Effectiveness of the policy framework for climate change interventions at county government level: case of Makueni County Government, Kenya
Date
2024
Authors
Ndirangu, Y. N.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
Globally, the glaring and unprecedented effects of climate change and pollution on different environments are of key concern to civil society and regional and state governments worldwide. The devolved units in Kenya face severe capacity and resource gaps, such that climate change continues to rank low on their political agenda. Despite having a recently amended national climate policy, Kenya still struggles to align national strategies with county planning and actions. This study intends to analyze the effectiveness of the policy framework for climate change interventions at the county government level, using the case of the Makueni County government, Kenya. The study objectives are: i) to analyze the extent to which county legal frameworks formulated for climate change interventions have been implemented in Makueni County; ii) to examine the effectiveness of county policy making in implementing climate change interventions in Makueni County; iii) to investigate the level of awareness about climate change interventions among Makueni County residents; and iv) to evaluate differences in funding for climate change interventions in Makueni County. The development of a Theory of Change (ToC) guided the study in designing plausible measures to limit climate change. This research adopted pragmatism as the underpinning philosophy, applying a positivist, quantitative research method approach. The quantitative research method principally assisted in gathering quantitative data to explain the phenomena under study. The target population of the study was the residents of Makueni County. Yamane's (1973) formula was used to reach a sample size of 287 participants consisting of local administrators, county assembly members, county executive, national government representatives, and other environment stakeholders. The data collection tools were structured questionnaires for local administrators, face-to-face interviews with county executive committee members, county assembly members, and other leaders, and focus group discussions with the local administrators. SPSS version 24.0 was used to generate descriptive statistics of the different phenomena and to undertake regression analysis to model the effectiveness of the legal framework on climate change interventions in Makueni County. If effectively implemented, these legal frameworks as formulated should have a strong and positive effect on climate change interventions. The study found that the Makueni County legal framework for climate change interventions had been to a large extent ineffectively implemented. The findings also showed that county policymaking processes have been inadequate although positive strides have begun to be taken. Moreover, while the level of awareness about climate change interventions among local administrators is low to moderate, the level of awareness among county leaders and environmental experts is high in Makueni County. An increased level of awareness about climate change has a significant positive influence on implementation of climate change interventions in Makueni County. Variations in funding towards climate change were most influential in the implementation of climate change interventions in Makueni County. Thus, targeting of increased climate change funding will likely have a significant positive influence on the implementation of climate change interventions in Makueni County. The study concluded that the Financing Locally Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) process at Makueni county government is an effective way to climate action. The study recommends that the County Government of Makueni actively and strategically mainstream its legal frameworks related to climate change and align these with the relevant national and international environmental laws in order to create a seamless implementation that will lead to positive climate change interventions at the local level.
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Citation
Ndirangu, Y. N. (2024). Effectiveness of the policy framework for climate change interventions at county government level: Case of Makueni County Government, Kenya [Strathmore University]. http://hdl.handle.net/11071/15530