MANDERA TECHNICAL TRAINIG INSTITUTE

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK

AN ASSESSMENT ON FACTORS THAT CAUSES DROUGHT.

A STRATEGY OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION: A CASE OF MANDERA
COUNTY. MANDERA SOUTH

BY

FARDOSA MAALIM ALIO

ADM. NO: 862

INDEX.NO: 8031040076

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 DECLARATION

This research project is my original work and has not been presented for a degree award in
any other University.

Signed………………………………..................…… Date…………………………

DECLARATION BY SUPERVISOR

This research project has been submitted for examination with my approval as the university
supervisor.

Signed…………………………………………………… Date..................………………

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 DEDICATION
This research project is dedicated to everyone who taught me the values of life, knowledge,
respect, integrity, hard work, and self-improvement and to those who taught me to simply
stand up when I fall, to be good to people, and always encouraged me to dream and work
hard towards my dreams. Most importantly, those who made me learn that life will never be
straight line, we have to work hard every day and strive to remain positive in all
circumstances and that when I fall, I should not remain down but wipe off the dust and
soldier on.

A special gratitude goes to my dad, mum, my dear husband Ahmed, my brother(s) and my
sister(s) for their loving care, support and help during my study, for the peace of mind,
assistance and support they accorded me during my research. I also dedicate this work to my
many friends and colleagues who supported me throughout the process. I dedicate this work
to my classmates, readers, future researchers and students in the field of disaster risk
management. May the Almighty Allah continue to bless you all abundantly?

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I appreciate all those who contributed tirelessly towards compilation of this proposal in one
way or another. Special thanks to my supervisor whose advice at different levels made this
proposal a reality. I thank him for always being there to offer his guidance even when so
busy with other tasks; for their patience, support and professional guidance, encouragement
and their availability. To the Institute, I’m really humbled for molding me to the scholar I
am from the student I was; to the staffs of the Institute for their support and assistance. I
cannot forget their extravagant ideas, co-operation and encouragement.

I appreciate the most important people who directed and encouraged me in the adventure of
academics and have been my anchor. They include my family who relentlessly stood by me
even when I barely had time for them while pursuing this course. Their understanding and
moral support went a long way in making this a success. I am also indebted to my friends
and colleagues for their assistance and advice to me on how to go about research writing and
also their support in my academic endeavors.

Finally, to all the others whose names I may not have mentioned, thank you so much, you
are part of my success. May Allah bless you All.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION....................................................................................................................ii
DEDICATION.......................................................................................................................iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................................................................................iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES..............................................................................................................viii
LIST OF FIGURES...............................................................................................................ix
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS..............................................................x
ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................xi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION...................................................................................1

1.1 Background of the Study................................................................................................1
1.2 Statement of the Problem................................................................................................3
1.3 Research Questions.........................................................................................................5
1.4 Objectives of the Study...................................................................................................5
1.4.1 Main Objective.........................................................................................................5
1.4.2 Specific Objectives...................................................................................................5
1.5 Justification of the Study................................................................................................5
1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study................................................................................7

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 9

2.1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................9
2.2 Empirical Review............................................................................................................9
2.3 Drought Disaster Risk Management.............................................................................11
2.4 Drought Contingency Planning.....................................................................................13
2.5 Drought Relief Strategy................................................................................................15
2.6 Rehabilitation Mechanism............................................................................................18
2.7 Theoretical Framework.................................................................................................19
2.7.1 Bordieu Theory of Cultural, Social, and Symbolic Capital...................................20

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 2.7.2 Community Empowerment Model.........................................................................20
2.8 Conceptual Framework.................................................................................................22

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...................................................24

3.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................24
3.2 Description of the Study Area.......................................................................................24
3.3 Research Design...........................................................................................................25
3.4 Unit of Analysis and Unit of Observation....................................................................25
3.5 Target Population..........................................................................................................26
3.6 Sample Size and Sampling Procedure..........................................................................27
3.6.1 Sample Size............................................................................................................27
3.6.2 Sampling Procedure...............................................................................................27
3.7 Methods of Data Collection..........................................................................................27
3.7.1 Collection of Quantitative Data..............................................................................28
3.7.2 Collection of Qualitative Data................................................................................28
3.8 Validity and Reliability of Research Instruments.........................................................29
3.9 Ethical Consideration....................................................................................................29
3.10 Data analysis and presentation....................................................................................30

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION..........31

4.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................31
4.2 Response Rate...............................................................................................................31
4.3 Social and Demographic Characteristics......................................................................32
4.3.1 Gender Distribution................................................................................................32
4.3.2 Categorization of the Respondents.........................................................................33
4.3.3 Age Distribution.....................................................................................................34
4.3.4 Level of Education.................................................................................................34
4.3.5 Size of Nuclear Families........................................................................................35
4.3.6 Continuous Duration of Residing in Mandera.......................................................36
4.4 Drought Disaster Reduction Management....................................................................36

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 4.4.1 Frequency of Drought............................................................................................36
4.4.2 Drought Disaster Risk Management Interventions................................................38
4.4.3 Sources of Water....................................................................................................39
4.4.4 Managing the Drought Problem.............................................................................40
4.5 Drought Contingency Planning in Drought Disaster Reduction...................................41
4.5.1 Familiar with Drought Contingency Planning.......................................................41
4.5.2 Drought Contingency Planning on DDR Reduction..............................................42
4.5.3 Pastoralists are involvement in Drought Contingency Planning............................43
4.5.4 Factors affecting Drought Contingency Planning..................................................44
4.5.5 How Contingency Planning is perceived to affect Disaster Risk Reduction.........45
4.6 Drought Relief Strategy and Drought Disaster Risk Reduction...................................46
4.6.1 Knowledge of Drought Relief Strategy..................................................................46
4.6.2 Effectiveness of Relief Strategy on Drought Disaster Risk Reduction..................47
4.6.3 Approaches in the Drought Disaster Reduction Strategy.......................................47
4.7 Rehabilitation Mechanisms in Drought Disaster Risk Reduction................................48
4.7.1 Knowledge of Rehabilitation Mechanisms in Drought Mitigation........................48
4.7.2 Effectiveness of Process of Rehabilitation Mechanisms in Drought Mitigation...49
4.7.3 Effectiveness of Approaches Influencing Drought Disaster Risk Reduction........50

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS......54

5.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................54
5.2 Summary of Findings....................................................................................................54
5.3 Conclusions...................................................................................................................56
5.4 Recommendations.........................................................................................................58
5.6 Suggestions for future research.....................................................................................60

REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................61

APPENDICES.......................................................................................................................67
Appendix I: Introduction Letter..........................................................................................67

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Appendix II: Research Questionnaire.................................................................................68
Appendix III: Key Informants Interview Guide.................................................................74
Appendix IV: Focus Group Discussion Guide...................................................................75

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 LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1: Distribution of Households According to the Districts in Mandera......................26
Table 3.2: Sample Distribution in the Selected Districts........................................................27
Table 4.1: Response Rate.......................................................................................................32
Table 4.2: Gender of the Respondents....................................................................................33
Table 4.3: Size of the Nuclear Family....................................................................................35
Table 4.4: Duration of Residing in Mandera..........................................................................36
Table 4.5: Common Source of Water used by Households....................................................39
Table 4.6: How the Pastoralists Get Out of the Drought Problem.........................................40
Table 4.7: Extent to which pastoralists are familiar with drought contingency planning......41
Table 4.8: Extent to which Pastoralists are involved in Drought Contingency Planning......43
Table 4.9: Factors affecting the Drought Contingency Planning...........................................44
Table 4.10: Agreements on Drought Contingency Planning for Disaster Risk Reduction....45
Table 4.11: Whether the Pastoralists are Knowledgeable about Drought Relief Strategy.....46
Table 4.12: Activities of drought relief strategy influencing Drought Disaster reduction.....48
Table 4.13: Effectiveness of process of rehabilitation mechanisms in drought mitigation....49
Table 4.14: Effectiveness of Approaches influencing Drought Disaster Risk Reduction......50

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: Pastoralist Drought Management as a Strategy of Disaster Risk Reduction.......22

Figure 4.1: Age Brackets of the Respondents........................................................................34
Figure 4.2: Highest Level of Education.................................................................................35
Figure 4.3: Frequency that Pastoralists Experience Drought in their Areas..........................37
Figure 4.4: Availability of Drought Disaster Risk Management Interventions.....................39
Figure 4.5: Effectiveness of Drought Contingency Planning on DDR Reduction.................42
Figure 4.6: Effectiveness of Relief Strategy on Drought Disaster Risk Reduction...............47
Figure 4.7: Pastoralists Knowledge on Drought Rehabilitation Mechanisms........................49

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
ASALs Arid and Semi-Arid Lands
CCMDRR Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction
DRM Disaster risk management
DRR Disaster Risk Reduction
EC European Community
EWS Early Warning Systems
IIRR International Institute of Rural Reconstruction
ISDR International Strategy For Disaster Reduction
LEWS Livestock Early warning System
MCAs Member of County Assemblies
MPs Member of Parliament
NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations
SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences
UN United Nations
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNISDR United Nations International Strategy For Disaster Reduction
WHO World Health Organization

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 ABSTRACT
Despite the numerous studies documented on the disaster risk management, the political,
economic and social marginalization of most pastoralists, decades of adverse national
policies which have restricted their access to key natural resources, increased frequency and
intensity of climate shocks such as drought, and endemic conflict have all contributed to
significantly undermine their resilience. It was in this light that the current study sought to
carry out an assessment on pastoralist management of drought as a strategy of disaster risk
reduction in Mandera County with a focus on Mandera East, Mandera West and Mandera
South sub counties. The research was designed as a cross sectional descriptive study. The
target respondents included pastoralists from Mandera East, Mandera West and Mandera
South sub counties in Mandera County. According to the County Government (2014) 89.1%
(91,292) of the families are dependent on pastoralism for their upkeep. For the purpose of
this study, household heads in each of the three selected sub counties were involved. This
generated a sample of 120. To avoid biasness, the households were picked proportionally in
the North, South, and East and West directions of each from each of the sub county. Data
was collected using both quantitative and qualitative methods including questionnaire
administration to the various stakeholders, key informant interview and Focused Group
Discussions. Quantitative data was then entered into the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS). The frequencies and percentages were obtained. Tables and figures were
used to present the data while descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequencies were
used to answer research questions. The results of the analyzed quantitative data were
presented by use of tables. Qualitative data collected from key informants were analyzed
and presented as confirmation to the quantitative data collected from the community. The
study also found that most of the areas in Mandera County are frequently struck by drought
and water scarcity putting the pastoralists at a great drought disaster. The study deduces that
the pastoralists are familiar with drought contingency planning. Drought relief strategy
affects drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera. The pastoralists are knowledgeable about
rehabilitation mechanism as a mitigation strategy. The study ascertained that rehabilitation
mechanisms as a mitigation strategy is not carried at the right time of the drought cycle. The
study recommends that government should put in place veterinary interventions measures
that will enhance drought mitigation to prevent loss of animals during drought within the
County. The community, planners, professionals and the implementers of drought disaster
risk management need to realize and rise to the awakening that drought affected people have
the learning and the strength to develop coping and survivability capacities. There is a need
to enhance community communication and feedback mechanism in the county. The study
also recommends that the government of Kenya and development agencies working in the
area need to invest in the provision of credit facilities to the pastoralists to assist them in
coping with droughts. The study recommends funds should be allocated for effective
supplementary feeding programmes.

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 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Disasters and violent conflicts are among the two greatest threats to progress in human
development in the 21st century (UNDP, 2011). The concept and practice of reducing
disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyze and manage the causal factors of
disasters, including through reduced exposure to hazards, lessened vulnerability of people
and property, wise management of land and the environment, and improved preparedness
for adverse events (UNISDR, 2007). In practical terms DRR encompasses all actions taken
to reduce disaster losses by addressing not only the hazards that cause disasters but also
people‟s vulnerability to them. Disaster risk reduction interventions need to build capacity
to withstand hazards both before and after they occur. Although there are distinct DRR
interventions and activities, DRR is also about systematically incorporating risk reduction
considerations into all development and humanitarian policy and programming.

Kanwar (2008) observes that catastrophic hazards, characterized by limited or lack of

warning may result in catastrophic outcomes, hence viable mitigation actions that can be
taken (at the local level) are those of preparedness, i.e. instituting plans and programs to
cope with potential disruption or destruction of physical and social systems. According to
ISDR (2009) drought leads to significant environmental, agricultural, health, economic and
social consequences. It is a complex slow onset hazard that allows mitigation and
preparedness. Drought phenomenon in most cases triggers emergency responses when the
impact on local people is severe. The impacts depend upon the local peoples vulnerability to
such shocks, and hence the need to understand the vulnerability to droughts as a prerequisite
of designing preparedness, mitigation and relief policies and programmes. This would in
turn prevent acute disaster by reducing disaster risk at the community level, through
identification of the risks and translating the knowledge into preventive actions (Zwaagstra,
Sharif, Wambile, de Leeuw, Said, Johnson, Njuki, Ericksen and Herrero, 2010).

The recurrence of severe drought is a cause of human suffering and a major blockage to pro-
poor livestock development in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in pastoral and agro pastoral
systems (HPG, 2006). Disasters induced by drought account for about ninety percent of all

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Disasters in the Region. Drought sets off a vicious cycle of socioeconomic impacts
beginning with crop-yield failure, unemployment, erosion of assets, decrease in income,
worsening of living conditions, poor nutrition, and, subsequently, decreased coping capacity,
and thus increasing vulnerability of the poor to another drought and other shocks as well as
the risk of political instability and, in some cases, conflict (Walter, 2004).

The situation is compounded by the long-term trends related to population growth,

urbanization and environmental degradation, coupled with other natural hazards (Morton,
2001). The combination of all of these factors turns shocks such as droughts and other type
of hazards into catastrophic losses for the most vulnerable groups. In Kenya, the frequency
and severity of drought has been on the increase due to climate change. The Arid and semi-
Arid Lands (ASALs), especially Northern Kenya (Isiolo, Marsabit, Mandera and Samburu)
are the most vulnerable (Cordaid & IIRR, 2011). The current ability of pastoralists to
respond to drought is limited not only due to the increasing frequency of drought, but also
due to increasing population, a dwindling resource base, conflict, changes in access to land
and water, as well as the impact of other shocks such as flooding and disease outbreaks.

Kenya is a drought-prone country, primarily because of its peculiar eco-climatic conditions.

