How Rift Valley lakes are snatching democracy

The lakes are displacing thousands, and rendering property worth millions of shillings useless.

By Lynet Otieno 2 months ago

COP30 should enable Africa beat climate crisis

An ugly bloody incident occurred in Belem, Brazil, this week, as protesters breached security and forced themselves into the priority Blue Zone at the COP30 venue.

By Lynet Otieno 2 months ago

COP30: Africa must push for climate solutions, not lip service

Africa deserves better funding than what it is getting. The continent needs more money for clean energy adaptation, not for more fossil fuel projects.

By Lynet Otieno 2 months ago

Even in its stillness, a fallen giant tree still gives

In their silence, fallen trees gain their respect for the storms they helped weather. Meanwhile, they inspire the start of a new life, or a renewal.

By Lynet Otieno 3 months ago

Engage children at all levels in climate justice

If children could be given room to play in the rain, they always would, because it is fun.

By Lynet Otieno 3 months ago

Africa is not asking for favours from the UN

Africa grapples with climate change, food security, disease, war and water stress, among others, not by choice, but circumstance.

By Lynet Otieno 4 months ago

Bamboo is unsung hero in conservation efforts

A few months ago, as I headed West, I detoured to buy tree seedlings from a nameless ranch somewhere in Narok, Kenya, to gift my hosts

By Lynet Otieno 4 months ago

Geneva plastic treaty failure calls for innovation

A few days ago, as I approached our bin area to throw waste, I noticed a man had been allowed in by a sympathetic guard, and he was picking plastics.

By Lynet Otieno 5 months ago

Policies are great, but involving citizens works

Proper and integrated planning, as well as deeper community participation, have led to implementation of more than 150 climate adaptation projects.

By Lynet Otieno 5 months ago

Demanding ecological justice is a form of worship

Faith leaders must speak to power locally and globally, holding them accountable for fair resource governance, equitable borrowing, and just taxation.

By Lynet Otieno 5 months ago

Africa has what it needs to achieve food security

In a continent bedeviled with conflict in smaller, but key areas, with a humanitarian crisis we have chosen to ignore, hunger and disease and migration, remain Africa's daily worries.

By Lynet Otieno 6 months ago

ICJ's opinion on climate responsibility is spot on

Something good happened in The Hague this week. It came with a momentum worth keeping in the fight for climate justice locally and beyond.

By Lynet Otieno 6 months ago

AI, youth Africa's best allies in climate action

I recently attended a two-day African religious leaders' training that touched on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) risks and opportunities in pastoral work.

By Lynet Otieno 6 months ago

Africa paying price of delayed climate funding

Wealthy nations pledged to mobilise at least $789 million. However, only $348 million has so far been raised and disbursed.

By Lynet Otieno 6 months ago

G20's political will key to Africa's climate fight

Africa must exert pressure to ensure G20 countries commit to substantially cutting GHG emissions and adequately mobilise climate funds for the sake of developing countries.

By Lynet Otieno 6 months ago

Climate action with fairness is the real deal

The chorus is familiar: Africa suffers some of the worst climate disasters despite being the least contributor to the cause, an unsustainable rate at which the globe is warming.

By Lynet Otieno 7 months ago

If you control land use, you determine food safety

Land related stories hit headlines when disputes get deadly. And they are many. Even blood brothers kill for it. The recent killing of a family of nine in Siaya was due to a land dispute.

By Lynet Otieno 7 months ago

Adaptation funds must up Africa food security

A recent visit to the village gave me hope, for once, that there may be better harvest this year.

By Lynet Otieno 7 months ago

Adaptation should protect male fertility

There are days the government advises people to stay indoors as much as possible during the day to minimise effects of heatwaves.

By Lynet Otieno 8 months ago

Last year's Mai Mahiu tragedy was preventable

One year on, families in Mai Mahiu are still reeling from the pain of losing or missing loved ones in a flash flood.

