Administrator
Website URL: http://friendsoflaketurkana.orgFriends of Lake Turkana is registered as a Community Trust and consists of a volunteer Executive Committee, which oversees the everyday functioning of the organization.
Dams
The WCD's final report describes an innovative framework for planning water and energy projects that is intended to protect dam-affected people and the environment, and ensure that the benefits from dams are more equitably distributed. The Citizen's Guide to the WCD summarizes key findings and describes how community groups can use the report to improve water and energy planning.
Click Here To Download Full WCD report PDF
Click Here To Download the Citizens Guide to WCD PDF
Workshop Reports
Integrating Environmental and Natural Resource Governance, Land and Socio-Cultural Rights – FoLT.
Discussions on oil, extractives, environmental governance and land rights and considerations of the various dynamics and impacts on opportunities and experiences.
About Gibe Projects
Gibe III Fact sheet – International Rivers.
EPPCO Project Summary
Impact Studies and Commentaries
Assessing the potential hydrological impact of the Gibe III Dam on Lake Turkana water level using multi-source satellite data.
An evaluation the impact of the Gibe III dam using three different approaches – a historical approach, a rainfall based approach, and a statistical approach to generate rainfall-runoff scenarios.
Downstream Impacts of Gibe Dam Cascade.
Why the dam threatens to destroy the livelihoods of the downstream population, concerns about the measures currently proposed to obviate this threat, and the global context of the impact on local people of large-scale infra-structural development projects.
Impacts of Gilgel Gibe III dam in the Turkana region
A report for a research project undertaken by Friends of Lake Turkana (FoLT) on behalf of Campagna per la Riforma della Banca Mondiale (CRBM) Lodwar 2009
Click Here To Download The Paper
The Gilgel Gibe Affair: An analysis of the Gilbel Gibe hydroelectric projects in Ethiopia
Campagna per la Riforma per la Banca Mondiale (CRBM) and CEE Bankwatch Network.
Click Here To Download The Paper
The Gilgel Gibe II hyrdoelectrocal pojects
A case of super-tied aid
Click Here To Download The Paper
A Commentary on the Environmental, Socioeconomic and Human Rights Impacts
of the Proposed Gibe III Dam in the Lower Omo River Basin of Ethiopia (2009)
The Gilgel Gibe Affair:
how states and corporations do business using international public money
Hydrological Impacts of Ethiopia's Omo Basin on Kenya's Lake Turkana Water Levels & Fisheries:
This report was undertaken for the African Development Bank, and presents a thoroughly
researched review of all the data previously published in connection with Lake Turkana’s
hydrology and fisheries.
Environmental and Social Management Plan – EPPCO
Lake Turkana and Lower Omo Hydrological Impacts - Executive Summary - October 2012
A report undertaken for the African Studies Centre of the University of Oxford
Click Here To Download The Paper .
Volume 1 of the African Studies hydrological impacts report
Click Here To Download The Paper .
Volume 2 of the African Studies hydrological impacts report
Click Here To Download The Paper .
Civil Society Action
Complaint letter to the African Development Bank by Friends of Lake Turkana.
Complaint letter to the African Development Bank from International Civil Society Organizations.
Kenya Parliament Motions
Thursday, 4th December, 2008;
Tuesday, 9th December, 2008;
Thursday, 11th December, 2008
Click Here To Download Motion I
Click Here To Download Motion II
Click Here To Download Motion III
Current Initiatives
Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) - For Indigenous Peoples, the Right of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is a requirement, prerequisite and manifestation of the exercise of their fundamental right to Self-determination as defined in international law. Free, Prior and Informed Consent is a fundamental underpinning of Indigenous Peoples’ ability to conclude and implement valid Treaties and Agreements with other parties, to exert sovereignty over their lands and natural resources, to develop and participate in processes that redress and correct violations, to accept any results that emerge from these processes, and to establish the terms and criteria for negotiations with States over any and all matters affecting them.
Citizens guide to World Commission on Dams (WCD) - This Citizens’ Guide to the World Commission on Dams is intended as a tool for people in their struggles for social justice and environmental protection. You can download the WCD Final Report and the Citizens Guide to WCD in our documents page.
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) - The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly on Thursday September 13, 2007. The Declaration is the most comprehensive statement of the rights of indigenous peoples ever developed, giving prominence to collective rights to a degree unprecedented in international human rights law. The adoption of this instrument is the clearest indication yet that the international community is committing itself to the protection of the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples.