According to Action Aid (2012) although dissected by the equator in its southern half,
Kenya contains only a few pockets of high and regular rainfall (>2000mm). Arid and semi-
arid lands (ASALs) cover 80% of the territory. In these areas, where annual rainfall varies
from 200 to 500 mm, periodical droughts are part of the climate system. Given this kind of
climatic condition, it is only proper to explore the effects of drought in the country and to
suggest what could be done to cope with this perennial problem. Drought is by far the most
common disaster in the dry lands in the Northern Kenya. It affects more people more
frequently than any other disaster in the arid and semi-arid areas in Kenya and in the horn-of
Africa region. Pastoralism in the dry counties and specifically Mandera has been the most
economically productive and environmentally sustainable use of marginal landscapes and
dry lands where the majority for whom livelihood relies on pastoral livestock production and
related activities (Huho & Kosonei, 2014).

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Emergency interventions that tend to be implemented in response to drought are very
effective in terms of saving lives, but they are not designed to address the chronic poverty or
vulnerability that characterize the arid and semi-arid lands (Muhuba, 2013). Drought-related
policies and plans should emphasize risk reduction (prevention, mitigation and
preparedness) rather than relying on drought relief. In Kenya, Mandera County is one of the
Counties most hit by drought disaster. Three sub counties are severally under severe drought
namely Mandera South, North and West. Most of the surface water sources dry up and
congestion is witnessed in all livestock strategic boreholes. The impacts of drought have
been felt by the community from the individual level to the social level. Affected areas have
struggled in the face of the drought with the refugee influx from neighboring Somalia
further intensifying the crisis. With an effective drought disaster management strategy the
impacts of the drought disaster could be mitigated.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Pastoralists‟ livelihoods strategies have evolved over centuries to adapt to hot and dry
climate with low and erratic rainfall, typical of the arid and semi-arid lands. According to
Action Aid (2012) pastoralist communities are predisposed to disasters by a combination of
factors such as poverty, aridity, settlement in areas prone to drought. Sophisticated and
dynamic strategies such as tracking pasture and water in time and space and maintaining
high levels of mobility across large tracts of land, allow pastoralists to effectively cope with
the threats and risks that characterize their environment and to maintain a viable production
and livelihoods system (Huho & Kosonei, 2014). There have been previous cases of
unreliable seasonal forecast and no specific information on projected impacts with the data
itself, not appropriately shared among the stakeholders. This has left both the government
and communities ill-prepared to tackle subsequent droughts despite having previous
experiences in droughts. Due to increasing global interdependence, there is need for all
actors to at least share information and where appropriate act in tandem with government
strategies where they exist or facilitate improvement of such strategies. However, climate
change has recently brought some new challenges and forecast implications especially for
the arid land ecosystems (Zamani, Gorgievski and Zarafshani, 2006).

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Wamugi and Muchemi (2011) in their study on strengthening community managed drought
risk reduction in northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia (SCMDRR) focused on mapping of
grazing corridors for the Garre and Degodia clans in Wajir and Mandera Counties in
Northern Kenya and Moyale, Dolo Ado, Filtu and Hudet Woredas in Southern Ethiopia.
Their study noted that the migration of pastoralists in Northern Kenya and Southern Ethiopia
is a systematic process that is largely dependent on traditionally accepted clan grazing
ranges. Abdulfatah, (2012) did a study on the factors influencing implementation of drought
mitigation strategies in Kenya: A case of Mandera County. The study concentrated on social
factors, economic factors, level of community awareness and the mechanisms that could be
put in place to minimize the effects of draughts. Muhuba (2013) in an assessment of
community based drought cycle management as a strategy for disaster risk reduction: the
case of community drought cycle management in Wajir County found that of the various
coping strategies used, the community opted to move their animals and families to other
places in search of pasture during drought.

Further, Musimba (2014) investigated the role of community participation in drought risk
management in Kilifi County, Kenya and found that there was a significant role of
community participation in drought risk management as the process was implemented by the
community themselves although in most of the cases the criteria was predetermined and
dominated by experts who assertively considered the contribution of community. Despite
the numerous studies documented on the disaster risk management, the political, economic
and social marginalization of most pastoralists, decades of adverse national policies which
have restricted their access to key natural resources, increased frequency and intensity of
climate shocks such as drought, and endemic conflict have all contributed to significantly
undermine their resilience. It was in this light that the current study sought to carry out an
assessment on pastoralist management of drought as a strategy of disaster risk reduction
with a focus on Mandera County.

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1.3 Research Questions
This study sought to answer the following research questions:
i. What are the effects of drought contingency planning on drought disaster risk reduction
in Mandera County?
ii. How does drought relief strategy affect drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera
County?
iii. How does rehabilitation mechanisms affect drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera
County?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

1.4.1 Main Objective
The main objective of this study was to conduct an assessment on pastoralist management of
drought as a strategy of disaster risk reduction where the context of focus was Mandera
County.

1.4.2 Specific Objectives

The study sought to achieve the following specific objectives:
i. To investigate the effects of drought contingency planning on drought disaster risk
reduction in Mandera County
ii. To explore the impacts of drought relief strategy on drought disaster risk reduction in
Mandera County
iii. To ascertain the influence of rehabilitation mechanisms on drought disaster risk reduction
in Mandera County

1.5 Justification of the Study

Pastoral communities in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa live with the expectation of
drought. They continue to suffer, and arguably increasingly suffer, catastrophic losses of
livestock (capital and savings) during drought. The impact of drought is particularly acute
for poorer members of communities with smaller livestock holdings and less developed
social support networks. There is no doubt that livelihood interventions in emergencies are
more complex than food aid responses, and that greater capacity is required to design and
implement them. Robust drought-preparedness plans can help national and international
actors to react swiftly to early warnings of crisis, and mount coordinated responses. A good

5
Plan includes appropriate programming options and triggers for action, and predetermined
roles and responsibilities amongst different actors. It is hoped that the findings of the study
would benefit the various groups who are directly involved when losses occur due to
disaster. The study is hoped to benefit the following groups:

It is hoped that the recommendations of the findings would enable the government and other
stakeholders to put in place mechanisms to mitigate losses in case of drought disaster risks.
This has the advantages of realizing more resilience, livelihoods of the pastoralists and
economic growth at rapid rates.

The findings of the study and recommendations are hoped to arouse the disaster
management consciousness in the arid and semi-arid areas in Kenya and beyond. This can
help them to avoid risks in the event drought disaster strikes and this drastically reduces
losses. It is hoped that the various relief organizations such as Action Aid and other NGOs
may benefit from reduced cases of losses from the disaster risks. This would then enable
them to invest the money at their in other areas of community development such as building
of schools as well as other amenities as a way of helping the realization of the social pillar of
Kenya’s Vision 2030.

The policy makers within the livestock sector may rely on the recommendations to come up
with relevant policies for curbing and mitigating losses caused by drought disasters in the
Country. The government through the County governments is hoped to get the actual picture
and situation about the necessary strategies to check incidences of drought disaster.

It is hoped that future researchers may use the findings of the study as a basis for further
research. This can reduce unnecessary duplications and improve the quality of research
being carried out in the country. It can also provide ready data for reference to various
scholars.

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1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study
The study was about pastoralist management of drought as a strategy of disaster risk
reduction with a focus on case of Mandera County. Conceptually, the study covered three
aspects of pastoralist management of drought as a strategy of disaster risk reduction, these
are: drought contingency planning, drought relief strategy and drought rehabilitation
mechanisms. Geographically, the study covered Mandera County, one of the dry counties in
the northern region of Kenya and inhabited by pastoralist communities. The study covered
pastoralists and Key Informants (usually local chiefs, elders, community/clan leaders, NGOs
and politicians like MCAs, MPs and County Government officials) from Mandera East,
Mandera West and Mandera South sub counties in Mandera County.

The study involved all the stakeholders in drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera East,
Mandera West and Mandera South sub counties. The reason for this was that disaster cuts
across all the stakeholders of a given population. The researcher used the transmittal letter
from the University to gain entry into the various respondents place of work as well as
stakeholders and assure the respondents that the information they would provide would
strictly be used for academic purposes only. The researcher also used a pilot test to weed out
questions that may pose a challenge to the various respondents. To increase the response
rate, the researcher went back several times until a sufficient response was achieved.

The limitation of this study was the use of ex-post facto research design which has its own
inherent limitations in that it only investigates causation through analysis of past events; the
investigator is not able to control attitudes of respondents which likely affect research
findings. At times, respondents might have given socially accepted answers to avoid
offending the researcher. However, efforts were made in explaining to the respondents on
the importance of the study and requesting the respondents to be sincere and honest.

Another limitation was low literacy levels amongst the pastoral communities which made it
hard for the respondents to understand the questions posed, however effort was made by the
researcher to explain questions in the local languages. Movement and migration by the
pastoralist might also have hindered some of the target group’s locations when required. The
researcher however made use of the local elders to reach the respondents.

7
The study was also faced with logistical problems owing to the hostile weather conditions in
the area and ruggedness of the terrain and infrastructure in the entire County. These
conditions hindered access to some respondents in an attempt to get information regarding
pastoralist management of drought as a strategy of disaster risk reduction. The researcher
countered these problems by employing research assistants to crisscross the selected sub
counties in search of respondents as well as making arrangements to meet the respondents
during the community meetings which are usually held in designated areas and are easily
accessible. This ensured that the research assistants got many respondents in the systematic
areas without getting to travel through the villages in search of the respondents in the rugged
terrain.

Further, the researcher encountered problems of time as the research was being undertaken
in a short period which would limit time for doing a wider research. However, the researcher
countered the limitation by carrying out a comprehensive research of the County which
enabled generalization of the study findings to such other counties with the same settings as
that of Mandera County.

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CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Introduction
This chapter delves into the literature on the pastoralist management of drought as a strategy
of disaster risk reduction. The chapter also reviews literature done by other scholars
touching on disaster management. The specific areas covered here include literature review
which concentrates on drought contingency planning, drought relief strategy and
rehabilitation mechanisms. The other sections cover theoretical framework and conceptual
framework.

2.2 Empirical Review

Drought phenomenon in most cases triggers emergency responses when the impact on local
people is severe. The impacts depend upon the local peoples vulnerability to such shocks,
and hence the need to understand the vulnerability to droughts as a prerequisite of designing
preparedness, mitigation and relief policies and programmes. Drought affects more people
than any other disaster in Africa (Rekacewicz, 2002) and its consequences is as a result of
many interacting factors such as poverty, high dependency on rain-fed agriculture,
population increase, lack of natural resource management and inadequate economic
development. Rural areas are more vulnerable to drought because the rural economy is tied
to the agriculture sector, which has lower technology and where climate change is a factor
whose substitutability is very limited. In fact, Mendelsohn (2001) indicated that less
developed regions are more likely to be vulnerable to climate change, due to the weaker
capacity of local residents to adapt and recover from the impacts. This would in turn prevent
acute disaster by reducing disaster risk at the community level, through identification of the
risks and translating the knowledge into preventive actions.

Hisdal and Tallaksen, (2000) consider drought to be extreme rainfall deficits and the
resulting periods of low flow of water, which can have severe effects on water managements
in terms of river pollution, reservoir design and management, irrigation and drinking water
supply. Wilhite et al. (2000) also described drought as a natural hazard that differs from
other hazards because it has a slow onset, progresses over months or even years, affects a
large spatial region and causes little cultural damage. According to them, its onset and end

9
 Are often difficult to determine, just as its severity. The local people would become more
resilient and prepared to respond to the drought disaster, which would then be further
enhanced by government disaster preparedness efforts.

The causes of vulnerability and poverty in Kenya’s ASALs stem not only from recurrent
drought but also conflict and insecurity, together with inadequate services associated with
inappropriate development policies, and years of economic and political marginalization.
However effective disaster management may be, it cannot replace the need for long-term
development. Hisdal and Tallaksen (2000) believe that drought is by no means unusual or
unnatural; their conclusion is that drought is by far the most costly to our society in
comparison to all the natural disaster. The level of response to district-level early warning and
assessment reports tends to be very low. At national level, forward-looking early warning
reports are issued to alert the government, donors and other actors. However, it is the bi-annual
seasonal assessments that actually trigger the appeal process that leads to an emergency
response. The usefulness of the seasonal assessments in relation to decision- making has been
questioned because they take a long time to be released, so their content tends to be backward-
looking rather than forward-looking.

The current system thus has two problems: a lack of response to early-warning information, in
which stakeholders prefer to see hard evidence of an actual crisis (as opposed to an emerging
crisis) before responding; and a late and inadequate response to the prevailing situation as
provided by the bi-annual assessment reports. Those agencies with their own contingency or
emergency response funds were able to intervene earlier than those without access to such
funds (Mainlay & Tan, 2012). Although contingency plans exist for the Districts where the
ALRMP is operational, the quality of the plans varies, as does the ability to implement them in
the event of a drought, though both the plans and the institutional structures are currently being
strengthened through the EC-funded Drought Management Initiative. It is in this regard that
the Government of Kenya (GoK), with support from EC, is establishing a national Drought
Contingency Fund, a multi-donor basket where relevant stakeholders will contribute.

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2.3 Drought Disaster Risk Management
Drought is a weather-related natural hazard which may affect vast regions for months or
years with protracted impacts on food production reducing life expectancy and the economic
performance of large regions or entire countries (ISDR, 2009). Keddy (2007) elaborates
drought as a recurrent feature of the climate occurring virtually in all climatic zones whose
characteristics vary significantly among regions differing from aridity in that it is temporary
whereas aridity is a permanent characteristic of regions with low rainfall. Drought is more
than a physical phenomenon or natural event whose impact results from the relation between
a natural event and demands on water supply and often exacerbated by human activities.
Significant environmental, agricultural, health, economic and social consequences signifies
drought periods.

According to George, et al (2003), drought is among World’s earliest documented climatic

events, present in the Epic of Gilgamesh and tied to the biblical story of Joseph's arrival in
and the later exodus from Ancient Egypt. The Akkadian empire, under the rule of Sargon,
collapsed abruptly in the beginning of 2200 B.C. after only a century of prosperity following
a 300-year drought as depicted by microscopic analysis of soil moisture at the ruins of
Akkadian cities in the northern farmlands, which disclosed that the onset of the drought was
swift, and the consequences severe. In 2005, parts of the Amazon basin experienced the
worst drought in 100 years (World Bank, 2010). According to Mayell (2002), the earliest
exodus of humans out of Africa and into the rest of the world were the hunters and gatherers
migration, linked to drought phenomenon, dating back to 9,500 BC. Immense droughts
overwhelmed community coping and survivability capabilities owing to low level of
preparedness and participation in drought risk reduction.

