The County of Homa Bay in Kenya has issued a formal gazette notification of its intention to develop a Local Physical and Land Use Development Plan for Homa Bay Municipality, focused on reducing the climate vulnerability of its informal residents.
The residents of the informal settlements in the Municipality will be supported by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), the County Government, and local partner Akiba Mashinani Trust (AMT) to develop the municipality-wide local adaptation plan. The formal notification will enable the County government to access national and local funding to implement the Plan.
“Together, under this partnership, we will support vulnerable communities in Homa Bay – starting with those in informal settlements – to create People’s Adaptation Plans,” said Homa Bay County Governor H.E. Gladys Wanga, speaking at the Fourth Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) Partnership Forum organized by GCA earlier this year. “It will take many partners and much more coordination to embrace this People’s Adaptation Plan approach – one I consider truly worthwhile in empowering local communities in our response to climate change. In this way…County Governments are leaders in locally led adaptation and when local governments are at the center of locally led adaptation, they bring the people.”
Homa Bay County sits in the Lake Victoria Basin, an Ecologically Sensitive Area which, in addition to being heavily populated, is ravaged by extreme climatic events such as droughts and floods, water crises, and livelihood deterioration. Major rivers increasingly show severe reduced water volumes, and rainfall has become more unpredictable, affecting farming activities in the Basin.
Support for the planning process in the municipality and in other informal settlements has been provided by the GCA under the AAAP, launched by the GCA in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and African Union, with an ambitious goal to mobilize $25 billion by 2025 to drive transformative climate adaptation actions across Africa. The resulting Plan will also inform investments by AfDB’s Kenya National Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Program, which aims to improve access to water supply and sanitation services in select towns in Kenya.
“The notice of intention to plan confirms the County Government’s commitment to inclusivity, accountability, and adherence to legal frameworks, and cultivates confidence and a relationship of trust with the community,” said Maureen Musya, a Physical Planner with AMT. “The County has essentially notified its commitment to use the rich data, local knowledge, and information that will be generated by and from the community during the locally led planning process to build climate resilience, and to thus ensure that the resulting plan is feasible, implementable, and truly reflects the needs and aspirations of its citizens.”
In addition to developing the locally led plan, the GCA will develop a Rapid Climate Risk Assessment to inform deliberations by the community and County Government and will work with Tom Mboya University to build local capacity to conduct such planning processes in future. County Government, university students and non-government representatives will be supported to build capacity to understand and address climate change challenges, for a collaborative, coordinated and effective response.
GCA’s ongoing support through the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) underscores its commitment to fostering climate adaptation efforts across Africa. This partnership sets a precedent for similar initiatives, demonstrating the power of community-led strategies in building climate-resilient communities.