withstand the impacts of climate change and disasters in both Isiolo and Mandera. One of the noted ways the communities deal with drought is through improved governance of the rangelands, reviewing rules of access and control during periods of drought, to reduce pressure on pasture and reduce conflict. Further information on the losses associated with natural events helped position the municipalities to develop a municipality-specific economic vision that would facilitate more public and private sector investment in urban resilience.
The SUED team held a series of conversations with the residents in the Isiolo and Mandera municipalities to learn more about the climate change and related socio-economic impacts that they experienced. SUED was keen to integrate the young people in these municipalities in the UEP development process to position them to engage in future climate proofing and helping to ensure that proposed solutions resonated with the young residents. The discussions helped our team design a climate risk assessment within development decisions while integrating social inclusion of often marginalised groups, including women and People Living with Disabilities (PLwD).
Below are some of the ways SUED incorporated the voices of the youth into the programme:
Integrated stakeholder management: Before starting the UEP development process, our team wanted to invest in steering conversations on urban resilience from previous development trends of recovery and reconstruction post-disaster. We needed fresh ideas and who better to reach out to than the youth in the supported municipalities, who were disproportionately impacted by the disasters and the effects of climate change. The programme ensured that all its stakeholder workshops included young people who represented the voices of the future and were not afraid of sharing dissenting opinions. SUED continued to emphasise the need to have conversations on smart-climate solutions which were openly embraced by the more youthful attendees.
Climate change awareness: SUED embedded support information within UEPs on the impacts of climate change that the municipalities were experiencing, and shared case studies from across the globe on how other countries were adapting to climate change in their regions. For example, in Mandera’s UEP development, the programme shared lessons from Mozambique on how women and the youth were engaged in within the value chain with emphasis on the need for the youth to gain information on conservation efforts to increase agricultural production. By having examples that the youth in Mandera could easily reference, the programme was able to glean from them what they would like see replicated in their county to increase their economic base. The UEP development process also sought to empower the youth to build skills to help them identify climate change exposure and sensitivity and link project activities to the context of climate vulnerability. This included looking at their unique socioeconomic conditions and geographical location and reflecting on how they could enhance climate resilience.
Integrating climate finance in its support: In Isiolo and Mandera the programme identified the need for climate smart urban infrastructure development that would need significant investment. Through its technical assistance, the programme has helped the youth see how to position themselves to work closely with the county and municipal leadership to benefit from investment in resilience-increasing activities. The youth within the two counties now better understand why there is need to prioritise climate-adaptive urban infrastructure investments and can advocate for them to their county leadership.
Building local government capacity: Within its support, SUED provides technical assistance through trainings, mentorship and on-the-job trainings to build the capacity of local government officials to better position them to take advantage of private investment in urban resilience. The municipal boards in the supported municipalities now comprise youth representatives wh