ISDR (2005) records that Sahel region suffered from a series of historic droughts, beginning
the 17th century to the end of the 19th century where droughts caused dramatic
environmental and societal effects upon the Sahel nations. The area was struck by severe
famine from the late 1960s to early 1980s that claimed thousands lives, left many people
dependent on food aid and severely destroyed livelihoods impacting economies, agriculture,
livestock and human populations of much of Upper Volta countries. Ahmeda (2013)
observed that people living in the drainage basin of the Himalayan Rivers would be at risk

11
of floods followed by droughts in coming decades affecting the Ganges while the west coast
of North America, which gets much of its water from glaciers in mountain ranges were also
be affected. Kenya (2009) indicates that there has been an increase in the intensity and
frequency of occurrence of drought disasters over the past two decades.

UNDP (2011) illustrates that in the ASALs of Sub-Saharan Africa, it is likely that the forces
of extreme weather events and aridity became more frequent and intense as a result of
climate change thereby undermining and offsetting much of the progress already achieved in
meeting the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and contribute to the continued
downward spiral of poverty and environmental degradation. Oxfam (2011) elaborates that
climate in the Horn is experiencing an increase in the rates of drought and that drought-
related shocks used to occur every ten years, and they are now occurring every five years or
less. Among Borana communities of Ethiopia, whereas droughts were recorded every 6-8
years in the past, they now occur every 1-2 years which is now the case over the entire East
Africa region (Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan,
Tanzania and Uganda) and come with inevitable uncertainties associated with localized
impacts. They nonetheless show that even with moderate increases in the length of crop
growing period in some patches of the region, agricultural productivity could decline
dramatically due to climate change in the decades ahead as temperatures increase and rain
patterns change.

On top of these projections, any incidence of extreme weather events like droughts would
further be hit food production in the region. These reductions in food production would have
severe consequences most directly for smallholder farmers and agro-pastoralists, who rely
on farming for income, and for all those who purchase such crops. Kenya (2009) describes
Kenya’s disaster profile as being dominated by drought disasters that disrupt people‟s
livelihoods, destroy infrastructure, divert planned use of resources, interrupt economic
activities and retard development. Kenya (2009) records that 1999-2001 drought disaster
response costs were more than would otherwise be the case if sufficient efforts had been put
in place for effective disaster management. Drought disaster risk management involves
systematic analysis and manage of the effects of droughts through reduced exposure,
lessened vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the

12
environment, and improved preparedness for adverse events (ISDR, 2005). Community
participation refers to members of the public taking part in the analysis and management of
threats posed by drought and developing survivability capacities.

Goyet, (2009) challenges the myth that drought affected population would be too shocked
and helpless to take responsibility for their own survival as superseded by the reality that
many find new strength during emergencies. Communities affected by drought disasters
have a role to play in disaster risk management and should be given the maximum
opportunity to participate in risk reduction and response programmes. People are involved to
solve their own problems and cannot be forced to participate in projects which affect their
lives but should be given the opportunity for involvement as it is a basic human right and a
fundamental principle of democracy (Mainlay & Tan, 2012). Citizens are involved in
community needs assessment where the community expresses opinions about desirable
improvements, prioritizing goals and negotiating with agencies for synergy building where
they are engaged to plan and design interventions through formulation of appropriate
objectives, setting goals, criticizing plans based on traditional knowledge of disaster risk
management.

2.4 Drought Contingency Planning

Contingency planning is a management tool used to analyze the impact of potential crises
and ensure that adequate and appropriate arrangements are made in advance to respond in a
timely, effective and appropriate way to the needs of the affected population (IASC, 2007).
It is a management process that analyses specific potential events or emerging situations that
might threaten society or the environment and establishes arrangements in advance to enable
timely, effective and appropriate responses to such events and situations. Accordingly,
Drought contingency planning is a systematic process of integrating drought risk
management from well designed, coordinated and funded drought contingency plans. The
emphasis in drought contingency planning is in formalizing and enforcing the process from
clarity in the roles of different individuals, communities and institutions in managing
drought risks.

13
According to UNISDR (2009), the percentage of persons affected by drought in the African
continent between 1970 and 2008 is nearly 80 percent. According to Wilhite et. al., (2005),
past attempts to manage drought and its impacts has been ineffective, poorly coordinated,
and untimely. In addition, the intrinsic value of drought management as a strategy, rather
than as an operation, remains relatively unexplored (Caritas Czech Republic, 2009). Drought
contingency planning as a decision making and fund raising tool for drought risk
management, evolved from the 1970s to date. A number of models emerged since then to
move the drought risk management into the agenda of governments and funding agencies.
However, as many drought crisis management have exposed, more emphasis is in funding
drought responses and less overall drought preparedness and early warning.

According to Levine et, al. (2011), the concept of drought cycle management as a planning,
decision making, funding and management tool in drought management has proven futile in
actual drought risk management. While the drought cycle management, a cyclic process that
defines what actions to be taken in different stages of „„a drought‟‟, the plans themselves
are static rather than dynamic with less or little changes in the specific stages of drought.
This is particularly true in the designing of contingency plans during alert stages of drought
cycle for activation (in similar way) during alarm and emergency stages of the drought
cycle. Concentrating on development and mitigation activities has, therefore, been very
difficult as focus is on short term repeated measures rather than larger scale – long term
drought risk management.

Though drought contingency plans have various activities to support drought risk reduction
by including minimal preparedness, response and recovery actions, there is very little link
between preparedness, early warning and early action/ response. Contingency planning has
not helped people to be on time because it had not told people when action would be needed
(Levine, Crosskey, and Abdinoor, 2011). In fact, most drought contingency plans are
response oriented with little emphasis on mitigation. This could be associated with technical
capacity of those involved in contingency planning or timing and duration for its
development is too short and not part of a bigger drought risk reduction strategy. Drought
contingency plans are themselves insufficient to coordinate interagency drought contingency
planning for effective preparedness and response. This is largely true in that most drought

14
Contingency plans are not only geographical focused but at times thematically defined. A
good part of drought contingency plans reviewed are focused mostly on livestock.

The past practices however have largely focused on interventions after drought with little
investments in strengthening the communities‟ capacities to manage risks on their own.
Existing drought contingency plans, especially in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia are
usually ad hoc with little local level inputs and largely top down based on government’s
departmental level staffs‟ perception of the community needs. There is need to reverse this
approach and focus on contingency plans that originate from the local population, and
inbuilt into district and national level drought disaster plans (Mainlay & Tan, 2012). This
would in turn fit into regional and international strategies and policies thereby integrating
the planning systems into coherent strategic plans that would in future be ecosystem based
and consequently create higher impact. If this is not handled properly most of the drought
contingency plans will react rather proactively to complex livestock and non-livestock
livelihood based responses. The most significant gap is that agencies‟ policies and mandates
for drought contingency planning are more policy-led than operationally driven.

2.5 Drought Relief Strategy

The first guiding principle in any drought management programme should be the
recognition that the occurrence of variability and unreliability of rainfall is the expected
course of events in arid and semi-arid zones such as those experienced in Northern Kenya.
According to UNDP (2011) coping with variable rainfall and drought therefore, has to be a
major aim of any pastoral systems support programme. A prerequisite for support
programmes is a clear understanding of the nature of, and responses to drought. As a result,
fluctuations in livestock holdings and the subsistence production and income they provide
for their owners are inevitable. Ndikumana et. al., (2000) noted that while pastoralists in
Eastern Africa demonstrated an ability to describe their environment and indeed to
recognize drought, they were unable to utilize that information in a predictive manner. There
are also interrelations between mitigation measures, relief and rehabilitation.

Relief is ideally be targeted on particularly vulnerable sections of the population that cannot
be reached by mitigation measures. It is also argued that restocking after drought will make
livestock purchase as a mitigation measure easier. Scientists at times have been equally inept

15
at tracking the dry-land environment in a predictive manner (Ndikumana et al., 2000). Early
warning systems (EWS) instituted by national governments have over time focused on crop
production and thus utilize indicators which are geared more towards crop production than
drought prone areas. The justification behind early warning is that it allows government and
donors to intervene promptly and avoid humanitarian crises by early intervention to mitigate
the impact of drought (Barton, 2001). The mitigation of the impact of drought on pastoral
communities‟ livelihoods will be dependent upon a range of activities, and/or strategies, not
all being required under each circumstance, some supported by the government, others by
donors and, perhaps most important of all, by the communities themselves (Swift, 2001).

According to Ndikumana et al., (2000), institution of a reliable Livestock Early warning

System (LEWS) which focus on the pastoral areas requires reliable indicators which are
focused on the needs of pastoralists and can be translated into appropriate and timely action;
coping mechanisms which are effective, enabling rapid response to indicator advisories and
making provision for recovery; and a well-established and coordinated disaster management
network at the local, regional, national and even international levels (since pastoralists do
not necessarily respect inter-national borders) in order to effectively communicate the
warning, and facilitate coping mechanisms and the recovery process. There are specific
policy areas where states, at either local or national level can contribute to drought resilience
among the pastoral communities, and enabling the functioning of specific mitigation
strategies.

Pastoral associations should have a role to play in various ways including conflict
resolution, negotiated tenure regimes for dry-season and drought-time grazing, communal
management of water resources, the protection of grazing rights, access to and management
of the natural resources, the delivery of human/livestock health services, revenue collection
by charging for grazing rights and water use and collective livestock trade and marketing
(Barton, 2001). These policy areas include pastoral institutions building, support of pastoral
marketing, infrastructure and security. The current weakness of formal policies and
structures allows for an approach to the current drought response system that is based on the
mistaken notion that food security can be achieved predominantly through short-term
measures relating only to the productive sectors, and the conventional (yet changing) view

16
of humanitarian relief as primarily short-term interventions that aim to save lives rather than
also contributing towards preventing disaster or assisting in recovery through support to
livelihoods.

Both of these notions contribute towards the persistence of an institutional dependency on

food aid, in which the system has become geared towards food aid delivery; this is further
supported by influential economic and political power structures that work to maintain the
status quo. Such short-term thinking goes against existing good practice and conceptual
models. Livelihoods are clearly evolving, but pastoralism remains the dominant production
system in the ASALs and underpins its regional economy. In some counties it provides
employment and food security to more than 70 per cent of households (UNDP, 2011). It also
makes an important contribution to natural resource management and sound stewardship of
the natural environment. There have always been strong social and economic ties between
mobile and settled populations; these are being cemented still further as the diversification
of urban livelihoods is tending to focus on value addition within the livestock sector.
However, pastoralism has never been afforded the policy and institutional support which
will allow it to flourish to the full, despite evidence of pastoralists‟ adaptability both to
climate variability and emerging economic opportunities.

The African Union‟s Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa requires domesticating in
the Kenyan context and measures taken to support mobility, a key drought management
strategy (African Union, 2010). In terms of implementation, the capacity to identify, design,
plan, coordinate and implement timely livelihoods interventions is limited by a poor
understanding of pastoral livelihood systems by some senior decision-makers and a lack of
consensus on what constitutes sectoral mitigation, emergency and recovery activities. This
results in a lack of capacity to prepare proposals quickly at the national level, and
implementation is further hampered by rigid planning systems and cumbersome financial
procedures among key ministries and UN coordinating agencies, and – in some districts – a
lack of implementation capacity, both in terms of coverage and technical expertise.
Although early warning knowledge is extremely important, the focus must be on the
mechanism by which such knowledge is translated into coping mechanisms to the pastoral
system (Ndikumana et al., 2000).

17
An appropriate indicator that is translatable into timely action ensures protection through
appropriate mitigation and promotion of the recovery of the pastoral economy.
Retrospectively, most EWS have elicited a response in terms of provision of food
entitlement (food aid), which in fact signals that the monitoring indicator and/or its
translation into action were inappropriate (Ahmed et al., 2001). Assuming that funding is
available, one way in which more timely interventions can be achieved in the non-food
sectors is through following the example of the success of the food sector, in which plans
and templates already exist, making the task of putting together proposals and appeals much
easier and faster in the event of an emergency. However, the non-food aid actors in Kenya
have first to demonstrate that there are effective, appropriate and beneficial livelihoods
interventions which can be implemented as preparedness, mitigation, and emergency and
recovery measures to address drought impacts.

2.6 Rehabilitation Mechanism

Livestock markets are essential for supporting pastoral livelihoods. Therefore, it is
imperative for governments to establish markets in pastoral areas to enable smooth running
of livestock trade. Marketing interventions during drought episodes should commence just
before the onset of drought, since at this time pastoralists will sell their livestock at good
prices and therefore boost their purchasing power (Barton, 2001). There are however, some
macro-economic and sectoral policies e.g. external trade policies on livestock and livestock
products and subsidies on crop inputs and feed that constrain pastoralism. Large areas of
most ASAL districts of northern Kenya, for instance, are subject to restricted access and
utilization due to resources use conflicts (Barton et al, 2001). Improved security is a
prerequisite for more efficient grazing land-use and especially drought-time grazing in the
region. Many of the areas of worst security happen to be in the remote ranges used for
drought-time grazing.

Preparation for the provision of security should be a key consideration in drought

contingency preparation and also in government’s general policy towards pastoral areas
(Barton, 2001). Pastoral communities have mechanisms for coping with and recovering from
drought. Understanding these strategies and practices is essential for the development of
policy, infrastructure and support services that enhance their ability to survive the drought.

18
Although a lot of work has been done in this area on various aspects such as development
interventions, conflict management, drought occurrences, early warning systems, drought
coping strategies, there is little information on the post-drought period in general and on the
recovery strategies in particular. Strengthening and rebuilding of these appropriate post-
drought recovery strategies, therefore, need to be emphasized. During droughts, pastoralists
are usually faced with changes in terms of trade that adversely affect the purchasing power
represented by their herds. This is because where drought conditions also touch the farming
sector; there will be a reduced quantity of grain available to be marketed.

Moreover, demand by farming communities for livestock products is likely to fall, due to
reduced productivity in the agricultural sector as a result of drought and poor condition of
animals coupled with the relative fall in income and demand for livestock products such as
milk and meat, in contrast to grain. According to Berkes and Jolly (2001) directly negotiated
agreements between pastoralist groups are critical and this should be initiated and enforced
by the government. Coping mechanisms are the actual responses to crisis on livelihood
systems in the face of unwelcome situations, and are considered as short-term responses
(Berkes and Jolly, 2001). Adaptive strategies are the strategies in which a region or a sector
responds to changes in their livelihood through either autonomous or planned adaptation
(Campbell, 2008). Coping mechanisms may develop into adaptive strategies through times.
However, it is difficult to make a clear distinction between coping mechanisms and
adaptations; this study considers both schemes as coping strategies.

