Fishermen from the predominantly pastoralist community on Kenya's
Lake Turkana are being provided the means to boost their
livelihoods through deep lake fishing as climate change decimates
their traditional way of life.

IOM, with support from the Japanese government is providing
fishermen in Kalokol in Turkana Central district in northern Kenya
with fishing gear, boats and training to enable them to fish in
Lake Turkana's deep waters. Equipment for use by 450 families
living on three beaches includes a fibre glass boat for
surveillance and rescue operations in case of fishing accidents, 15
timber boats and 500 fishing nets.

Residents of Turkana are predominantly a pastoralist community
badly affected by the depletion of their traditional pasture lands
due to recurring droughts caused by climate change. The region,
already semi-arid, cannot support extensive agriculture while the
turbulence of Lake Turkana has largely prohibited deep-water
fishing due to unsafe vessels or poor quality equipment. This has
resulted in communities being vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition
which has in turn led to conflict between various groups over
scarce resources.

The fishing community in Kalakol was targeted for assistance by
the Kenyan Ministry of Fisheries Development, a key stakeholder in
the IOM project. Although the fishermen will be allowed more hours
to fish in the deeper waters of Lake Turkana to increase their
income, improve their food security and reduce their over-reliance
on food relief, the aim is also to set up sustainable fishing in
these lesser exploited deep waters.

Kenya's fish markets are largely supplied with fish from the
over-exploited Lake Victoria in the west of the country, the Indian
Ocean and various fish farms around the country.

The assistance to the fishermen will also enable the largely
pastoral community to stay longer in the area, making it easier for
them to access health, educational and other social services.

IOM has also introduced other alternative sources of livelihood
including growing drought-resistant crops such as watermelon,
butternuts, groundnuts and cereals such as millet and cowpeas. The
Organization has helped in the construction of shallow wells and
water pans for better water harvesting for both domestic and
farming purposes.

In a bid to reduce tension among communities competing over
scarce water and food resources, including over fishing sites, IOM
is also working with communities on peace-building and conflict
management. Inter-community dialogue has been established between
the Turkana, Elmolo and the Merali community which has migrated
from Ethiopia to work out ways of living in peace.

For more information contact:

Nagarajah Rajkumar

IOM Kenya

Tel: + 254 737 861230

E-mail: "mailto:rnagaraja@iom.int">rnagaraja@iom.int