VZCZCXRO0011
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHNR #1854/01 2130658
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 310658Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6637
INFO RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHDC
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 6067
RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 2114
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0183
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2907
RUEHDJ/AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI 5358
RHMFIUU/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 NAIROBI 001854 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/E, AF/EPS, PRM/AF, OES 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS USAID/EA 
 
INTERIOR FOR US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DR. JAYNE BELNAP 
 
E.O.12958: N /A 
TAGS: MASS SENV EAGR EAID ECON PGOV PREF SOCI KE
SUBJECT:  Tapping Water in Kenya's Arid North Eastern 
Province, Part Two 
 
Reference: Nairobi 1851 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. In Kenya's arid North Eastern Province, livelihoods have 
centered on pastoralism (the practice of herding livestock) 
for hundreds of years.  However, decades of gradual 
sedentarization (a shift from nomadism to permanent 
settlement) have created new dependencies and a more 
fragile ecosystem.  Past development efforts have 
accelerated sedentarization and created conditions that 
have allowed for large increases in the number of livestock 
by increasing the number of fixed water points available 
for human and livestock consumption.  This has compounded 
the ecosystem's fragility and has become a periodic source 
of violent conflict. 
 
¶2. While the Government of Kenya (GOK), the NGO community, 
and other donors realize that water is an important issue 
for the future of North Eastern Province, many 
interventions have focused on either short-term emergency 
response or the "more is better" philosophy, which only 
deepens the region's long-term problems.  Although the GOK 
has recently undertaken comprehensive water sector reforms, 
the government is still in the process of formulating a 
comprehensive water development plan for Kenya's arid and 
semi-arid lands (ASALs). At present, there are many 
independent organizations on the ground that intervene in 
the water sector.  Implementation of Combined Joint Task 
Force  Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) well-drilling activities 
has highlighted several development challenges. These 
challenges include the need for better stakeholder 
consultation and pre-drilling consideration of the full 
spectrum of environmental, hydrological, social, and 
cultural factors. In light of the fragility of the ASALs 
ecosystems, CJTF-HOA, its U.S. mission partners, and the 
GOK are collectively seeking ways to proactively identify a 
more sustainable and strategic way forward. End Summary. 
 
¶3. This is the second of two cables describing the 
challenges of development in Kenya's North Eastern Province 
and other ASALs, particularly in terms of water 
development, in which the CJTF-HOA is providing assistance. 
 
------------------------ 
Years of Sedentarization 
Have Taken Their Toll 
------------------------ 
 
¶4. Reftel described some of the factors leading to the 
gradual permanent or semi-permanent settlement of a large 
proportion of the North Eastern Province's traditionally 
pastoral society.  While there are still a significant 
number of pastoralists who make a living (and drive the 
area's economy) by raising livestock according to 
traditional methods and migration routes, decades of 
overgrazing and overpopulation have taken their toll on the 
fragile arid landscape. 
 
¶5. Limited relief and development efforts have 
traditionally focused on emergency relief or support for 
the livestock industry, and both activities often involve 
the development of new water sources.  While people and 
livestock need clean sources of water, new water points 
meant to extend the reach of grazing areas also attract new 
permanent settlements.  When this happens, grazing areas 
can easily be denuded of critical perennial grasses by 
overgrazing of newly settled pastoralists' livestock.  The 
primary source of violent conflict among the various ethnic 
Somali clans (the vast majority of the region's 
inhabitants) is over water and grazing land.  Not 
surprisingly, peacebuilding programs are also a focus of 
donor assistance in the region. 
 
NAIROBI 00001854  002 OF 004 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------- 
CJTF-HOA Steps Into A Complex Situation 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. More and more organizations are beginning to pay 
attention to the various development needs of North Eastern 
Province.  In addition to the various ministries from the 
GOK, non-governmental organizations, international 
organizations, the World Bank, and other donors are on the 
ground providing different types of assistance.  Emergency 
food relief, water and livestock development, and new 
infrastructure are just a few of these projects.  In 
addition, there are several agencies under the Ministry of 
Water alone that are in the water development business. 
 
¶7. One of the GOK actors is the Ministry of Defense (KDOD), 
which is increasingly working in conjunction with the 
Ministry of Water to drill new boreholes.  CJTF-HOA has 
provided support to KDOD in the form of U.S. Navy 
Construction Battalions (Seabees) and U.S. Geologic Survey 
(USGS) scientists to help determine what sites would have 
the best chance of producing water.  Currently, CJTF-HOA's 
well drilling activities are confined to the Garissa 
District in North Eastern Province, but KDOD would like 
them to expand their activities across northern Kenya. 
 
------------------------------ 
More is Not Necessarily Better 
------------------------------ 
 
¶8. Like many of the development activities in North Eastern 
Province, however, the Ministry of Water and KDOD view 
water development as short-term humanitarian emergency 
assistance.  We have been told repeatedly by Ministry of 
Water and KDOD officials that environmental impact 
assessments " required by law"  are not needed for water 
projects in the North Eastern Province because the region 
is in a "state of emergency." (Note: Boreholes in arid 
areas have a more intense impact on the environment than in 
other areas, and have a tendency to exacerbate emergencies 
if poorly managed.  This makes the need for rational 
environmental assessments even more acute.  End Note.) 
 
