{"id":141149,"date":"2026-05-15T13:02:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/olekina-urges-africa-to-resist-climate-policies-harmful-to-pastoralist-communities\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T13:02:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:02:50","slug":"olekina-urges-africa-to-resist-climate-policies-harmful-to-pastoralist-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/olekina-urges-africa-to-resist-climate-policies-harmful-to-pastoralist-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Olekina Urges Africa to Resist Climate Policies Harmful to Pastoralist Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 15 \u2013 Narok Senator Ledama Olekina has warned against climate policies that could undermine pastoralist communities, saying Africa must resist pressure to adopt methane reduction measures that threaten traditional livelihoods under the guise of climate action.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking during the Regional Parliamentary Seminar on Methane Emissions and Climate Action in Nairobi, Olekina said policies targeting livestock reduction would face resistance from pastoralist communities that depend on cattle for survival, income and cultural identity.<\/p>\n

Olekina, who spoke from the perspective of pastoralist communities including the Maasai, cautioned against blanket methane reduction strategies targeting livestock numbers without offering viable economic alternatives to communities whose livelihoods depend on cattle rearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI represent a community that grazes cows. If anyone comes up with a policy that says that we now reduce our cows, you will be affecting my livelihood and we will say no to that,\u201d the Narok senator said.<\/p>\n

His remarks come amid growing global focus on methane emissions from livestock production.<\/p>\n

Scientists have identified the beef and dairy industry as one of the leading contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, with methane accounting for a significant share of emissions generated through cattle digestion and waste.<\/p>\n

According to climate experts, livestock-related methane remains a major contributor to global warming because methane is more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.<\/p>\n

Olekina instead urged policymakers to focus on implementation frameworks that improve pastoralist incomes while addressing methane emissions rather than introducing restrictive regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you come up with a policy that says we will not restrict your grazing patterns or your way of life, but instead enable you to make more money, then I would be happy for that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He argued that climate policies should focus more aggressively on high-emitting sectors such as oil and gas rather than burdening pastoralist communities that contribute relatively little to global greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want you to come up with policies that will target the oil and gas industry because they are the biggest emitters of methane,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The senator also criticized carbon credit initiatives, arguing that some environmental conservation policies were already limiting access to grazing land and forests traditionally used by pastoralist communities during drought seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis whole business of carbon credit is now restricting our access to our forests, where we would go and graze cows during drought season,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ole Kina cautioned African governments against adopting climate policies driven by developed nations without considering local realities and economic consequences for vulnerable communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us not be lured by developed nations, the EU and the United States, that have high levels of methane emissions, to allow us to come up with policies that will destroy our way of life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His remarks sparked debate among scientists, policymakers and climate experts attending the seminar, with experts insisting that methane reduction efforts were not aimed at eliminating livestock but improving productivity and sustainability.<\/p>\n

Anderson Kehbila Research Director for Africa, and, Cluster Lead for Energy and Climate Change at SEI-Africa said scientists were exploring solutions that increase livestock productivity while lowering emissions rather than reducing herd sizes.<\/p>\n

Anderson Kehbila said improved livestock breeds and better animal management systems could help farmers increase productivity while lowering methane emissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cImproved breeds might even produce more than one or two cattles,\u201d Kehbila said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy having an improved breed that produces more flesh, more milk, you may actually have more productivity than the current conventional breed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Value addition <\/h2>\n

He said African governments should focus on transforming subsistence agriculture into market-driven systems capable of attracting private investment and increasing value addition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to look at the issue of adaptation from a sustainability perspective, looking at the environment, the social aspect, and economics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost often, economics is always missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Climate experts at the forum also emphasized that methane reduction could create economic opportunities through waste-to-energy projects, composting, biogas production and improved waste management systems.<\/p>\n

George Wamukoya, Team Leader \u2013 African Group of Negotiators Experts Support said African countries were prioritizing adaptation over mitigation and that methane reduction efforts should align with development goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfrica\u2019s priority is adaptation. Mitigation is a co-benefit,\u201d Wamukoya said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever we are doing, we must be promoting development.\u201d<\/p>\n

He acknowledged that public financing for climate action remained inadequate and called for stronger private sector involvement in methane mitigation initiatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur national budgets are not adequate for climate action,\u201d he said. \u201cWe must find creative ways of harnessing resources from all actors.\u201d<\/p>\n

The discussions formed part of the two-day seminar bringing together lawmakers, climate experts and development partners from across Africa to explore legislative approaches to methane reduction while balancing economic development and climate resilience<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 15 \u2013 Narok Senator Ledama Olekina has warned against climate policies that could undermine pastoralist communities, saying Africa must resist pressure to adopt methane reduction measures that threaten traditional livelihoods under the guise of climate action. Speaking during the Regional Parliamentary Seminar on Methane Emissions and Climate Action in Nairobi, Olekina said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141149\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}