Climate change and human security in Kenya (1990-2014)

Abstract

Climate change is increasingly affecting economic, social and political developments throughout the world. It is no longer an environmental problem but a threat to human security and it is growingly being viewed as the foremost defining human development problem of the twenty first century. This study establishes and integrates three core objectives; on climate change and its intersections with human security issues in Kenya during the period between 1990-2014, on the causes and impacts of climate change on human security and, on the theoretical perspectives of climate change and human security. By endorsing a human security framework for evaluating the impacts of climate change this study enables us to fully understand that climate change affects our day to day lives. It now widely recognized that anthropogenic climate change is the cause of many of the challenges facing human beings, be it flooding, food insecurity, vulnerability to diseases, conflict over natural resources, population displacement, migration and drought. In Kenya, conflict which is one of the severest threats to humankind is rooted in ongoing human security iss ues and the escalation of these tensions is due to the impacts of climate change. This study begins by examining the direct and indirect causes of climate change. Data was mainly be derived from secondary and primary sources. The data collection tool for the secondary data was an in-depth information gathering and document analysis. For the primary data, data collected included quotations, opinions and specific knowledge and background information relating to the history of the climate change and its effects on human security. The study recommends that human induced climate change acts as a threat multiplier, aggravating situations such as water scarcity and tensions within Kenyan. The findings reveal that the important links between climate change and human security have been neglected and endorsing the human security framework for evaluating the impacts of climate change enables us to understand who should bear the burdens of climate change and what kinds of policies are appropriate. The study concludes that policybased solutions to climate change can contribute to durable solutions.