By Lynet Otieno 8 months ago

New climate plan must be alive to usual hurdles

New climate plan must be alive to usual hurdles.

By Lynet Otieno 9 months ago

Climate action must guarantee safety and justice

I "made it" to the North-Eastern part of Kenya last November to train teams on identifying impact stories for the projects they had engaged

By Lynet Otieno 9 months ago

Earth Day is a reminder of our duty to nature

Earth Day serves as a powerful call to cherish and protect the natural world

By Lynet Otieno 9 months ago

How climate change has fuelled a health crisis

To the common man, climate change may mean just extreme weather, usually characterised by floods or drought.

By Lynet Otieno 9 months ago

Prioritise loss and damage grants to communities

A proposal by the UN fund on loss and damage suggests prioritising governments in their disbursement of money to reduce risks and respond to climate-induced loss and damage.

By Lynet Otieno 9 months ago

Are second-hand clothes charity or pollution?

African nations should collectively demand quality checks to ensure the second-hand clothes shipped in are devoid of waste.

By Lynet Otieno 10 months ago

Climate: Gains, gaps and urgency for action

Strengthen early warning systems at the meteorological department to mitigate impact of floods and droughts so that the 2023 and 2024 happenings do not recur.

By Lynet Otieno 10 months ago

Women are key change agents, not just victims

The IIWD being marked today, just aligned at a different three-hour IWD precursor event later, the general focus was on women as victims of GBV.

By Lynet Otieno 10 months ago

Producers too responsible for waste management

To facilitate compliance, the government, working with private sector stakeholders, must invest in awareness and capacity-building initiatives on the true value of waste.

By Lynet Otieno 11 months ago

Research synergy key for climate-nutrition action

As a child in the mid-90s, while adjusting to life in semi-arid lands back home, the reality of food insecurity hit hard

By Lynet Otieno 11 months ago

African children can thrive amid climate chaos

Announcements to effect that schools had to delay opening due to serious flooding was the highlight of the link between extreme weather and education.

By Lynet Otieno 1 year ago

Premium

Africa can't afford climate backsliders today

President Donald Trump's 2017 Executive Order to pull America out of the 2015 Paris Agreement sent a chilling message to Africa.

By Lynet Otieno 1 year ago

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Where do monkeys get audacity to bite people?

That monkeys now bite humans and cause bodily harm is surreal. Yet 15 cases of monkey attacks have been reported in Trans-Nzoia.

By Lynet Otieno 1 year ago

Tame silent sandy plunder in Lake Victoria

While Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania governments have laws to tame illegal sand mining, enforcement must increase and corruption decisively dealt with.

By Lynet Otieno 1 year ago

Justice is needed for persons with albinism

The plight of persons with disabilities rarely crosses the mind when considering effects of climate change on health or basic human rights.

By Lynet Otieno 1 year ago

Africa's opportunity in taming a warming world

The period between 2015 and 2024 could be the warmest decade ever recorded, as global temperatures surged to 1.54C from January to September 2024, above pre-industrial levels.

By Lynet Otieno 1 year ago

Why training is key to taming biodiversity loss

Equipping graduates with skills to sustainably manage aquatic ecosystems is a sure means to biodiversity conservation and economic empowerment.

By Lynet Otieno 1 year ago

Reverent politics key to climate action

The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) has used the Faith Pavilion at the COP29 to advance its calls for justice for the least contributors to the climate crisis, but who are worst affected.

By Lynet Otieno 1 year ago

Why your bank should shun fossil fuel projects

There is no difference between banks that fund projects that increase carbon emissions and the Global North which has developed with the help of fossil fuels.

By Lynet Otieno 1 year ago

Why a loss and damage fund is crucial for LREB

After loss and damage, building back better post-disaster is best. The devolved governments must ensure limited massive losses, including that of disrupted ecosystems.

By Lynet Otieno 1 year ago