In the news this week.

On a slightly different topic today when researching current conflicts over water today I found the story of a farmer which i thought provided a rather interesting real life small scale look at hydro-politics, as often we see the topic from a much larger, governance persepective. Conflict in Kiboya in Kenya has been in the news this week as farmers and herders compete for limited supplies of groundwater that is vital for the sustenance of their livelihoods. In the lowland basin of the Laikipia county farmers and herders can find themselves walking over 7 miles to find water in an ever increasing shortage of water sources. Climate Change, which Kenya is very vulnerable to, has made drought and uncertain rains common place.  Herders are finding they have to move upstream and away from their normal grazing lands in search of water, often encroaching on other farmers and herders lands making conflict inevitable. 

Laws and Land rights agreements in the area are important in managing and mitigating conflicts. Up until 2012 pastoralists, communally,  owned the majority of the land however then is was sold of to larger scale ranchers so that now only 50% belonged to smaller scale farmers. Herders and farmers are now all losing out to the larger scale ranches and have a more labour intensive and less profitable occupation since the changes in land rights. 

Solutions to the Problems? 

The Water Resource Management Authority, a government authority, plan to fence and restore dams across the Laikipia county, to reduce pressure on water supplies and make water in the area more sustainable and a year round resource.Simon Mwangi, chair of the Water Resource Users Association said  "The plan will help in conservation of water catchment and regulate water usage." 

Holding meetings where the farmers and pastoralists can meet in a forum where they can speak about the issues they are facing and try to come to a resolution. Conservation agriculture has provided a sustainable solution to the water shortages and hopefully this can be rolled out on a wider scale. Farmers practicing this style of farming were relatively unaffected by droughts and so no longer need to fight over water. 

This is an example of an every day conflict people around the world are facing as demand rises and supply falls for water supplies. Almost every day there is a similar story in the news and this just illustrates how topical and important the discussion about conflicts over water supplies is at the moment.