Education, Awareness and Water

Jambo, unaendeleaje?

As I was discussing embeddedness in my last blog post, I found another notion in a reading which seemed entirely relevant, if not the same concept discussed in a different way: that of awareness. 

Ben Pages’ lecture last week heavily hinted towards the idea that community participation was very much tied to embedded politics and power legacies from past generations (such as colonialist practices lead by the United Kingdom - a sort of “do it yourself” approach -  which very much differed from French ones - a more centralised, nanny state one ). 

Awareness for me, is hence important at a local basis to understand water schemes and how to drive successful and inclusive community participation. Awareness of the history, the physical characteristics, the social values and norm of the community hosting or building a project…but also awareness at the intra community level of knowledge and application, awareness of techniques that can be learned, academic research, traditional knowledge, and what a Maasai friend I interviewed last week (to analyse his discourse on community participation) called 'professional help'. He’s the board director for a community-built Eco Lodge in Laikipia, Northern Kenya, on the Il Ngewsi conservancy. In many respects, the issues and thematics regarding conservation and water are the same: how do you manage the widlife/ water, and how do you do it in a fair and just way, whilst understanding that climate change is transforming the landscape, creating strong competiton for resources amongst individuals, local communities, wildlife and to an extent, international tourism “consuming” resources. 

2 things struck me whilst talking about community participation and development, which were echoed in today’s lecture on Climate Change. The huge issue in the region being tied to the severe ongoing drought. 

1. - He repeated many times the need for 'professionals' to assist them in the projects, to teach them management techniques on a constant basis.
2. - The stress on the land and tensions arising because of the late rains which 'have become unpredictable'. The objective of the Il Ngewsi Lodge is to secure revenue through risk mitigation and changing cultural practices of “milking cows” (Maasai are pastoralists)  by 'Milking the Rhino', also decreasing the pressure on the land and water exceed by high livestock populations. 

Something that characterises Kenya, like many Subsaharan African countries, is the lack of state enforcement, or at least a form of complacency exercised by the authorities who see communities managing on their own, supported bah private or international agencies. 

Yet, I believe at the very least, a way forward would be integrating and creating degrees in universities related to climate change, water governance, irrigation engineering, etc at a higher educational level, but also focus on creating dynamic, interactive environmentally aware modules in primary and secondary schools. This is to ensure children gain understanding at an early age of the stakes revolving around water and other key environmentally related topic, making them "water conscious" or "environmentally aware. Tourism revenues from Il Ngwesi lodge fund bursaries to send local children to school. To quote my Maasai interviewee, “this little girl went to high school thanks to wildlife”. 

An example related to water is that of Namibia, where Namibian children grow up learning and becoming accustomed to understanding Integrated Water Resource Management*. Although I am sceptical of the theory itself as a model, I believe it is very much useful as a guide, or a philosophy to follow. Hence, a resource package is developed in national curriculums to develop awareness related to water. At a time where groundwater exploitation is becoming very much key to ensuring water security and quality, new engineering techniques and models could arise at local levels by these  generation of students who wish to implement change at national and local scales. 

This is arguable of course, because what guarantees education will change embedded social practices? Or that once individuals who have received education will stay in the village they grew up in / return to the village after university? The stakes are important, but I still believe any educated individual would have a better chance at demanding change and better governmental steer (see my second blog post on the importance behind this meaning). 

Thanks for reading :) Kwaheri 

* V. Ward, D. Du Toit, T. Squazzin (1994). Water in Namibia: A resource package to develop awareness of water. Desert Research Foundation of Namibia, Windhoek