By Matilda Atieno
The county government in partnership with Expertise France under the Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action (SEACAP) project, organized a workshop to enlighten stakeholders on the progress of the SEACAP development process.
The one-day workshop facilitated by UHAI Lake Forum focused on providing guidelines to the stakeholders on the SEACAP project, highlighting the role of managers and key stakeholders in the SEACAP process as well as sharing the update on the data collection progress and reports since its inception.
Kisumu becomes one of the counties after Nakuru to undertake the survey on Kenyan baseline emission information that will reflect on the local situation in terms of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the county, having been a signatory to the CoMSSA agreement that ratified the commitment to address climate change through the implementation of the Kisumu integrated climate and energy actions. The contract is a long-term agreement targeting; access to energy, climate mitigation and climate adaptation.
Speaking on behalf of the chief officer for Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, Maryline Agwa, Director Dan Ongor in the opening remarks reaffirmed the department’s commitment towards the climate actions being undertaken by the county through the SEACAP project.
The chief officer stated that the project is timely as it supports climate action and energy access plans for the county through the ongoing data collection process that will provide evidence for the development of the Climate Change Action Plan.
The speakers expressed concerns about the current frequent climate change being experienced in the county and the world over that are expected to intensify thereby causing significant impact.
The training brought together multisectoral partners who expressed their commitment to ensuring the availability of data in order to realize strategic approaches in prioritizing climate change actions.
The idea of strong governance and stakeholder involvement was also discussed as a key component to achieving SEACAP in the county. The stakeholders called on the SEACAP project implementation to consider awareness creation through local radio forums targeting Kisumu residents.
Also present was the County Director Climate Change Mr. Evans Gichana, Caroline Sawe and Vincent Ondieki of SEACAP project.
