Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1382673,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1382673/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 169,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tinderet, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Julius Melly",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I want to salute Hon. Haro for bringing this timely Motion. The Motion requires that we develop several policies, programmes and laws that are going to address the issues of climate change. Climate change is happening and we cannot wish it away. Mother Earth takes care of our lives. If we do not take care of the Earth and the natural resources thereon to ensure that they remain in the same state we found them, it will really be harsh to us and our future generations. Hon. Mutunga has taken us through the nitty-gritties of climate change and what the Government needs to do about it. He talked about scientific programmes and monitoring systems that can be put in place to collect data on climate behaviour. I want to speak to three or four issues. Firstly, there is the issue of government policy on climate change and monitoring. Hon. Haro has pointed out that the traditional modes of monitoring weather patterns are no longer effective. It cannot help us to determine how the changes happen in various areas across this country. Our country has recently launched its first operational satellite into space, and we need to utilise it adequately by reporting on issues of climate changes taking place in various parts of this country. That is very important. Secondly, relying on traditional modes of observation is no longer tenable. The instruments are not very accurate. It might be hard to determine the actual damage caused by climate change. Thirdly, we need to ensure that proper policies are in place. When such policies are in place, we are able to predict the vagaries of nature like floods and drought and mitigate their effects on our people. A few months ago, thousands of livestock died due to drought. This has happened in this country in a cyclic manner. People lost their livelihoods. The economy was affected. Families in the ASAL areas were traumatised because they lost all their livestock. If climate monitoring had been put in place, such effects could have been reduced or stopped. Climate change also affects the economy. The Government’s failure to monitor and give proper information on time made people lose their livestock and we had to restock. This affects our economy in a negative way. There is also the issue of floods. As we speak, there are heavy rains in the western region and the central parts of the Rift, which are causing flooding in the lake region. This has affected families and has brought flood-related diseases. The Government did not have enough mechanism to predict this and move people to safe areas. The weather patterns have changed because of climate change. Right now, farmers cannot even predict the best season to plant. Nowadays, when we expect short rains, we get long rains and vice versa. Climate monitoring is very important in all aspects of life such as agriculture, economic development and national security. On issues to with national security, as we speak, the North Rift region is experiencing issues related to climate change. There is no adequate pasture and this has made pastoralists to The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"
}