Joto Afrika issue 20 is out

By Bob Aston

 The Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) is pleased to present issue 20 of Joto Afrika newsletter. The issue is a joint effort between ALIN and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources through the Low Emission and Climate Resilient Development (LECRD) Project.

Joto Afrika issue 20

Funding for the LECRD Project is by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), this is within the framework of the US Government led effort on Enhancing Capacity for Low Emission Development Strategy (EC-LEDS).

Joto Afrika, meaning “Africa is feeling the heat’ in Kiswahili is a series of printed briefings and online resources about low emission and climate change adaptation actions. The series helps people understand the issues, constraints, and opportunities that people face in adapting to climate change and escaping poverty.

Issue 20 focuses on National and County Government response to climate change and highlights contributions from other non-state actors.

The issue tackles how climate change response requires coordination across the different stakeholder categories, and between national and county government institutions. This ensures synergy between national and county government efforts to address climate change. It also minimises duplication and wastage of resources and reduces institutional conflicts.

The Climate Change Act (2016) recognises the complementary roles of the national and county governments in climate change affairs. The Act, consequently, recognises that climate change impacts are localised, placing the county governments in a better position to identify and address them.

One of the objectives of the Act is, therefore, to “integrate climate change into the exercise of power and functions of all levels of governance, and to enhance cooperative climate change governance between the national government and county governments.”

The Act establishes a legal and institutional framework to mainstream climate change at the national and county government levels.

It is our hope that readers will find issue 20 of Joto Afrika as informative and that it would add value to their work in understanding the issues, constraints and opportunities that people face in adapting to climate change. You can download a copy of Joto Afrika issue here.