2.7 Theoretical Framework

The study employed disaster management theories. Disaster risk management (DRM) takes
challenges for this interdisciplinary science which requires an appropriate combination of
various approaches such as systems engineering, micro economics, sociology and behavioral
science, as well as providing a holistic framework for the promotion of the science. In its
methodological development efforts, DRM gives greater importance to proactive
countermeasures such as mitigation policies, disaster insurance or fund, risk communication
and social preparedness. The study is grounded on Bordieu's theory and Community
Empowerment Model.

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2.7.1 Bordieu Theory of Cultural, Social, and Symbolic Capital
Bordieu's theory emerged from French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher Pierre
Bourdieu (1930 – 2002). Bordieu's theory offers a way to examine the cultural, social, and
symbolic capital within a community. Social capital means resources that one can acquire
through their network of mutual relationships with others in order to secure benefits.
Cultural capital is the non-financial social assets that are inherited and/or granted through
academic credentials and qualifications and Symbolic Capital is the source of power one
uses against those who are less powerful. Bordieu argue that individually each of us is
impacted by our social location (s) which influence the judgement of taste meaning that the
places we associate ourselves with have significance on what we opt for. Since CMDRR is
built on the three pillars of appreciation of indigenous knowledge, local capacities and
proactive planning to reduce risk and capacity development of community organizations,
then it means that the implementers of CMDRR ought to be fully aware of the capital the
community members and hold in order to understand the appropriate approach to promote
participation in drought management.

2.7.2 Community Empowerment Model

Empowerment is one of the important pillars in development and it has been used in many
disciplines including health (WHO, 1986; Baum, 2008), education (Wallerstein and
Edwards, 1988) and in political, gender, economical and community development
(Laverack, 2009; Tesoriero, 2010). In the most general sense, empowerment refers to the
ability of people to gain understanding and control over personal, social, economic, and
political forces in order to take action to improve their life situations (WHO, 1986; Minkler,
1989; Baum, 2008). As a significant public health concept, Baum (2008) describes
empowerment as the ability of people to gain understanding and control over personal,
social, economic, and political forces in order to take action to improve the healthy living.
As a methodology and the theory, community empowerment has developed significantly in
the past three decades. It is described to comprise both processes and outcomes (Israel et al.,
1994; Tesoriero, 2010) which themselves may lead to community development.

20
Empowerment has also been categorized as a multi-level construct and includes individual
level, organisational, and the community level empowerment. At the level of individual,
psychological empowerment describes a concept that extends intrapsychic self-esteem to
include people's perceived control in their lives, their critical awareness of their social
context and their participation in changes. As Gershon (2006) argues, an empowering
organisation incorporates the processes of organisation and provides avenues for the
development of personal control, including competence to act and the development of
interpersonal, social, and political skills. It is also acknowledged that an empowering
organisation is democratically managed, in which members share information and power,
utilize cooperative decision making processes, and are involved in the design,
implementation, and control of efforts toward mutually defined goals (Zimmerman, 2000;
Gershon, 2006).

An empowering organization recognizes and incorporates necessary linkages among

members, such as interest groups, status groups, and formal subunits. Additionally, an
empowill bed organization also has influence within the larger system of which it is a part.
Thus, empowerment at the organizational level incorporates both processes that enable
individuals to increase their control within the organization, and the organization to
influence policies and decisions in the larger community. The concept of the organization as
both empowill bed and empowering helps provide the link between the organization level
and the individual and community levels of empowerment.

At the community level, an empowered community makes it possible for individuals and
organizations to apply their skills and resources in collective efforts to meet their respective
needs. As such an empowill bed community has the ability to influence decisions and
changes in the larger social system. Braithwaite and Lythcott (1989) support this argument
and describe that empowerment at the community level is connected with empowerment at
the individual and organizational levels. In practical sense, and as McMurray (2007) states,
empowerment brings back power to the people by improving people's participation,
increasing individual and community control over various programs that impact their
development and also improves a sense of local ownership and collaboration.

21
2.8 Conceptual Framework
To guide the assessment on pastoralist management of drought as a strategy of disaster risk
reduction in Mandera County the interrelationship between variables discussed in the
literature review is presented in the conceptual framework model shown in Fig. 2.1. A
conceptual framework is a tool researcher's use to guide their inquiry; it is a set of ideas used
to structure the research, a sort of a map (Kothari, 2004). It is the researcher‟s own position
on the problem and gives direction to the study. It may be an adaptation of a model used in a
previous study, with modifications to suit the inquiry. Aside from showing the direction of
the study, through the conceptual framework, the researcher can be able to show the
relationships of the different constructs that he wants to investigate. As shown in figure 2.1,
the independent variables include drought contingency planning, drought relief strategy and
rehabilitation mechanism, while the dependent variable will be drought disaster risk
reduction.

Figure 2.1: Pastoralist Drought Management as a Strategy of Disaster Risk

Reduction Independent Variables
Drought contingency planning
Inter-agency coordination
Timeliness of the plans
Dependent Variable
Decision making tools
Drought cycle management

Drought relief strategy

Drought Disaster Risk Reduction
Alternative feeding
Livestock production
controlled grazing
Climate change adaptation
Veterinary interventions support
Livestock loss reduction
Water provision during drought
Pastoralist capacity/livelihood
Livestock supplementary feeds

Rehabilitation mechanism
direct livestock purchase
Capacity building Intervening Variable
Agro-marketing Organizational co-ordination
Livestock Micro financing

Source: Author, 2016

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Drought contingency planning: To ensure long term sustainable funding, contingency
planning links with all stages of drought risk management and are treated as part of the
development process. The contingency planning process, guidelines and evaluation affect
effective drought preparedness and response at community levels. Inter-agency
coordination, timeliness of the plans, decision making tools and drought cycle management
play a critical role in ensuring that the disaster risk is reduced significantly in the area.
Coordinated national drought resilience policies include comprehensive monitoring, early
warning and information systems, impact assessment procedures, risk management
measures, drought preparedness plans, and emergency response programs.

Drought Relief Strategy: Drought relief schemes as part of a national effort assist affected
to deal with disaster risks. These strategies include alternative feeding, controlled grazing,
veterinary interventions support, and water provision during drought and livestock
supplementary feeds. Emergency relief provides a safety net for those elements of society
that are most vulnerable while promoting self-reliance and the principles of a national
drought policy based on the concept of risk reduction. As a result, external assistance
becomes more fully integrated into the areas prone to drought disaster as survival strategies.

Rehabilitation mechanism: Rehabilitation actions in the event of drought provided support

in the formulation of policies and plans for development in the pastoral areas. The
mechanisms applied include direct livestock purchase, capacity building, agro-marketing
and livestock micro financing. Measures to anticipate and cope with drought by focusing on
long-term drought-resilience in addition to short-term response are in light of the evolving
climate conditions.

23
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction
This chapter sets out various stages and phases that were followed in completing the study.
It involves a blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. The research
identifies the procedures and techniques that were used in the collection, processing and
analysis of data. Specifically the following subsections were included; research design,
location of the study or site description, target population, unit of analysis and unit of
observation, sample size and sampling procedure, method of data collection, validity and
reliability of research instruments, data analysis and presentation and ethical consideration

3.2 Description of the Study Area

Mandera County falls within the semi-arid area which occupies the greater North Eastern
province in the tip of Kenya towards the border. The choice of the study area is hinged on
two main factors. First, the Mandera County ethnic community that inhabits the area
practice pastoralism as a source of livelihood. The community has lived in the area for a
long period of time to identify with the climatic and environmental conditions in that area
and region. Second, in the recent past, droughts have been so frequent in the North Eastern
region inhabited by this pastoral group and yet they have not abandoned their livelihood
strategy to adopt other means of survival, so it was in the interest of the study to find out
how this community has been able to cope with and recover from droughts.

Mandera County is a largely semi-arid and most areas lack permanent water sources or
water mass, and reporting low rainfalls throughout the year. Most of the region under study
happens to be arid and with very similar characteristics. Mandera is an expansive County
covering a total of 26,474 square kilometers. The region has a population of 1,025,756
million. Majority of the population in the region are pastoralists who lead a nomadic life and
have no permanent homes. Majority of homesteads in the region are grass thatched huts that
are scattered widely. Harsh climatic conditions poorly developed infrastructure make the
County a hardship area. The nearest tarmac roads in the district are a distant 614 km and 744
km at Garissa and Isiolo respectively. Travelling and surveying the region requires
substantial resources and time.

24
The needs of the region are very similar in most of northern half of the country as most
regions have similar characteristic and therefore identified projects suitable for one area can
be replicated elsewhere. Due to the arid conditions, surface water is scarce and most of these
water sources are recharged by rainfall. Other water sources are dependent on underground
reservoirs whose supply is unknown and are often affected by insufficient recharge
(Ndikumana et al., 2000). Quality of water is also affected by climatic factors. Extended dry
periods result in the drying up of water sources resulting in a dwindling water supply, unfit
for livestock and human consumption. Flooding causes excessive runoff from adjacent
areas, resulting in disease agents and other pollutants washing into water sources. The main
economic activity in the district is pastoralism which practiced by 80% of the people and
supporting 90% of the population.

3.3 Research Design

A research design is the plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so as to
obtain answers to research questions. The research was designed as a cross sectional
descriptive study. Cross-sectional studies, also known as surveys, are a useful way to gather
information on important health-related aspects of people's knowledge, attitudes, and
practices. The purpose of a survey is to explore and describe a phenomenon. According to
Kothari (2009), surveys are more efficient and economical as they help the researcher to
know much about opinions and attitudes of the respondents. Cross sectional survey also
seeks to obtain information that describes existing phenomenon by asking individuals about
their perceptions, attitudes, behaviors or values with the aim of assessing pastoralist
management of drought as a strategy of disaster risk reduction where the context of focus
was Mandera County.

3.4 Unit of Analysis and Unit of Observation

In this study the households were recognized as the unit of observations which included
more than one individual (although a single individual can also constitute a household), who
share economic activities necessary for the survival of the household and for the generation
of wellbeing for its members. The rural poor who depend on pastoralism constitute the target
population while the unit of analysis was the pastoralists. According to the County
Government of Mandera (2014) the county had a population of 1,025,756 at the end of year

25
2014 making a total of 102,573 households in the county spreading across the six sub
counties. According to the County Government (2014) 89.1% (91,292) of these families are
dependent on pastoralism for their upkeep.

For the purpose of this study, the household heads of approximately 18,250 in each of the
six sub counties formed the target population. The study also selected key informants who
included local leaders (usually local chiefs, elders, and community/clan leaders), livestock
officers, arid and semi-arid land officials, politicians (like MCAs, MPs and County
Government officials), pastoralists from Mandera County and civil society personnel (e.g.
NGOs and politicians like MCAs, MPs and County Government officials). This was done
through the County governments who assisted the researcher to identify those persons who
had lived in the area for more than ten years. All these data sources constituted the units of
analysis.

3.5 Target Population

Target population in statistics is the specific population about which information is desired.
According to Ngechu (2004), a population is a well-defined or set of people, services,
elements, and events, group of things or households that are being investigated. The target
respondents included pastoralists from Mandera County. This population was spread across
the sub counties in Mandera County which included Mandera South, Mandera East,
Mandera West, Lafey, Mandera North and Banisa. The entire Mandera County has a total of
102,573 households spread over the six districts. These households constitute the target
population. Table 3.1 shows how the households are distributed across the districts.

Table 3.1: Distribution of Households According to the Districts in Mandera

District Number of households
Mandera East 18,268
Banisa 11,377
Mandera South 27,429
Mandera North 15,333
Lafey 10,789
Mandera West 19,377
Total 102,573

26
3.6 Sample Size and Sampling Procedure
3.6.1 Sample Size
A sample of 120 households was drawn from three of the six districts in Mandera County.
The three districts namely Mandera East, Mandera West and Mandera South Sub counties
were randomly selected through the lottery method. The three sub counties had a total of
65,074 households as can be seen in Table 3.2 below. From theses households a sample of
120 households was proportionately drawn to represent the three sub counties. The
distribution of the sample is shown in Table 3.2.

Table 3.2: Sample Distribution in the Selected Districts

Districts Number of households Percentage of Total Sample Distribution
Mandera East 18,268 28.3 34
Mandera West 19,377 30.0 36
Mandera South 27,429 41.7 50
Total 65,074 100.0 120

3.6.2 Sampling Procedure

From each of the Sub counties, respondents were picked using systematic random sampling
where households were selected at intervals of every 7th household radiating in the four
directions of the compass from the center of the sub county. The four directions were to the
north, south, east and west of each sub county. This way a sample of 120 households was
obtained. The head of the household who was either a man or a woman was identified as the
respondent.

3.7 Methods of Data Collection

The researcher exploited more than one method of data collections in order to enhance
generation of deeper and broader insights on the area of study and also enable confirmation
and validation of the collected data. Data was collected using both quantitative and
qualitative methods including questionnaire administration to the various stakeholders, key
informant interview and Focused Group Discussions. According to Mugenda and Mugenda
(2012), a researcher needs to develop instruments with which to collect data.

27
3.7.1 Collection of Quantitative Data
The researcher relied on self-administered questionnaires. A questionnaire is a research
instrument that gathers data over a large sample (Kombo & Tromp, 2006). The advantages
of using questionnaires are: the person administering the instrument has an opportunity to
establish rapport, explain the purpose of the study and explain the meaning of items that
may not be clear. Questionnaires give respondents freedom to express their views or
opinions and also to make suggestions. Questionnaires are also anonymous. Anonymity
helps to produce more candid answers than it is possible in an interview (Orodho, 2004).

On the other hand, the disadvantages of questionnaires include that the research has no
control over participant interpretation, they can at times realize low response rates, there is
usually uncertainty about who actually filled out the questionnaire, and they can be rendered
useless with non-literate, illiterate populations or hard-to-reach populations (Orodho, 2004).
The researcher sought a research permit from the University of Nairobi and thereafter wrote
letters to the authorities in Madera County to be allowed to do the study. The selected
samples were visited and the questionnaires administered to the respondents. The
respondents were assured that strict confidentiality would be maintained in dealing with
their identities. The completed questionnaires were collected at the agreed time (Orodho,
2004).

