The Influence of Climate Change Perception and Gender on Adaptation Actions in Kajiado and Kiambu Counties, Kenya

Abstract

Climate change, as a slow and gradual modification of average climate conditions, is difficult to be perceived accurately by local communities that rely on personal experience. Perceptions of climate change play a key role in shaping adaptation actions applied at the household level. Inaccurate perception of climate change could lead to the implementation of ineffective adaptation actions. These, coupled with the influence of gender roles in access, control of the resource, and decision making in climate change adaptation has the potential to derail efforts towards food security. This study, therefore, investigated perceptions of climate change and gender influence on climate change adaptation actions in Kajiado East and Central within Kajiado County in the arid part of Kenya and Kabete and Kikuyu within Kiambu County in the highland’s region. Primary data was collected using fourteen (14) key informant interviews, six (6) gendered focus group discussions, administering 312 household questionnaires, and observations. Secondary data included temperature and rainfall data for the period 1980-2017 obtained from The Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA 2) which is the latest global atmospheric reanalysis produced by the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). Spatial and temporal characteristics of temperature and rainfall patterns in Kajiado and Kiambu counties were analyzed using time –series analysis. Chi-square test was applied in testing the statistical associations between variables (p≤0.05). The study findings reveal high spatial and temporal variation in both temperature and rainfall patterns in Kajiado and Kiambu County, with Kajiado showing the increased minimum and maximum temperatures and rainfall variability manifesting through increased extended drought periods. There was an observed increase in minimum temperature trends in Kiambu County. The perception of the local communities on the minimum and maximum temperatures were in line with the meteorological patterns. The Chi-square test with the null hypothesis that the respondents’ perception is not related to the actual observations at 0.05 significance level indicated all the p-values were below 0.05 significance which meant people’s perceptions of the trends of both minimum and maximum temperature and the actual observations are similar in Kajiado and Kiambu Counties. The majority of the respondents perceived the onset for both the long rains (MAM) and short rains (OND) have gotten late. The results further point to differentiated climate change-related effects on food security in Kajiado and Kiambu Counties. Kajiado County is more food insecure than Kiambu County leading to a dependency on food relief from donors after every drought cycle thus indicating high poverty prevalence among the majority of its population. Findings on climate change influence on gender indicated that women in Kajiado County have limited access to and control of critical resources including land and livestock, limited decision making in sell, and utilization of proceeds made from selling farm produce and livestock in comparison to women in Kiambu County. Inaccurate perceptions of climate change by local communities, coupled with the influence of gender roles, impede achieving effective climate change adaptation actions. There is a need for extension of observational networks of weather stations to Sub-County level, improve awareness creation on climate change at the local level, adopt a new model of land sub-divisions to protect agricultural and pasture land and gender mainstreaming in climate change policies, projects, and plans at County and National level to enhance the effectiveness of adaptation actions and attain household food security.