ß= .160, t= 2.667, p=0.008) and food relief and
NGO/government interventions (ß= .722, t= 17.195, p=0.001). On contrary, livelihood
diversification (ß= -.051, t (272) = -.846, p>0.05) and remittances to the households
(ß= .100, t= 1.658, p>.05) had no significant influence on socioecological wellbeing.
The study concluded that credit access, collective actions and food relief and
NGO/government interventions are coping strategies that could be adopted as best
practices to improve the socioecological wellbeing of pastoral households in Kakuma
and Oropoi locations. Identification and ranking of factors influencing the choice of
drought coping strategies will have a significance in the adoption of these best practices
for better drought preparedness and mitigation measures. Therefore, the study
recommends that credit access be made easier for the people in these locations. People
in this region should engage in more diverse livelihoods. In partnership with the national
government and other stakeholders such as religious factions, the county government
should promote active community collective action for better drought preparedness. | en_US |