3.7.2 Collection of Qualitative Data

Qualitative data was collected using interview guides administered using face to face
method. In this study, the main criteria for selecting the key informants was their extensive
knowledge of the pastoralist management of drought both today and in the past and their
length of stay in the area of study. Individuals who are participating in the drought
management programs were interviewed on issues relating to pastoralist management of
drought as a strategy of disaster risk reduction with a focus on case of Mandera County.
These included livestock officers, arid and semi-arid land officials, politicians (like MCAs,
MPs and County Government officials) and civil society personnel (e.g. NGOs). Key
informants and community leaders (e.g. chiefs) were also invited while community
members, group of men, women and youth constituted focus group discussions. Each of
these groups was handled as a separate entity.

28
3.8 Validity and Reliability of Research Instruments
Validity is defined as the accuracy and meaningfulness of inferences, which are based on the
research result (Mugenda and Mugenda, 2003). Validity is the degree to which a test
measures what it purports to measure. The internal validity which involved controlling the
extraneous variables in the structure was done through the administration questionnaire. The
researcher sought assistance from the supervisor in order to improve content validity of the
instruments. Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) defines reliability as a measure of the degree to
which a research instrument yields consistent results or data after repeated tests when
administered a number of times.

The aim of pre-testing was to gauge the clarity and relevance of the instrument items so that
those items found to be inadequate for measuring variables were either discarded or
modified to improve the quality of the research instruments. This ensured that the
instruments were captured the required data. The procedure for getting an estimate of
reliability was obtained from the administration of Test-Retest reliability method which
involved administering the same instrument twice to the same group of subject with a time
lapse between the first and second test.

The reliability of the research instrument was tested using a Cronbach‟s Alpha Test.
Cronbach's alpha is a measure of internal consistency, that is, how closely related a set of
items are as a group. A "high" value of alpha is often used as evidence that the items
measure an underlying (or latent) construct. Reliability with a predetermined threshold of
0.7 is considered acceptable. A reliability of above 0.7 was considered reliable as
recommended by Zikmund & Barin (2012) who recommended that a reliability test which
yields a coefficient greater than or equal to 0.7 is sufficient enough. The respondents were
also informed that the research was meant for academic purposes only and that the study had
no intention of using the information for personal gains. The respondents were not required
to indicate their names and participation in the study was on voluntary basis.

3.9 Ethical Consideration

For the purpose of this study, permission was first sought from relevant authorities and a
letter granted to allow the researcher to carry out the research. Furthermore, the researcher
explained the purpose of the study to the respondents and assured them of confidentiality of

29
Their responses and identities. The research followed a set of ethical guidelines as stipulated
by Schenk and Williamson (2005). Throughout the research process, the principles of
anonymity and of confidentiality were strictly applied. The principle of informed consent
was applied in that the researcher explained what the research is about and how the results
were used in a way that the stakeholders can understand and benefit.

3.10 Data analysis and presentation

After the data is collected there was cross-examination to ascertain their accuracy,
competences and identify those items wrongly responded to, spelling mistakes and blank
spaces? Quantitative data was then entered into the computer for analysis using the
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 22.0. The frequencies and
percentages were obtained. Tables were used to present the data while descriptive statistics
such as percentages and frequencies were used to answer research questions. Qualitative
data was analyzed according to the themes in the research objectives. The results of the
analyzed quantitative data were presented by use of tables. Qualitative data collected from
key informants was analyzed and presented as confirmation to the quantitative data collected
from the community. The study also used to establish the relationship between the
dependent and independent variables.

30
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introduction
This chapter presents research findings and discussion of the findings. This chapter presents
the response rate, sample characteristics, and descriptive analysis of the data. The chapter is
divided into different sections. The main section presents descriptive statistics featuring the
survey response rate; demographic profiles of respondents that took part in the study; the
confirmatory frequency/percentage analysis and the description of the variables. The
percentages, means, frequencies, standard deviations, are computed and presented. The other
section presents the results of the test of hypotheses and the discussion of research findings.
The descriptive data presented forms the basis for hypotheses testing and further inferences.

The chapter further presents the findings from the tests drawn from the objectives. Attempts
are made to explain why the findings are the way they are and to what extent they are
consistent with or contrary to past empirical findings and theoretical arguments. The
discussion of the findings is guided by objectives of the study. The specific objectives were
to investigate the effects of drought contingency planning, drought relief strategy and
rehabilitation mechanisms on drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera south. To enhance
quality of data obtained, structured and unstructured types of questions were included. The
data obtained was fed into SPSS version 22.0 and the output was used to compute the ratios
needed to conduct an assessment on pastoralist management of drought as a strategy of
disaster risk reduction where the context of focus was Mandera County. The information and
data obtained were presented in form of frequency tables.

4.2 Response Rate

Orodho (2003) defines response rate as the extent to which the final data sets includes all
sample members and is calculated as the number of respondents with whom interviews are
completed and divided by the total number of respondents in the entire sample including
non-respondents. From the target population, a sample of 120 respondents was selected from
in collecting data with regard to pastoralist management of drought as a strategy of disaster
risk reduction in Mandera County, Kenya. The questionnaire return rate results are shown in
Table 4.1.

31
Table 4.1: Response Rate (N=111)
Districts Responded Not Responded Total
Frequency Percent Frequency Percent Frequency Percent
Mandera East 32 26.7 2 1.7 34 28.3
Mandera West 34 28.3 2 1.7 36 30.0
Mandera South 45 37.5 5 4.2 50 41.7
Total 111 92.5 9 7.5 120 100.0

As shown in Table 4.1, 111 out of the 120 questionnaires distributed among the pastoralist
households were received back from the respondents fully filled which accounts to 92.5%
response rate. On the other hand nine (9) of the questionnaires were received incomplete and
therefore were not considered in the analysis. Of the 111 responses received during the
study, 45 of them (comprising of 37.5%) were collected from Mandera South Sub County,
34 of the respondents (accounting for 28.3% response) were obtained from Mandera West
while 32 of the respondents (comprising of 26.72% of the sample size) were obtained from
Mandera East. The response rate demonstrates a willingness of the respondents to participate
in the study.

According to Mugenda & Mugenda (2003) 50% response rate is adequate, 60% is good,
while 70% and above is rated to be very good. This also collaborates with Bailey‟s (2000)
assertion that a response rate of 50% is adequate, while a response rate greater than 70% is
very good. This implies that based on this assertion, the response rate in our case of 92.5% is
therefore very good. From the foregoing, the response rate provides adequate data to
proceed with the analysis. The use of self-administered method, personal visits, and follow-
up telephone calls to the respondents, explaining the purpose of the study and its usefulness
to the pastoral community improved the response rate. This was supplemented with a letter
of introduction to the area authorities from the University and a letter of authority to conduct
the research.

4.3 Social and Demographic Characteristics

4.3.1 Gender Distribution
One of the parameters that were to be determined was the gender of the respondents. While
the gender of the respondents may not have a direct impact on the objectives of the study,

32
there is need to ensure that the gender composition is as near as possible to equal numbers.
The respondents sampled gave a result as per Table 4.2.

Table 4.2: Gender of the Respondents (N=111)

Gender Frequency (n) Percent (%)
Male 74 66.7
Female 37 33.3
Total 111 100.0

Majority of the responses were obtained from the male respondents. From the study, 66.7%
of the respondents comprised of male respondents, while 33.3% of them were female
respondents. As such, the various households in Mandera County have both male and female
heads; however the male are more than the female. The high percentage (66.7%) of male
respondents is attributed by the community roles of men acting as the household heads and
key decision makers in the households, making it possible to be easily reached during
household survey such as the current one. However, a significant 33.3% of female
respondents are good, female drive animals to drink water, thus, among the first to be
accessed during drought management strategies meaning they are knowledgeable on certain
issues regarding these pastoralist management of drought as a strategy of disaster risk
reduction significant to this study.

4.3.2 Categorization of the Respondents

On the distribution of the respondents in various categories, an overwhelming majority
(comprising of 111) of the respondents were community member/pastoralist household
heads. The other participants of this study included the local elders (9), community/clan
leaders (9), 2 local chiefs (4), livestock officers (3), while the smallest proportion comprised
of other stakeholders in other institutions such as NGOs and the county government. The
economy of the arid district is dominated by mobile pastoralism, while in the better watered
and better serviced semi-arid areas a more mixed economy prevails, including rain fed and
irrigated agriculture, agro-pastoralism, small businesses based on dry land products and
conservation or tourism related activities.

33
4.3.3 Age Distribution
This study sought to investigate the composition of the respondents in terms of age brackets.
This aspect was aimed at understanding how the respondents were distributed across the
various age brackets and consequently their opinions on the topic of study. Majority (38%)
of the respondents indicated that their ages fell between 41 and 50 years, 28.0% of the
respondents recapped that they were aged above 50 years, 21% of them indicated that they
were aged between 31 and 40 years, while 13.0% of the respondents were between 21 and
30 years of age. From the results depicted in Figure 4.1, the respondents were well
distributed in terms of age and that they are active in advancements and productivity and
hence can contribute constructively in this study on the pastoralist management of drought
as a strategy of disaster risk reduction in Mandera County, Kenya. Figure 4.1 show the
results of the findings on the age brackets of the respondents.

Figure 4.1: Age Brackets of the Respondents (N=111)

4.3.4 Level of Education

The respondents were asked to indicate the highest level of education attained. The target
population comprised of people in different qualifications. This difference might contribute
to differences in the responses given by the respondents. The outcome depicted in Figure 4.1
show that majority of the respondents were literate and hence understood the information
sought by this study. That is, 62.3% of the respondents indicated that they had attained a
secondary school level of education, 29.5% of them had acquired a primary level of

34
education, while 8.2% of the respondents reiterated that they had acquired college level of
education. These outcomes imply that majority of the respondents had at least a secondary
level of education and hence understood the information sought by this study. These
findings further imply that all the respondents were academically qualified and also familiar
with their duties and could dispense them effectively in terms of professional work ability
and performance.

Figure 4.2: Highest Level of Education (N=111)

4.3.5 Size of Nuclear Families

The study further sought to establish the size of the nuclear families of the pastoralist
communities. Table 4.3 shows the results obtained.
Table 4.3: Size of the Nuclear Family
Size of the Family Frequency (n) Percent (%)
2 members 6 5.5
3-5 members 10 8.8
6-8 members 66 59.3
9-11 members 24 21.9
More than 11 members 5 4.5
Total 111 100.0

From the results depicted in Table 4.3, majority (59.3%) of the respondents indicated that
their nuclear families consisted of 6-8 members, 21.9% of them indicated that their nuclear
families had 9-11 members, 8.8% of the respondents indicated that their families were made
up of 3-5 members, 5.5% of them had families consisting of 2 members, while 4.5% of the
respondents indicated that their families had more than 11 members. According to the

35
 foregoing results, majority of the nuclear families in the selected Sub counties in Mandera
consist of at least six (6) family members. From the results, it was evident that livestock
keeping in Mandera encompass various family sizes consisting of varying members and
ages whose responsibilities and exposure vary significantly.

4.3.6 Continuous Duration of Residing in Mandera

Table 4.4: Duration of Residing in Mandera
Duration of Residing in Mandera Frequency (n) Percent (%)
Born here 89 80.4
Less than 5 years 0 0.0
5-10 years 0 0.0
11-15 years 3 2.6
16-20 years 9 8.2
Over 20 year 10 8.8
Total 111 100.0

According to the results shown in Table 4.4, 80.4% of the respondents were born in the area,
8.8% of the respondents indicated that they had lived in the area for a period of over 20
years, 8.2% of them had been residing in the area for a period of 16-20 years, while 2.6% of
the respondents had been living in Mandera for a period of 11-15 years. These results imply
that most of the respondents participating in this study had been residing in Mandera for a
long period of time thus they were conversant of the information sought by the study
regarding pastoralist management of drought as a strategy of disaster risk reduction.

4.4 Drought Disaster Reduction Management

4.4.1 Frequency of Drought
The main objective of this study was to conduct an assessment on pastoralist management of
drought as a strategy of disaster risk reduction where the context of focus was Mandera
County. As such, the respondents were required to indicate the type and number of livestock
that are kept in their households. The study established that an overwhelming majority of the
respondents kept goats, sheep, cattle and camels. The other types of animals kept by the
pastoralists in Mandera include poultry and donkeys in small numbers. These findings

36
evidently depict that the study population comprised of all possible livestock keepers‟ hence
the views expressed on this study were comprehensive and representative.

With regard to understanding of drought, the key informants and the focus group discussions
were categorical on that the community in Mandera County was faced with severe droughts
frequently and much intervention of drought disaster risk reduction programs would help a
great deal. An overwhelming majority of the key Informants as well as the focus group
discussions indicated that they understand drought as a prolonged period of abnormally low
rainfall, leading to a shortage of water. Others added that it is a period of dryness especially
when prolonged; specifically: one that causes extensive damage to crops or prevents their
successful growth.

On how often the pastoralists experience drought/water scarcity in the areas of study, 59.3%
of the respondents unanimously indicated that their areas frequently experience
drought/water scarcity, 33.3% of them recapped that they always experience drought/water
scarcity, while 7.4% of the respondents indicated that they occasionally experience
drought/water scarcity in their area. These results imply that most of the areas in Mandera
County are frequently struck by drought and water scarcity putting the pastoralists at a great
drought disaster.

Figure 4.3: Frequency that Pastoralists Experience Drought in their Areas (N=111)

37
Most of the key informants and focus groups confirmed that most people suffered from
effects of drought and really needed the intervention of the program to enable them manage
to sustain their lifestyles and keep their families healthy and well fed. Those who did not
feel any negative effect might have been those with children working and therefore needed
not to depend on the pastoral activities for their livelihoods.

On how drought affected the interviewees‟ lives as a person or household, the key
informants and group discussion members reiterated that drought has had an impact on
water sources, pastures and food production which reduces life expectancy and the
economic performance of pastoralists in the region. Others echoed that pastoralists lose their
animals to the vagaries of climate, diseases, absence of water and pasture, and they have no
choice except to retire to agricultural villages. The high frequency and recurrence of drought
have scuttled their traditional mechanisms for early warning and would welcome any
advanced form of information that would help the respond to drought well to minimize the
loss of their livestock.

4.4.2 Drought Disaster Risk Management Interventions

Figure 4.4 shows the results on whether there are drought disaster risk management
interventions in the various areas studied in Mandera County. Accordingly, 50.8% of the
respondents agreed that there are drought disaster risk management interventions in their
areas, as compared to 36.1% of those who indicated that there are no drought disaster risk
management interventions in their areas. A small proportion (13.1%) of the respondents
reiterated that they didn’t know of availability of drought disaster risk management
interventions in their areas.

