Our work is to:

 Fighting to address the disproportionate effects of environmental degradation, climate change and unjust energy solutions on indigenous communities, and other marginalized groups through building power within the communities. Climate change, environmental degradation and unjust energy solutions threaten community lives and livelihoods and especially those of women and children. FoLT employs its efforts in solidarity with the local, indigenous, and global movements to address the vulnerability of especially women, children, and indigenous populations.Addressing Environmental and climate Justice is a critical part of the struggle for local and indigenous communities. Our goal is to hold governments and corporations accountable, defend EHRDs, promote environmental protection through education, policy advocacy, community awareness and legal action.

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• Save Lake Turkana -Lake Turkana is the largest desert lake in the world and has existed in some form for nearly four million years. Now, the lake itself, along with the 300,000 people that depend on it for survival, are increasingly vulnerable. The United Nations cultural agency (UNESCO) put the Lake, on its list of endangered World Heritage Sites because of the “disruptive effects” of the Gibe dams and irrigated sugar plantations over Kenya’s northern border in 2018. Although the community has spoken up on the importance of the lake, the Kenyan and Ethiopian governments have done little to protect it. As part of the community within the basin, FoLT continues to work with and for the community to collect new data and raise awareness on the vulnerability of the lake and the people that depend on it through litigation, lobbying, online campaigns and building Beach Management Units and community capacity on conservation.
• Community Environmental Monitoring -Through interactive community based monitoring there is increased potential for collection and interpretation of real time data through innovation.
• Energy Justice - We advocate for the right for communities to choose their own sustainable energy sources. We are supporting national and local efforts in fighting against the coal plant in Lamu through joint advocacy and policy efforts with local and global partners in the anti-coal and energy justice movement.
• Climate change and projects/Energy assessments and tracking - In the Lake Turkana Basin, there has been increased awareness on climate change but limited understanding on how the various infrastructure and industrial projects in the region such as Oil production and Development, Geothermal Explorations and Road Constructions have increased the effects of climate change. These impacts are heightened due to negligible involvement of the affected community members in planning processes and weak implementation of the various laws governing the project.

 FoLT works towards securing land and territory within the Turkana basin against land grabbing by multinational corporations, the state, and powerful individuals. FoLT seeks to defend the region’s cultural lands, rivers, lakes, and other pillars of their identity: autonomy, community solidarity, and indigenous knowledge.

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• Reclaiming Communities right to Free Prior Informed Consent - Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) is a specific right that pertains to communities and is recognised in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). It allows them to give or withhold consent to a project that may affect them or their territories. FoLT works with other stakeholders and the community to translate and conceptualize the constitution with the realities on the ground to ensure the community get to make informed decisions and understand their position and role in the management of resources in their territories.
• LTWP Project with IDS -One of the most controversial land cases is that of the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project (LTWP). The LTWP is to be located along 162 km2 of ancestral lands of the Turkana, Rendile and Borana communities (Loyangalani district, Marsabit County). As almost all indigenous communities’ lands in Kenya, this territory is classified as “trust land”, where certain communal rights are considered, but local authorities retain the powers for their own use. Since 2005-2006 local governments started to grant rights over the territory to Lake Turkana, a company registered in Kenya but owned by a joint-development group including British, Dutch, Norwegian and Denmark companies and public funds for developing countries. As other renewable energy investments in Kenya, the Lake Turkana project does not recognize local pastoralist communities as “indigenous peoples”, avoiding the most stringent safeguard policies required by investors (IEWA, 2013). Although the Letter of Allotment that privatized community lands was issued in 2009, communities did not know about it until 2014 through the effort of activists and the cooperation of some members of the County Assembly. In this context, Marsabit communities organized to form a resistance network called “Sarima Indigenous Peoples’ Land Forum”. A lawsuit was filed in October 2014 at the Meru High Court to nullify the tiles and return to the original status as “community land”. Communities also raised objections to what the company was presenting as “community consultations”, and denounced co-optation of local elites and creating division among tribes.
• Securing migratory and user rights - a)Rangelands mapping b)FAO project
• Climate change and projects/Energy assessments and tracking - Maintaining the health of Lake Turkana is critical for the future of fisherfolk and the planet. Yet, Lake Turkana is suffering from the compounding threats of catastrophic projects in the Omo delta , overfishing, pollution and climate change. The fisheries livelihood is dependent on productivity of the lake’s ecosystem. We advocate for the sustainable marine and fisheries of fisherfolk and the communities not only for the communities but also for the productivity of the lake.Policy development & Advocacy to sustain fisheries within L.Turkana is key to the fisheries livelihood and the health of the lake. FoLT’s efforts to effectively connect an intimate understanding of fishing and the fishing business with regulatory approaches, advocates for effective collaboration between science, regulators and fisherfolks participation in stewardship. Education and Awareness - BMU’s, county Regulation to ensure protection

Governing resources for effectiveness, equity and sustainability. Governance of resources both natural, human and fiscal often fails to deliver adequately for citizens on sustainable use, justice and improved wellbeing. The barriers whether intended or not of decision making structures and processes that determine the management of these resources and who benefits from them or not continue to deny citizens effective, fair and equitable development.

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• Demanding Transparency & Accountability in resource investments -The work aims to advocate for transparency and accountability around natural, human and fiscal resource use and development in the Turkana basin. The resource based development and investment continues to be marred by a Lack of Contract Disclosure and transparency on project developments. FoLT works to reclaim the sovereignty of the community in negotiations and decision making through empowering communities to demand for information and disclosure of contracts/agreements before project implementation..
• Strengthening Meaningful Public participation -Increased women, youth and PWD participation in decision making, holding leaders to account and political representation.
• Advocating for programs and policies that promote indigenous led solutions to address growing socio economic inequality