¶9. Without an understanding of the adverse consequences of 
borehole proliferation, both the Ministry of Water and KDOD 
appear to have a "more is better" philosophy.  For example, 
rumor has it that a new road to Marsabit (in upper Eastern 
Province) will be constructed by the Chinese with boreholes 
every 10 kilometers.  Failing to make the connection that 
new boreholes have caused many a violent conflict in 
northern Kenya and draws people across borders, KDOD has 
incorporated water development into its "securitization" 
plan, and would like to dig new boreholes all across 
Kenya's arid north, including border towns with Somalia. 
The KDOD has also cited humanitarian concerns and the need 
to provide logistical support to Kenyan security forces as 
reasons to drill additional boreholes in this region. 
 
¶10. While CJTF-HOA pursues its regional security capacity 
building and engagement initiatives through humanitarian 
and other activities, we will continue to assist them in 
refining their support by taking a more holistic and 
strategic approach. CJTF-HOA, in cooperation with its U.S. 
mission partners, can then help guide their Kenyan 
counterparts in developing a sounder approach to water 
development and management in these ecologically sensitive 
areas. Some of the organizations involved in water 
development understand the issues, but it is far from clear 
that this understanding permeates the planning process. 
 
------------------------- 
Better Understanding, 
Stronger Oversight Needed 
------------------------- 
 
NAIROBI 00001854  003 OF 004 
 
 
 
¶11. Development activities in North Eastern Province are 
ostensibly coordinated and approved at the district level 
by the District Steering Group (DSG), an interagency 
meeting chaired by the World Bank-funded Arid Lands 
Resource Management Project, which was recently 
subordinated to the newly-formed Ministry of State for the 
Development of Northern Kenya and Other Arid Lands 
(reftel).  The meetings are attended by district-level 
ministry representatives, religious leaders, youth, women, 
nongovernmental organizations and other civil society 
members. 
 
¶12. In Garissa, the DSG has become a good example of the 
coordination and planning process should look like.  The 
Garissa DSG, for example, recently refused the request of a 
Member of Parliament to dig a new borehole in his 
constituency for political reasons.  This type of behavior 
is rare in the Kenyan bureaucracy, and it deserves 
encouragement.  The new Arid Lands Ministry is best 
positioned to play a watchdog role in preventing poorly- 
conceived development, but to do so effectively will 
require an aggressive interpretation of its mandate and an 
attitudinal shift by other organizations in the water 
development business. This may prove to be a significant 
challenge for a newly-established ministry with a more 
limited budget than Water and other ministries. 
 
¶13. Digging a borehole (or constructing a pan, i.e., 
stockpond, or dam) is only one step in establishing a water 
management project.  In order for a project to be 
successful and sustainable, there must be a community that 
wants and is willing to manage the new resource.  There 
must also be an understanding of how the new resource will 
impact the surrounding ecosystem and existing grazing 
patterns.  At present, water development projects 
envisioned by Ministry of Water and KDOD reflect only a 
nascent understanding of these issues. For example, the 
KDOD and the Ministry of Water often overlook the advice of 
the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), which 
is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that all 
development projects adhere to environmental 
considerations. There is currently no overarching mechanism 
in place to ensure sound placement and management of new 
water sources. 
 
---------- 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
¶14. Embassy Science Fellow Dr. Jayne Belnap, a senior 
scientist at the U.S. Geologic Survey, has had years of 
experience grappling with arid lands development issues and 
recently traveled to the North Eastern Province to consult 
with CJTF-HOA, government officials, and community members 
and help chart a way forward.  As a result, we have created 
some draft guidelines for CJTF-HOA's future water 
development activities.  We will also be encouraging the 
Garissa DSG to strengthen its oversight of water 
development projects by using CJTF-HOA and KDOD as pilots. 
 
¶15. The new Arid Lands Ministry is working on a strategic 
development plan for Kenya's arid areas. We will urge the 
Ministry's leadership to include water management as a key 
component of this new strategy.  However, we do know that 
the new minister and his technical staff, inherited from 
the World Bank-funded Arid Lands Resource Management 
Project (reftel), understand the special considerations 
needed for dry lands development, and we will support at 
every opportunity their efforts to exercise oversight over 
water development. 
 
¶16. We will also continue to encourage other ministries to 
incorporate an understanding of dry lands development into 
their planning.  Initial discussions with KDOD have been 
 
NAIROBI 00001854  004 OF 004 
 
 
fruitful in this regard. In the ASALs, USAID currently 
supports projects including water and sanitation 
improvement (Marsabit district), the North Eastern Pastoral 
Development Program, and the Regional Enhanced Livelihoods 
program in pastoral areas. Managers of these USAID programs 
will be working with the Arid Lands Ministry on organizing 
stakeholder consultations and provide training on pastoral 
areas development. Ultimately, we hope these efforts will 
contribute to sounder planning for the benefit of the long- 
marginalized population of Kenya's ASALs. 
SLUTZ