38
 Figure 4.4: Availability of Drought Disaster Risk Management Interventions (N=111)

4.4.3 Sources of Water

Drought risk is a product of a region's exposure to the natural hazard and its vulnerability to
extended periods of water shortage. In the light of this statement the respondents were
required to indicate the most common source of water used by households in their areas.
Table 4.5 shows the results obtained by the study.

Table 4.5: Common Source of Water used by Households (N=111)

Source of Water Frequency (n) Percent (%)
Dam 69 62.3
Tap 9 8.2
Well 66 59.3
River 15 13.1
Borehole 33 29.5

From the study, 62.3% of the respondents indicated that the most common sources of water
in their areas were dams, followed by 59.3% of those who indicated that they mainly
obtained water from well, 29.5% of them indicated that their main source of water was
boreholes, 13.1% indicated that they mainly obtained water from the river, while only 8.2%
of the respondents indicated that their main source of water was tapped water. These results
imply that there are no reliable sources of water to cushion the pastoralists against drought.
Drought is more than a physical phenomenon or natural event whose impact results from the
relation between a natural event and demands on water supply and often exacerbated by
human activities.

39
4.4.4 Managing the Drought Problem
Table 4.6: How the Pastoralists Get Out of the Drought Problem
Source of Assistance out of Drought Frequency (n) Percent (%)
Family (Own initiatives) 12 10.8
Assistance from relatives 8 7.2
Friends 4 3.6
Relief from the authorities 38 34.2
Others (none) 49 44.1
Total 111 100.0

On how the pastoralists get out of the drought problem, 44.1% of the respondents indicated
that they neither got assistance on how to get out of the drought problem, 34.2% of the
respondents recapped that they obtained relief from the authorities, 10.8% of them reported
that they got out of the drought problem through family or own initiatives, 7.2% of the
respondents indicated that they got assistance on how to get out of the drought problem with
the assistance from relatives, while 3.6% of them obtained drought relief assistance from
friends residing outside the area. Series of historic droughts in the regions cause serious
environmental and societal effects, claiming lives, destroying livelihoods and rendering
scores depended on relief assistance thus negatively impacting economies, agriculture,
livestock and human populations. Drought kills millions of animals, and reduces millions of
people to destitution and reliance on food relief.

On the traditional practices put in place to recover from drought, the key informants
indicated that the pastoralists prepare for drought and epizootics by “lending” their animals
to relatives or friends in exchange for looking after some of their animals in return.
Members of the group discussions indicated that as natural response to range heterogeneity,
pastoralists move their herds sequentially across a series of environments such that each
reaches its peak carrying capacity at the time of visit. The adaptive advantage of mobility for
pastoral producers in areas of low and uncertain rainfall is that herds are able to move to
make the most of localized rainfall, avoiding the risk of relying on rainfall received within a
confined area. It also became clear that cattle–raiding in some places is “one method of
restocking a herd. In addition, animals were also distributed through loans and exchanges

40
With other herders reducing the effects of localized droughts, raids and diseases on stock
and at the same time creating and re-enforcing social ties between households.

4.5 Drought Contingency Planning in Drought Disaster Reduction

4.5.1 Familiar with Drought Contingency Planning
To investigate the effects of drought contingency planning on drought disaster risk reduction
in Mandera County, the respondents were required to indicate the extent to which the
pastoralists are familiar with drought contingency planning. Table 4.7 shows the results.

Table 4.7: Extent to which pastoralists are familiar with drought contingency planning
Extent Frequency (n) Percent (%)
To a little extent 2 2.0
To a moderate extent 48 43.0
To a great extent 54 49.0
To a very great extent 7 6.0
Total 111 100.0

Based on the results as tabulated in table 4.7, 49% of the responses were indicating that the
pastoralists are familiar with drought contingency planning to a great extent, 43% of them
indicated to a moderate extent, 6% of them comprised of opinion that the pastoralists are
familiar with drought contingency planning to a very great extent, whereas 2% of the
respondents recapped that the pastoralists are familiar with drought contingency planning to
a little extent. These results imply that there is a high familiar with drought contingency
planning among the pastoralist community in Mandera County.

41
4.5.2 Drought Contingency Planning on DDR Reduction
Figure 4.5: Effectiveness of Drought Contingency Planning on DDR Reduction
(N=111)

On the effectiveness of drought contingency planning on drought disaster risk reduction in

Mandera County, majority of the respondents (comprising 39.0% of the population studied)
rated the drought contingency planning to be very much effective on drought disaster risk
reduction in Mandera, another 38.5% of them rated the drought contingency planning on
drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera to be much effective, while 23.1% of them rated
the drought contingency planning on drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera to be
moderate effective. These results imply that the drought contingency planning approaches
are relatively effective in drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera.

The key informants and the focus group discussions revealed that so many people
experienced a lot of improvement in pastoralism management due to drought contingency
planning. This then forced them to come together and work it out to success. Even after the
program, they might have remained together just to continue with the started work of this
program and use it to their advantage. The other group may have been affected and
experienced no improvement at all maybe because none was willing to bring the family
members together or because there was a great disparity among the members beyond repair
by just a new introduced program in the community.

42
4.5.3 Pastoralists are involvement in Drought Contingency Planning
The study sought to ascertain the extent to which the pastoralist communities are involved in
drought contingency planning as a drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera County. The
results are as depicted in Table 4.8.
Table 4.8: Extent to which Pastoralists are involved in Drought Contingency Planning
Extents Frequency (n) Percent (%)
To a little extent 2 2.0
To a moderate extent 44 40.0
To a great extent 60 54.0
To a very great extent 4 4.0
Total 111 100.0

From the study, 54.0% of the respondents indicated that pastoralist communities are
involved in drought contingency planning as a drought disaster risk reduction to a great
extent, 40.0% of the respondents indicated that pastoralist communities are involved in
drought contingency planning as a drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera to a moderate
extent, 4.0% of them indicated to a very great extent, while 2.0% of the respondents
indicated that pastoralist communities are involved in drought contingency planning as a
drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera to a little extent. These results imply that there is
a high level of involvement of the pastoralist communities in drought contingency planning
hence can enhance drought disaster risk reduction disaster. This is because contingency
plans generated at the community level are expected to form the basis for district/regional
contingency plans.

On the drought contingency planning activities that the pastoralist communities are involved
in as a drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera County, the respondents recapped that
they are involved in drilling of contingency boreholes used during drought, strengthening
the existing village committees through capacity building, offloading and storage of food
aid, facilitating distribution, targeting and registration of the vulnerable household and
identification of water trucking points, source of information of cases of sick persons and
identify malnourished children.

43
4.5.4 Factors affecting Drought Contingency Planning
Table 4.9 below represents factors affecting drought contingency planning in Mandera
County.

Table 4.9: Factors affecting the Drought Contingency Planning

Factors affecting the drought Extent of the Effect Total Mean
contingency planning N

Very large
Moderate

Percent
extent

extent
extent

extent
Large
Little
Inter-agency coordination 4.2 37.5 53.1 5.2 100.0 111 3.5937
Timeliness of the plans 5.2 36.5 50.0 8.3 100.0 111 3.6146
Decision making tools 3.1 49.0 43.8 4.2 100.0 111 3.4896
Drought preparedness 6.3 37.5 51.0 5.2 100.0 111 3.5521
Fund management 1.0 46.9 46.9 5.2 100.0 111 3.5625
Drought cycle management 45.8 43.8 4.2 100.0 111 3.4583
6.3
Response and recovery actions 38.5 50.0 6.3 100.0 111 3.5729
5.2

Majority of the respondents indicated that timeliness of the plans affect the drought
contingency planning as a strategy of disaster risk reduction in Mandera to a great extent as
shown by a mean score of 3.6146, as well as inter-agency coordination shown by a mean
score of 3.5937, response and recovery actions shown by a mean score of 3.5729, fund
management shown by a mean score of 3.5625 and drought preparedness shown by a mean
score of 3.5521. On the other hand they recapped that decision making tools and drought
cycle management affect the drought contingency planning as a strategy of disaster risk
reduction in Mandera to moderate extents as shown by mean scores of 3.4896 and 3.4583
respectively. Droughts may result in catastrophic outcomes, hence viable mitigation actions
that can be taken (at the local level) are those of preparedness, i.e. instituting plans and
programs to cope with potential disruption or destruction of physical and social systems.
The impacts depend upon the local peoples vulnerability to such shocks, and hence the need
to understand the vulnerability to droughts as a prerequisite of designing preparedness,
mitigation and relief policies and programmes. This would in turn prevent acute disaster by
reducing disaster risk at the community level, through identification of the risks and
translating the knowledge into preventive actions.

44
4.5.5 How Contingency Planning is perceived to affect Disaster Risk Reduction
Drought contingency planning is a systematic process of integrating drought risk
management from well designed, coordinated and funded drought contingency plans. With
regard to Mandera County, the respondents were required to indicate their level of
agreement with these statements on drought contingency planning as a strategy of disaster
risk reduction.

Table 4.10: Agreements on Drought Contingency Planning for Disaster Risk Reduction
Statements on drought contingency Agreements Total Mean
planning N

Percentage
Disagree

Strongly
Neutral

Agree

agree
Drought contingency plans are response 4.2 34.4 53.1 8.3 100.0 111 3.6563
oriented with little emphasis on
Mitigation.
Contingency planning has not helped 3.1 50.0 42.7 4.2 100.0 111 3.4792
People to be on time because it had not
told people when action would be needed.
There is very little link between 5.2 34.4 55.2 5.2 100.0 111 3.6042
preparedness, early warning and early
Action/ response.
Drought contingency plans are 4.2 37.5 53.1 5.2 100.0 111 3.5937
Insufficient to coordinate interagency
drought contingency planning.

From the results depicted in Table 4.10, majority of the respondents agreed that drought
contingency plans are response oriented with little emphasis on mitigation as shown by
mean scores of 3.6563, there is very little link between preparedness, early warning and
early action/ response as shown by mean scores of 3.6042 and drought contingency plans are
insufficient to coordinate interagency drought contingency planning as shown by mean
scores of 3.5937, while contingency planning has not helped people to be on time because it
had not told people when action would be needed as shown by mean scores of 3.4792.
According to these results, Community contingency planning is achieved through the
participatory disaster risk assessment process.

45
4.6 Drought Relief Strategy and Drought Disaster Risk Reduction
4.6.1 Knowledge of Drought Relief Strategy
The second objective of the study was to explore the impacts of drought relief strategy on
drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera County. In this regard, the respondents were
required to indicate whether the pastoralists are knowledgeable about drought relief strategy.

Table 4.11: Whether the Pastoralists are Knowledgeable about Drought Relief Strategy
Responses Frequency (n) Percent (%)
Yes 75 67.0
No 36 33.0
Total 111 100.0

According to the study, 67.0% of the respondents indicated that the pastoralists are
knowledgeable about drought relief strategy, while 33.0% of them indicated that they do
not. A prerequisite for support programmes is a clear understanding of the nature of, and
responses to drought. In terms of implementation, the capacity to identify, design, plan,
coordinate and implement timely livelihoods interventions is limited by a poor
understanding of pastoral livelihood systems by some senior decision-makers and a lack of
consensus on what constitutes sectoral mitigation, emergency and recovery activities. This
results in a lack of capacity to prepare proposals quickly at the national level, and
implementation is further hampered by rigid planning systems and cumbersome financial
procedures among key ministries and UN coordinating agencies, and – in some districts – a
lack of implementation capacity, both in terms of coverage and technical expertise.

46
4.6.2 Effectiveness of Relief Strategy on Drought Disaster Risk Reduction
Figure 4.6: Effectiveness of Relief Strategy on Drought Disaster Risk
Reduction (N=111)

On the effectiveness of drought relief strategy on drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera
County, 53.0% of the respondents reiterated that the drought relief strategy on drought
disaster risk reduction in Mandera has been moderately effective, 30.0% of them indicated
that the implementation has been very effective, 13.0% of the respondents indicated
effective while 4.0% of the respondents indicated that the drought relief strategy on drought
disaster risk reduction in Mandera County has been less effective. The results are as depicted
in Figure 4.6. These results are a clear indication that the drought relief strategy on drought
disaster risk reduction in Mandera County is quite effective.

4.6.3 Approaches in the Drought Disaster Reduction Strategy

The respondents were also requested to indicate the extent to which various activities of
drought relief strategy influence drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera County. Table
4.12 shows the results obtained.

47
Table 4.12: Activities of drought relief strategy influencing Drought Disaster reduction
(N=111)
Approaches of drought relief Extent Total Mean
strategy N

Very large
Moderate

Percent
extent

extent

extent

extent
Large
Little
Preserving fodder for animals. 1.0 42.7 52.1 4.2 100.0 111 3.5938
Alternative feeding of animals. 6.3 42.7 44.8 6.3 100.0 111 3.5104
Controlled grazing. 2.1 47.9 45.8 4.2 100.0 111 3.5208
Veterinary interventions support. 5.2 36.5 50.0 8.3 100.0 111 3.6146
Water provision during drought. 6.3 45.8 43.8 4.2 100.0 111 3.4583
Livestock supplementary feeds. 38.5 50.0 6.3 100.0 111 3.5729
5.2

From the study, majority of the respondents reiterated that veterinary interventions support
influences drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera to a great extent as shown by a mean
score of 3.6146, preserving fodder for animals influences drought disaster risk reduction in
Mandera to a great extent as shown by a mean score of 3.5938, livestock supplementary
feeds influences drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera to a great extent as shown by a
mean score of 3.5729, controlled grazing influences drought disaster risk reduction in
Mandera to a great extent as shown by a mean score of 3.5208 and that alternative feeding
of animals influences drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera to a great extent as shown
by a mean score of 3.5104, while water provision during drought influences drought disaster
risk reduction in Mandera to a moderate extent as shown by a mean score of 3.4583.

4.7 Rehabilitation Mechanisms in Drought Disaster Risk Reduction

4.7.1 Knowledge of Rehabilitation Mechanisms in Drought Mitigation
Rehabilitation mechanisms also affect drought disaster risk reduction in districts in Mandera
south, Mandera County. To ascertain the extent to which rehabilitation mechanisms affects
drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera south, the study thus sought to establish whether
the pastoralists are knowledgeable about rehabilitation mechanisms as a mitigation strategy.
According to the results depicted in Figure 4.7, 58.0% of the respondents reported that
indeed the pastoralists are knowledgeable about rehabilitation mechanisms as a mitigation

48
strategy while 42% of them indicated that the pastoralists are not knowledgeable about
rehabilitation mechanisms as a mitigation strategy in Mandera.

