The Frontiers County Development Council, under the Listen Project in partnership with the County Government of Laikipia, invited the Laikipia Forum to a meeting to establish ward planning committees in Segera Ward, Laikipia County.
Segera ward is one of the 15 wards in Laikipia County and would serve as a pilot project that would hopefully see the successful formation of committees in the remainder of the wards.
Jacob Wako, from the Merti Integrated Development Programme, led the forum where he sensitized the residents of Segera on the Laikipia Climate Change Act, 2021. Additionally, he sensitized attendees on climate change governance and the role of ward planning committees.
He reiterated that the establishment of committees is geared towards mainstreaming climate issues in County plans.
This comes at a time when the World Bank provided financial commitment support for community-identified and locally-led climate resilience projects in all rural wards in Kenya- World Bank will channel these finances through the new Financing Locally–Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) Program.
The program aims to deliver locally-led climate resilience actions and strengthen the county and national government’s capacity to manage climate risks.
The Segera ward administrator had grouped the numerous villages in Segera into nine clusters. An eleven member committee was formed from this cluster. Attendees also made sure that the committee was inclusive as it featured men, women, youth and a representative from the minorities and persons living with disability.
The Ward Planning Committee selected by the Segera Ward Residents (Photo By: John Kiongo)
Laikipia Forum and other NGOs were encouraged to support the selected community by strengthening their capacity to perform their role.
Areas of potential support include continuous training for the selected ward planning committee members to equip them with a broad understanding of climate matters. Organizations were also encouraged to assist with proposal development to ensure that climate interventions are extensively funded and, lastly, to help supplement their implementation efforts.
The Laikipia Forum will provide the necessary support to this and other ward planning committees to ensure they can play a part in safeguarding the county against adverse climate change impacts.
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