In brutal drought, Kenyan herders look for hope underground

A boy tends to camels as they water in Kom village, Samburu County, Kenya. Drought in the region is worsening due to climate change. [AP]

Africa has 72 giant aquifers that are largely untapped, scientists say. Some farming and pastoral communities in these regions already rely on wells, using digging by hand and with solar-powered equipment.

"This is a game-changer," said Edwin Macharia, the director of programs for the aid agency Mercy Corps in Ethiopia.

Other regions of the world provide cautionary tales of how the misuse of groundwater can make situations worse.

"Not to say it should not be exploited," said Philip Wandera, former director of the Kenya Wildlife Service and now a range-management lecturer at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. But, he said, "Groundwater is not a quick-fix answer for the current drought ... if you have been poor managers of surface water, it means you are likely to do the same with groundwater."

Only 3 per cent of the total cultivated land in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated land, according to the U.N. Only 5 per cent of that land is irrigated with groundwater.

Groundwater exploration and construction are impossible without financing. Many countries outside Africa had enough money to create groundwater databases and hydrogeological maps in the 1980s.

"Smallholder farmers who make up most food producers on the continent," badly need irrigation technology, said Agnes Kalibata, who heads the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.

The U.N. says that, despite concerns about groundwater, the continent's resources are largely unaffected by climate change.

"Millions of people don't have enough safe, clean water to meet their daily needs, let alone face the climate crisis," said Tim Wainwright the chief executive of WaterAid in the United Kingdom. "Governments, along with the private sector, should use COP27 to agree on investments in responsible groundwater use, along with clear management guidelines to harness it."

Those in Samburu can't wait much longer, with many herders on the brink of losing everything.

"I have lost 30 cows in a span of two weeks and if it continues like this we will lose many more. Our women and children are also severely affected," said 30-year-old herder Lemerwas Limayo. "Drought ravages all living things."