Figure 4.7: Pastoralists Knowledge on Drought Rehabilitation Mechanisms (N=111)

4.7.2 Effectiveness of Process of Rehabilitation Mechanisms in Drought Mitigation

On whether the rehabilitation mechanism as a mitigation strategy is carried at the right time
of the drought cycle, all the respondents (making a proportion of 100%) recapped
disagreement on that rehabilitation mechanisms as a mitigation strategy is carried at the right
time of the drought cycle. The study further sought to establish the respondents‟ rating on
the effectiveness of the whole process of rehabilitation mechanisms as a drought mitigation
strategy in Mandera County.

Table 4.13: Effectiveness of process of rehabilitation mechanisms in drought mitigation

(N=111)
Effectiveness Frequency (n) Percent (%)
Very effective 9 8.2
Moderately effective 42 37.7
Effective 7 6.6
Less effective 53 47.5
Total 111 100.0

According to the results shown in Table 4.13, 47.5% of the respondents indicated that the
whole process of rehabilitation mechanisms as a drought mitigation strategy in Mandera can
be rated to be less effective, 37.7% of them rated the process to be moderately effective,
8.2% of the respondents rate the process of rehabilitation mechanisms in Mandera to be very

49
effective, while 6.6% of the respondents reported that the whole process of rehabilitation
mechanisms as a drought mitigation strategy in Mandera is effective.

The key informants indicated that since the local market is not dynamic and reaching the
outside market to do trade with is not easy, the locals find the option of migrating to other
places in search of pasture the easier option. The other factor contributing to migration is
that even if they opted to slaughter for local consumption, the meat will be too much for one
family since every family owns at least one type of animal or the other.

4.7.3 Effectiveness of Approaches Influencing Drought Disaster Risk Reduction

The respondents were further required to rate the effectiveness of various approaches that
influence drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera County. Table 4.14 shows the results.

Table 4.14: Effectiveness of Approaches influencing Drought Disaster Risk Reduction

(N=111)
Intervention Effectiveness Total Mean
N
Very much

Effective
effective

effective

effective

effective
Percent
Fairly
Much

Less

Not
Direct livestock purchase 19.7 1.6 0.0 57.4 21.3 100.0 111 3.5902
Transport subsidy for livestock 2.5 30 32.5 32.5 2.5 100.0 111 2.975
traders
Micro financing livestock 22.6 41.3 6.7 27.1 2.3 100.0 111 3.548
traders
Water harvesting 5.0 27.5 30 27.5 10.0 100.0 111 2.9
Income generation 8.2 16.4 9.8 50.8 14.8 100.0 111 3.4754
Capacity building 0.0 17.5 32.5 32.5 17.5 100.0 111 2.5
Agro-marketing 13.1 11.5 3.3 59.0 13.1 100.0 111 3.4754
Food security 16.4 8.2 3.3 59.0 13.1 100.0 111 3.4426

From the study, majority of the respondents restated that direct livestock purchase and micro
financing livestock traders are much effective in influencing drought disaster risk reduction
in Mandera County as shown by mean scores of 3.5902 and 3.5480 respectively. In addition,
the respondents recapped that income generation, agro-marketing, food security, transport
subsidy for livestock traders, water harvesting and capacity building are fairly effective in
influencing drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera County as shown by mean scores of

50
3.4754, 3.4754, 3.4750, 3.4426, 2.9750, 2.9000 and 2.5000 in that order. Relief should
ideally be targeted on particularly vulnerable sections of the population that cannot be
reached by mitigation measures. Restocking after drought will make livestock purchase as a
mitigation measure easier.

The key informants and focus group discussion members were requested to indicate the
major challenges faced during the post drought period. The members of the focus groups
reported that, a fall in fodder (depending on how serious the drought is) may spark several
effects such as changes in wealth, fall in herd productivity and long distance migration.
They further added that a drought, which lasts for several years, can result in severe
variations in the proportions of the herd, which at any particular time are giving milk or are
dry. According to the community leaders interviewed, most cattle conceive and give birth
only during the periods of sufficient rains. In a dry year, animals suffer both a lower rate of
conception, probably due to a tardy and incomplete return to peak bodyweight during the
rains, and higher rates of miscarriage and stillbirth in the subsequent period of pregnancy
and calving, due to the high level of stress experienced by animals as the dry season
proceeds. Thus, drought in one year will lead to lower calving rates in the following year.
This fall in the number of new calves entering the herd is further aggravated by high
mortality rates among young stock.

On how they cope with the challenges during the post drought period, some of the key
informants interviewed reported that pastoralists and external agents respond to the situation
in a variety of ways. As was found out during the study, the recovery period is more severe
for the poor members of the community as most of their capital is lost during the drought,
and dependence on the external agents is therefore very high. For the richer members, the
recovery is not much harder as they can afford to restock from cash saved in the banks or
livestock loaned to others during the drought.

The study was inquisive of the decision makers on resource management and when to
migrate. The key informants and discussion groups confirmed that decision on resource
management and when to migrate involved broad based consensus, policymakers and lead
contribution from the Office of the President (Arid Lands Resource Management

51
Programme); International development organizations such as UNDP; Ministry of
Environment; and other stakeholders.

On the traditional practices help pastoralists to adapt to droughts in relation to water and
pasture management, the interviewees indicated that they practice traditional pastoral
production systems, gathering of wild products, traditional open wells, micro-catchments,
traditional uses of the natural resource base and cross-border mobility. From the
interviewees insights, the various development agencies working in the area that assist
pastoralists most both directly and indirectly include Action Aid, other NGOs, EWS set up
to serve donor and UN food aid institutions, the Government of Kenya.

The key informants and group discussion members described the efforts by the government
and development agencies in the area in terms of facilitation of the coping and recovery
strategies to be effective in management of drought disaster risk. Through trainings and
response mechanisms by the government and the agencies, the high frequency and
recurrence of drought have scuttled their traditional mechanisms for early warning and
would welcome any advanced form of information that would help the respond to drought
well to minimize the loss of their livestock.

On what the government can do better in order to reduce pastoralists‟ vulnerability to

drought, the interviewees recapped that The Government policy should support the
development of EWS and preparation of disaster preparedness and prevention plans in a
participatory manner at the local level. The government should design approaches to reduce
conflict, strengthen reciprocity agreements and enhance traditional law, including its
integration into State law. These activities will be enhanced where government supports
community driven development and builds capacity at all levels for its success. There is
need for the government and development partners working in the area to substantially
strengthen pastoralist advocacy and substantially invest in human capital, infrastructure and
range management techniques in pastoral areas in order to improve range management and
reduce pastoralist’s vulnerability to drought.

52
On how the development organizations facilitate the recovery of the pastoral household
During the post drought recovery, the interviewees reiterated that pasture and water
availability in the area are at sufficient levels to support animals but most of the households
have already exhausted their livestock resources either through forced sales or death during
drought. In the inter-drought cycle, the post-drought recovery phase comes between the
drought period and the high-density phase. According to the local leaders, the post drought
period is characterized by increasing rates of milk output due to a growing stocking rate of
cows; aggressive and opportunistic production values being manifested by households
seeking to rapidly rebuild their cattle herds; intensive efforts to cultivate cereals to make up
for milk deficit per unit area; extensive recovery of the grass layer from previous heavy
grazing, the extent of recovery being dependent on rainfall; increased sales of milk from
peri-urban households needing grain to cover large deficits in energy foods; increased sales
of small ruminants to buy grains; and traditional groups being honored allowing unrestricted
access.

The interviewees were further required to suggest how strategies for coping with and
recovery from drought can be strengthened in the Country. According to the key informants,
training on drought mitigation should be emphasized for the pastoralist to be enlightened on
the consequences of improper treatment of the livestock and their benefit if properly treated.
The government should put in place veterinary interventions measures that will enhance
drought mitigation to prevent loss of animals during drought. The group discussion members
also recapped that modern approaches and intervention measures taken should be
communicated effectively so as to benefit the community as well to save the County and the
Country at large. The government should commit itself in distribution of drugs so as to
effectively mitigate drought and challenges facing management of water and other points of
water should fully be resolved to ensure that there is effective supply of water to all without
favoritism.

53
 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction
This chapter summarizes whole study process from the introduction to the end of data
analysis. The study sought to carry out an assessment on pastoralist management of drought
as a strategy of disaster risk reduction with a focus on Mandera County, Kenya. Having
collected and analyzed data in chapter four, this chapter is aimed at presenting a summary,
the study objectives, research methodology and findings. This chapter provides the summary
of the findings from chapter four, and it also gives the discussions and conclusions and
recommendations of the study based on the objectives of the study. The various sections
presented in this chapter are based on the research objectives which were: To investigate the
effects of drought contingency planning on drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera
County; To explore the impacts of drought relief strategy on drought disaster risk reduction
in Mandera County; and to ascertain the extent to which rehabilitation mechanism affects
drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera County.

5.2 Summary of Findings

The purpose of the study was to conduct an assessment on pastoralist management of
drought as a strategy of disaster risk reduction Mandera County where the context of focus
was Mandera East, Mandera West and Mandera South Sub counties. The study found that
the economy of the arid district is dominated by pastoralism, while in the better watered and
better serviced semi-arid areas a more mixed economy prevails, including rain fed and
irrigated agriculture, agro-pastoralism, small businesses based on dry land products and
conservation or tourism related activities. Majority of the nuclear families in the selected
Sub counties in Mandera consist of at least six (6) family members. In addition, livestock
keeping in Mandera encompass various family sizes consisting of varying members and
ages whose responsibilities and exposure vary significantly. The study found that majority
of the livestock kept include goats, sheep, cattle and camels, while the least livestock reared
by the pastoralists in Mandera include poultry and donkeys.

The study also found that most of the areas in Mandera County are frequently struck by
drought and water scarcity putting the pastoralists at a great drought disaster. Accordingly,
there are drought disaster risk management interventions in the various areas studied in

54
Mandera. Drought was found to have a huge negative effect on the pastoralists. Loss of
pasture which causes fall in herd productivity, long distance migration and changes in
wealth distribution was a major effect of drought on pastoral household; loss of water and
loss of income are the main effects of drought on pastoral. From the study, drought risk is a
product of a region's exposure to the natural hazard and its vulnerability to extended periods
of water shortage. Accordingly, the most common sources of water in the County are dams,
followed by well then boreholes, river and finally tapped water. This is an implication that
there are no reliable sources of water to cushion the pastoralists against drought. The study
established that majority of the pastoralists didn’t obtain any relief to get out of the drought
problem, others obtained relief from the authorities, family or own initiatives, and assistance
from relatives and from friends residing outside the area.

The study also found that the pastoralists are familiar with drought contingency planning to
a great extent. The drought contingency planning was found to be very much effective on
drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera. The pastoralist communities are involved in
drought contingency planning as a drought disaster risk reduction to a great extent. There is
a high level of involvement of the pastoralist communities are involved in drought
contingency planning hence can enhance drought disaster risk reduction disaster. This is
because contingency plans generated at the community level are expected to form the basis
for district/regional contingency plans. The pastoralists are involved in drilling of
contingency boreholes used during drought, strengthening the existing village committees
through capacity building, offloading and storage of food aid, facilitating distribution,
targeting and registration of the vulnerable household and identification of water trucking
points, source of information of cases of sick persons and identify malnourished children. It
was clear from the study that drought contingency plans are response oriented with little
emphasis on mitigation, there is very little link between preparedness, early warning and
early action/ response and drought contingency plans are insufficient to coordinate
interagency drought contingency planning. However, it was unclear on whether contingency
planning has not helped people to be on time because it had not told people when action
would be needed. The study found that there are various aspects that affect the drought
contingency planning as a strategy of disaster risk reduction in Mandera. They include
timeliness of the plans, inter-agency coordination, response and recovery actions, and fund

55
Management and drought preparedness with great extents, while decision making tools and
drought cycle management affect the drought contingency planning as a strategy of disaster
risk reduction in Mandera to moderate extents.

The study further found that drought relief strategy affects drought disaster risk reduction in
Mandera. From the results, majority of the pastoralists are knowledgeable about drought
relief strategy, the drought relief strategy on drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera has
been moderately effective implying that the drought relief strategy on drought disaster risk
reduction in Mandera County is quite effective. Veterinary interventions support, preserving
fodder for animals, livestock supplementary feeds, controlled grazing and alternative
feeding of animals influence drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera to a great extent. On
the other hand, water provision during drought influences drought disaster risk reduction in
Mandera to a moderate extent.

The study finally found that the pastoralists are knowledgeable about rehabilitation
mechanism as a mitigation strategy. The study established that rehabilitation mechanism as a
mitigation strategy is not carried at the right time of the drought cycle. From the study, the
whole process of rehabilitation mechanism as a drought mitigation strategy in Mandera was
rated to be less effective. The study found that direct livestock purchase and micro financing
livestock traders are much effective in influencing drought disaster risk reduction in
Mandera, while income generation, agro-marketing, food security, transport subsidy for
livestock traders, water harvesting and capacity building are fairly effective in influencing
drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera.

5.3 Conclusions
The study concludes that most of the areas in Mandera County are frequently struck by
drought and water scarcity putting the pastoralists at a great drought disaster. There are
drought disaster risk management interventions in the areas. Drought risk is a product of a
region's exposure to the natural hazard and its vulnerability to extended periods of water
shortage. The most common sources of water in the County are dams, followed by well then
boreholes, river and finally tapped water. The pastoralists didn’t obtain any relief to get out
of the drought problem, others obtained relief from the authorities, family or own initiatives,
and assistance from relatives and from friends residing outside the area.

56
The study also deduces that the pastoralists are familiar with drought contingency planning.
The drought contingency planning was found to be very much effective on drought disaster
risk reduction in Mandera. The pastoralist communities are involved in drought contingency
planning as a drought disaster risk reduction. There is a high level of involvement of the
pastoralist communities are involved in drought contingency planning hence can enhance
drought disaster risk reduction disaster. According to the findings, drought contingency
plans are response oriented with little emphasis on mitigation, there is very little link
between preparedness, early warning and early action/ response and drought contingency
plans are insufficient to coordinate interagency drought contingency planning. The study
concludes that timeliness of the plans, inter-agency coordination, response and recovery
actions, fund management and drought preparedness affect the drought contingency
planning as a strategy of disaster risk reduction in Mandera. Communities employ different
strategies for coping with loss of access to strategic resources. In addition, civil society
organizations have played a critical role in the search for lasting peace between the two
communities as well as in helping the communities cope with the impacts of conflict. At
times the pastoralists take the risk and travel to the rangelands, prepared for the prospect of
violence, especially during droughts when they have no alternatives.

