Many of us reside in abodes that contain at least one source of fresh water, if not more; odds are, you are no more than 100 m from a sink or water fountain at this very moment. With our perpetual proximity to running water (and the numerous other attributes of life which divert our attentions from matters concerning global water distribution and conflict), we rarely consider that there are hundreds of thousands of individuals on this planet who lack the same sort of access we ourselves are party to. We do not have to come to arms with neighboring peoples to protect our water, to protect our livelihoods, and so we fail to recognize that, at this very moment, numerous groups half-way across the globe are at odds with one another over what we consider one of the most basic resources: water.
Involved Parties
Such is the situation between the Dassanech (Merile), Mursi, and Nyangatom of Ethiopia and the Turkana of Kenya. Historic dispute between these groups has, since 2009, become intimately related to the diminishing presence of water within the Elemi Triangle, the region of territory which falls within territories prior claimed by Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan, as explained by Circle of Blue in the article “Water Conflict: Violence Erupts Along Ethiopia’s and Kenya’s Water-Stressed Border.” This same article clarifies that the delineation between regions belonging to the Dassanech and Turkana peoples- theoretically separated by the border between Ethiopia and Kenya, falls along Lake Turkana and its tributary, the Omo River.
Transpirings
The seemingly clear delineation of the respective territories has become further muddied by the retreat of the shoreline of Lake Turkana, whose recession has been tracked since 1973. The direct track of the lake’s waning can be seen in the clip featured in the Yale Environment 360 article “When The Water Ends: Africa’s Climate Conflict” at 8 minutes and 50 seconds. Many resources agree that this natural phenomenon is the source of further discord between the pastoral groups of the Dassanech and Turkana. As a result of the fallback of Lake Turkana, the Dassanech peoples have followed the water to provide the supplies necessary to allow their livestock and peoples to survive. The result: the Dassanech peoples crossed Ethiopian border into Kenya and pushed into historic Turkana territory.
An article by The Irish Times entitled “In Kenya, Scarcity and Drought Are Causing Two Tribes to go to War” explains the actions resulting from these appropriations, detailing the range from torchings of tribe members’ abodes to multi-person death tolls. The Circle of Blue article referenced above clarifies, however, that the tribal issues detailed above are not full-fledged conflicts, which they correlate with rapid change that results in direct violence.
The impact and implications of governmental involvement in these happenings cannot be ignored, however, and each of the articles I utilized referenced the great impact which the construction of a three-dam system within the Omo River-Lake Turkana shall impart on the involved tribes. Development of the Gibe I, II, and III dams will further redirect water away from the areas inhabited by the tribes and will fuel future conflict due to the subsequent redistribution of water resources. The integral role of water in the agrarian-pastoral lifestyles of the tribes will clearly drive them to pursue the resource to permit the survival of their peoples and, with the involvement of the governmental authorities in the production of the Gibe dams for hydroelectric power, may result in more than mere tribal dispute.
Climate Connections
Regional and global scientific communities tie this prolific lessening of the body of water to changes in climate within the region. As directly stated within the E360 Yale article: “For the past 40 years at least, Lake Turkana has steadily shrunk because of increased evaporation from higher temperatures and a steady reduction in the flow of the Omo due to less rainfall, increased diversion of water for irrigation, and upstream dam projects.”
While no other direct delineations were made as per the cause of the lake’s diminish, other natural phenomenon within the region have indicated that the issues involving the lake are not isolated. The article further referenced a 2 degree-Fahrenheit increase in the temperature of the region as compared to 1960 and claimed that another temperature increase upwards of two degrees Fahrenheit is anticipated between 2010 and 2060.
Relevance
Although the short film and adjoining article produced by Yale have not been updated since 2010, their information continues to apply to the region and its inhabitants. The most recent of the articles I came across, published by The Irish Times, was published in 2016. At the time this article was written, the accounted-for death toll of the Turkana was 61, but precise values for the Dassanech were yet unknown by Kenya authorities.