
Samburu, Laikipia, Isiolo and Marsabit Counties in Northern Kenya are home to some of the world’s most iconic wildlife and stunning landscapes. The region is also home to a way of life that has sustained pastoralist communities for centuries – a way of life that is now under threat from climate change, pastoralism and land rights. The Pastoralist Alliance for Resilience and Adaptation in Northern Rangelands (PARAN) is a regional alliance of 5 organisations working in Laikipia, Isiolo, Marsabit to secure pastoralist land rights and strengthen climate change resilience and adaptation by improving community-based natural resource management and building social movements and coalitions. PARAN was established in 2016 with the aim of ensuring that the voices of pastoralist communities are heard in the debate on climate change and land rights. Since then, PARAN has been at the forefront of advocating for the recognition of the rights of pastoralists to their lands, livelihoods and way of life. The formation of PARAN has improved our regional outlook and approach in movement building and increased our power base to advocate and engage in policy dialogue in resilience building and promotion of rights-based approaches in our programming. In 2018, PARAN was awarded a grant from Oxfam to fund the alliance’s project titled – ‘Securing Pastoralist Land Rights and Strengthening Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation by Improving Community Based Natural Resource Management and Building Social Movements and Coalitions’. The project is jointly implemented by the 5 alliance members who work in Laikipia, Isiolo, Marsabit. The project aims to build the capacity of local community-based organisations to secure land rights for pastoralist communities and to lobby and advocate for policies and practices that will improve climate change resilience and adaptation in the region. In 2019, PARAN will continue its work to support local communities in their efforts to secure their land rights and build their resilience to the effects of climate change.