The study further concludes that that drought relief strategy affects drought disaster risk
reduction in Mandera. The study deduces that the pastoralists are knowledgeable about
drought relief strategy and the drought relief strategy on drought disaster risk reduction in
Mandera has been moderately effective. The drought relief strategy on drought disaster risk
reduction in Mandera County is quite effective. From the study findings, it was clear that
Veterinary interventions support, preserving fodder for animals, livestock supplementary
feeds, controlled grazing and alternative feeding of animals influence drought disaster risk
reduction in Mandera. Community level dialogue when pursued under the right
circumstances is a tremendous instrument for creating and maintaining peace. If we operate
with the general assumption that people who talk to each other would rarely fight; or at the
very least would not allow misunderstandings to deteriorate into physical confrontation, then
ipso facto, maintaining a dialogue between communities should serve the same purpose. At
other times they seek the support of government in the form of security as they water and
pasture their livestock. Education and the influence of modernization is also having an

57
Impact on the viability and continued relevance of pastoralist. Civil society organizations
including religious organizations, women and youth should take a lead in peacebuilding
initiatives, explore more traditional and customary of establishing the root causes of conflict
hence more attention is given to local problem solving method.

The study finally concludes that the pastoralists are knowledgeable about rehabilitation
mechanism as a mitigation strategy. The study ascertained that rehabilitation mechanism as
a mitigation strategy is not carried at the right time of the drought cycle. Accordingly, the
whole process of rehabilitation mechanism as a drought mitigation strategy in Mandera was
established to be less effective. The study deduces that direct livestock purchase and micro
financing livestock traders are much effective in influencing drought disaster risk reduction
in Mandera, while income generation, agro-marketing, food security, transport subsidy for
livestock traders, water harvesting and capacity building are fairly effective in influencing
drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera. The most important factors in the success of an
intervention are willingness of parties to engage in dialogue, adequate preparation by the
facilitators, ensure that parties understand what is at stake and the ground rules are clear
meaning everyone to be on the same page and minimal outside influence.

5.4 Recommendations
There is need for the government and development partners working in the area to
substantially strengthen pastoralist advocacy and substantially invest in human capital,
infrastructure and range management techniques in pastoral areas in order to improve range
management and reduce pastoralist’s vulnerability to drought. The study recommends that
government should put in place veterinary interventions measures that will enhance drought
mitigation to prevent loss of animals during drought within the County. The community,
planners, professionals and the implementers of drought disaster risk management need to
realize and rise to the awakening that drought affected people have the learning and the
strength to develop coping and survivability capacities. The county and national
governments should play a leading role in coordinating drought risk reduction to ensure that
the basic fundamental rights of the citizens are guarded and upheld. The government
agencies need to take a leading role in civic education and develop a common public

58
Engagement framework that recognizes the role of community participation to synergize the
ambitions of the development partners to make them fruitful.

There is a need to enhance community communication and feedback mechanism in the

county. The county information and communication infrastructure was wanting and the
available channels of communication do not effectively deliver information to the
communities. Further, there is need to the government to strengthen the autonomous
adaptation processes of the pastoralists to improve their capacity to cope with and recover
from drought. The pastoralists have local communal and household strategies that they use
to manage drought and such mechanisms need to be recognized by the government in
planning and policy formulation and implementation. The study recommends that
approaches and intervention measures taken by the government be communicated
effectively so as to benefit the community as well to save the county and country. Further
the study recommended that government should commit itself in distribution of drugs so as
to effectively mitigate drought.

The study also recommends that the government of Kenya and development agencies
working in the area need to invest in the provision of credit facilities to the pastoralists to
assist them in coping with droughts. During good season, the pastoralists can convert some
of the stock in to cash and deposit with credit providers. Such cash can be used in the post
drought period to purchase animals for restock. The study recommends that water should be
availed to all pastoralists. Further, the study recommended that challenges facing
management of water and other points of water should fully be resolved to ensure that there
is effective supply of water to all without favoritism.

The study recommends funds should be allocated for effective supplementary feeding
programmes. Accordingly, the study recommended that training on drought mitigation
should be emphasized for the pastoralist to be enlightened on the consequences of improper
treatment of the livestock and their benefit if properly treated.

59
5.6 Suggestions for future research
It is evident from the study that it is necessary to conduct further studies to identify the role
of pastoralist management of drought in disaster risk reduction in a different setting in
Kenya. Similarly, another study should deeply evaluate the metrics of successful community
participation on disaster risk management. Based on the findings of this study, it may be
necessary to evaluate the effects of indigenous drought early warning systems on drought
risk management.

60
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 APPENDICES
Appendix I: Introduction Letter

The Respondent,

Dear Sir/Madam,

Re: Request for Research Data

I am a Postgraduate student at the University of Nairobi pursuing a Master of Arts Degree in

Disaster Management. My research project topic is “AN ASSESSMENT OF
PASTORALIST MANAGEMENT OF DROUGHT AS A STRATEGY OF DISASTER
RISK REDUCTION: A CASE OF MANDERA COUNTY”

In order to carry out the research, you have been selected to form part of those to provide the
necessary data. The data will be gathered through research questionnaire with the
undersigned. The focus of my research will be on drought contingency planning, policies for
resilience, drought relief strategy and rehabilitation mechanism and this will involve use of
questionnaires administered to local chiefs, elders, community/clan leaders, livestock
officers, arid and semi-arid land officials, politicians, society personnel and pastoralists in
Mandera south.

I kindly request you to participate in this study by assisting in filling the questionnaire and
providing with any other relevant information. The information collected will be treated
with utmost confidentiality and is for academic purpose only. The findings and
recommendations of the research will be availed to you upon completion of the research.

Student : Fardosa Maalim Alio

Supervisor :

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 Appendix II: Research Questionnaire
This research is in partial fulfillment of requirements for a diploma and I will be most
grateful if you could kindly complete this questionnaire. This questionnaire consists of
two major parts. Kindly answer all the questions by ticking in the appropriate box or
filling the spaces provided. The questionnaire below has been set in relation to the
objectives of the study. Any issue that may need any clarification will be discussed by the
researcher during administration of the questionnaire or when picking the completed
questionnaire. The information given here will only be used for purposes of this study
and will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Your cooperation will be highly
appreciated.

PART A: GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Name of your area………………………………………………………………….
2. Tick your gender?
Male [ ] Female [ ]

3. What is your category as a respondents

Community member/pastoralist [ ] Local chiefs []
Local elder [ ] Community/clan leader [ ]
Livestock officer [ ] MP []
MCA [ ] Society personnel []
Others (Specify……………………………………………….……….) [ ]
4. Indicate your age category:

Below 20 years [ ] 41-50 years [ ]

21-30 years [ ] Above 51 years [ ]
31-40 years [ ]
5. What is your highest level of education?
Post Graduate [ ] College Diploma [ ]
Graduate [ ] College Certificate []
Secondary school level [ ] Primary school level []
didn’t go to school [ ] other (specify…...) [ ]

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6. What is the size of your nuclear family?

1 (alone) [ ] 2 members [ ]
3-5 members [ ] 6-8 members [ ]
9-11 members [ ] More than 11 members [ ]

7. How long have you lived in this area?

Born here [ ] Less than 5 years [ ]

5-10 years [ ] 11-15 years [ ]
16-20 years [ ] Over 20 year [ ]

PART B: PASTORALIST MANAGEMENT IN DROUGHT DISASTER

REDUCTION
8. Kindly indicate the type and number of livestock that are kept in the household?

Type Amount/Number
Cattle
Sheep
Goats
Camels
Donkeys
Poultry
Others (Specify...........................................................................)

9. How often do you experience drought/water scarcity in this area?

Always [] Frequently []
Occasionally [] Rarely []
Never []
10. Are there drought disaster risk management interventions in this area?

Yes [] No [] I don’t know [ ]

11. What is the most common source of water used by households in this area?
Dam [] Tap []
Well [] River []
Tank [] Borehole []

12. In case of drought how do pastoralists get out of the problem?

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Family (Own initiatives) [ ] Assistance from relatives []

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 Friends [ ] Relief from the authorities []
others (Specify…………………………………………………) [ ]

DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLANNING IN DROUGHT DISASTER REDUCTION

13. To what extent are the pastoralists familiar with drought contingency planning?

To a very great To a great To a moderate To a little To no extent

extent extent extent extent

14. What is the effectiveness of drought contingency planning on drought disaster risk
reduction in Mandera County?
Very much effective [ ] Much effective []
Moderate effective [ ] Less effective []
Not effective [ ]
15. To what extent are the pastoralist communities involved in drought contingency
planning as a drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera County?
To a very great To a great To a moderate To a little To no extent
extent extent extent extent

16. What drought contingency planning activities are the pastoralist communities involved
in as a drought disaster risk reduction in Mandera County?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
17. Drought contingency planning is a systematic process of integrating drought risk
management from well designed, coordinated and funded drought contingency plans.
With regard to this County, what is your level of agreement with these statements on
drought contingency planning as a strategy of disaster risk reduction?
Statements on drought contingency planning 1 2 3 4 5
Drought contingency plans are response oriented with little
emphasis on mitigation
Contingency planning has not helped people to be on time
because it had not told people when action would be needed
there is very little link between preparedness, early warning and

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 early action/ response
Drought contingency plans are insufficient to coordinate
interagency drought contingency planning
Other (Specify............................................................................)
18. To what extent do the following factors affect the drought contingency planning as a
strategy of disaster risk reduction in Mandera County? Use a scale of 1 to 5 where 1= no
extent, 2= little extent, 3= moderate extent, 4= large extent and 5 is to a very large
extent.
Factors affecting the drought contingency planning 1 2 3 4 5
Inter-agency coordination
Timeliness of the plans
Decision making tools
Drought preparedness
Fund management
Drought cycle management
Response and recovery actions
Other (Specify....................................................................)

DROUGHT RELIEF STRATEGY AND DROUGHT DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

19. Are the pastoralists knowledgeable about drought relief strategy?
Yes [ ] No [ ]
20. What is the effectiveness of drought relief strategy on drought disaster risk reduction in
Mandera County?
Very much effective [ ] Much effective []
Moderate effective [ ] Less effective []
Not effective [ ]
21. To what extent do the following activities of drought relief strategy influence drought
disaster risk reduction in Mandera County? Use a scale of 1-5 where 5 is to a very large
extent,4 is to a great extent,3 is medium extent,2 is small extent and 1 is no extent at all.

72
 Approaches of drought relief strategy 1 2 3 4 5
Preserving fodder for animals
Alternative feeding of animals
Controlled grazing
veterinary interventions support
water provision during drought
livestock supplementary feeds
Other (Specify............................................................)

22. Which aspects of drought relief strategy in disaster risk reduction do you think should be
strengthened to cope with drought disaster in this County? Explain
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………

REHABILITATION MECHANISM IN DROUGHT DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

23. Are the pastoralists knowledgeable about rehabilitation mechanisms as a mitigation
strategy?
Yes [ ] No []
24. Is rehabilitation mechanisms as a mitigation strategy carried at the right time of the
drought cycle?
Yes [] No [] I don’t know [ ]
25. How would you rate the whole process of rehabilitation mechanisms as a drought
mitigation strategy in Mandera County?
Very much effective [ ] Much Effective []
fairly effective [ ] Less effective []
Not effective []
26. How do you rate the effectiveness of the following approaches influence drought
disaster risk reduction in Mandera County?

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 Intervention

Very much

Effective
effective

effective

effective

effective
Fairly
Much

Less

Not
Direct livestock purchase
Transport subsidy for livestock traders
Micro financing livestock traders
Water harvesting
Income generation
Capacity building
Agro-marketing
Food security
Other (Specify.........................................................)

27. What other information would you like to share about pastoralist management of
drought as a strategy of disaster risk reduction in Mandera County, Kenya?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
28. In your opinion, what do you think should be done to enhance pastoralist management of
drought as a strategy of disaster risk reduction in Kenya?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………

THANK YOU!!!

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 Appendix III: Key Informants Interview Guide
1. What is your understanding of drought?
2. How has drought affected your life as a person or household?
3. What traditional practices do you put in place to recover from drought?
4. During the post drought period, what are your major challenges?
5. Who makes decision on resource management and when to migrate?
6. How do you cope with the challenges during the post drought period?
7. What has been the most significant change in the way you manage droughts resulting
from the information and training(s) received
8. What traditional practices help you to adapt to droughts in relation to water and pasture
management?
9. Which Development agency working in the area assist you most both directly and
indirectly?
10. How would you describe the efforts by the government and development agencies in this
area in terms of facilitation of the coping and recovery strategies?
11. What do you think the government can do better in order to reduce pastoralists‟
vulnerability to drought?
12. During the post drought recovery, how do the development organizations facilitate the
recovery of the pastoral household?
13. Which development organizations are actively involved in helping the pastoralists in this
district?
14. How can strategies for coping with and recovery from drought be strengthened in the
Country?
15. What are some of the policy issues that need to be addressed to reduce vulnerability of
the pastoral household to drought?

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 Appendix IV: Focus Group Discussion Guide
1. What is your understanding of drought?
2. How has drought affected your life as a person or household?
3. What traditional practices do you put in place to recover from drought?
4. During the post drought period, what are your major challenges?
5. Who makes decision on resource management and when to migrate?
6. How do you cope with the challenges during the post drought period?
7. What has been the most significant change in the way you manage droughts resulting
from the information and training(s) received
8. What traditional practices help you to adapt to droughts in relation to water and pasture
management?
9. Which Development agency working in the area assist you most both directly and
indirectly?
10. How would you describe the efforts by the government and development agencies in this
area in terms of facilitation of the coping and recovery strategies?
11. What do you think the government can do better in order to reduce pastoralists‟
vulnerability to drought?
12. During the post drought recovery, how do the development organizations facilitate the
recovery of the pastoral household?
13. Which development organizations are actively involved in helping the pastoralists in this
district?
14. How can strategies for coping with and recovery from drought be strengthened in the
Country?
15. What are some of the policy issues that need to be addressed to reduce vulnerability of
the pastoral household to drought?

76