Natural Resources Conflict in Kenya the Case of Meru and Borana in Isiolo County, 2008-2019

Abstract

This study examined natural resource conflict using the case of the Meru and the Borana communities in Isiolo County between 2008 and 2019. The project paper set out to establish the main causes of the violent conflict, the relationship between the conflict and natural resources in the county, and the impact of the conflict on the two communities. The research was guided by three hypotheses: the first hypothesis was that lack of equity in access to management of resources was the cause of conflict; the second one was that scarcity of land, water and pasture was another source of the inter-communal conflict; and the last one was that deaths, displacement and destruction of livelihoods were the major impact of the conflict. The study was framed within the environmental scarcity framework of Thomas Homer- Dixon. Research data was derived from both primary and secondary sources. The primary respondents, mainly drawn from the affected communities in Isiolo County, were interviewed orally using a question guide. The secondary data was sourced from books and journals obtained from both online databases and physical library facilities. The data was synthesized and analyzed to generate this thesis. The study established that Isiolo County is characterized by ethno-linguistic and religious fissures, social fragmentation and the politicization of ethnicity. The results of these underlying tensions are manifested in discrimination and marginalization of some ethnicities in employment, wealth creation opportunities and access to developmental programs. Another source of conflict is the longstanding struggle over demarcation of the boundary between the Isiolo and Meru Counties, worsened by the migration of the Meru people into Isiolo County. Drought frequently reduces available pasture for animals resulting in violent conflict between the pastoralists (Borana) and the crop farmers (Meru). The outcomes of this conflict include displacement of people from their homes, loss of livelihoods, destruction of infrastructure, loss of lives, reduced investment in the county as well as the destruction and disintegration of social services. This conflict has also created a fertile ground for terrorism, which is inflamed by religious extremism.