The New Constitution of Kenya – The New Constitution in Kenya brings about decentralization and improved checks and balances which will in turn have a profound impact on Kenyan life by bringing government closer to the people, involving citizens (including women) more actively in decision-making, and enhancing transparency and accountability across all parts of government. However, there is a need for the citizens to understand the constitution thus an effort to translate the document to community languages to better their understanding of the constitution and their rights as well as a clear understanding of the framework of their participation in natural resource management.
Ongoing Programmes
Gibe III Campaign:
FoLT is currently undertaking a campaign to highlight to the Kenyan public, legislators, diplomatic missions, donor agencies, development partners and the world at large the possible dangers posed on the lake and its eco-system due to the Gibe III hydroelectric project, which has been deemed threatening to the biodiversity, livelihood, development, and national security in Northern Kenya by the Africa Resources Working Group (ARWG). To learn about the Environmental and Social Impacts of the Proposed Gibe III Hydroelectric Project in Ethiopia’s Lower Omo River Basin, Click Here.
Participatory Intergrated Conservation and Management of the Lake Turkana Basin
Funded by German and French Embassy - To establish cooperation among the local community, government agencies and non-governmental organizations, and the network of other communities in the Lake Turkana basin in pursuing biodiversity conservation and sustainable natural resource use and management. It would also raise the awareness of the local community about the importance of natural resource and environment conservation.
Resource governance
Governance is the key stone on sound natural resource management. its core principles- accountability; transparency, participation and rule of law should be at the heart at local, national, bi-lateral and multi-lateral levels to ensure decisions that affect natural resources and resource users are well informed and implemented equitably.
Oil Governance
With the recent discovery of oil in Turkana County, FoLT remains vigilant as part of our Resource Governance focus. International experience points to challenges which are often faced by resource-rich developing countries in translating mineral wealth into peace and prosperity. Friends of Lake Turkana has taken the mentle of educating the citizens of the oil exploration areas in order for them to take action and dispell the 'resource curse' of violent conflicts, environmental destruction, corruption, untold human hardship, displacements and a devastated future for entire communities. FoLT will also advocate for equitable distribution of oil wealth between the central government and Turkana County.
Read our perspective on oil in Kenya here...
Friends of Lake Turkana is the focal point for the East African Indigenous Peoples (IP) Think Tank which has a mission to increase public participation and promote fair debate on critical social, economic and environmental issues affecting indigenous peoples of East Africa in both national and international forums.
The goal is to work in coalitions and networks to strengthen social movements, especially as we forge multi-cultural, cross-border and cross-focus area alliances. As a think tank our work is unique (in that we are bringing new approaches to social change including the awareness of economic, social and cultural rights) as we work with grass roots indigenous constituencies and help bridge policy think tanks with activist networks and social movements and strengthen the solidarity and cooperation of indigenous organizations and communities in East Africa.
The think tank engages in 4 main areas of interrelated work to encourage indigenous participate in decision making on issues that affect their lives.
1. Movement and Organizational Strengthening- To facilitate and coordinate priority activities and the implementation of a set of programs as well as to carry out information dissemination work in order to strengthen indigenous women’s movements in East Africa.
2. Capacity Building - to assist the East African IP members and networks in strengthening their capacity and skills to address the challenges they face through building organizations, stronger collective leadership, and better organizational management.
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Community Organizers Training (COT)
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Leadership Training (LT)
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Advocacy Training
3. Indigenous Women- empowering the indigenous women through networking, education and capacity building activities. One of the objectives of this programme is to promote awareness of indigenous women’s rights for them to be able to effectively participate in decision making at all levels, from their communities, to the national, regional and international levels. It is imperative for the East African IP Think Tank to strengthen the mainstreaming of women’s issues and concerns and ensure greater engagement and participation of indigenous women in all the programme activities,
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to empower indigenous women groups and individuals to advocate and lobby for the recognition of women’s rights with a focus on violence against women (VAW) in the customary laws and in local legislation.
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trainings and support to the activities of indigenous women in awareness raising, advocacy, dialogues and community mobilizations in promoting indigenous women’s rights.
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assist indigenous women in overcoming their material poverty and in asserting their rights, and to contribute to sustainable development through supporting access to micro-finance and capacity building.
4. Research - This comparative research builds upon academic research and action-researchers in local networks; both indigenous and non-indigenous to critically inform debates on indigenous and customary rights in legislation and policy, both to facilitate local action platforms and to influence law- and policy-makers