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Contribution short abstract

Climate change increases food insecurity in Kenya’s arid regions. Maasai women face climate impacts and land access struggles. Study explored how indigenous /contemporary knowledge, including fire management, supports adaptation, resilience and food security to recommend policies and intervention.

Contribution long abstract

Climate change is intensifying hazards worldwide, increasing the risk of food insecurity. In Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions, rising temperatures, recurrent droughts, shifting rainfall patterns, and growing land pressure have heightened vulnerabilities among pastoral communities. Maasai women are disproportionately affected, experiencing not only climate impacts but also historical and contemporary struggles over land access, resource rights, and governance systems that determine who controls land, how it is used, and who benefits.

Fire governance the rules and practices guiding fire use in rangeland management has emerged as a key area of contestation. Traditionally, Maasai communities employed controlled burning to regenerate pasture, prevent bush encroachment, protect livestock, and support food systems. Colonial and post-colonial policies, however, often criminalized these practices, undermining indigenous land management, reducing pasture availability, and intensifying the burden on women, who manage household food, water, and livestock.

This study investigates how Maasai women’s indigenous and contemporary knowledge informs climate adaptation within the context of fire governance and contested land access. Drawing on systematic literature review and case studies from pastoral counties, it examines the evolution of fire policies, their interaction with customary land tenure, and their implications for women’s agency, livelihood resilience, and food security.

Findings indicate that excluding traditional knowledge and community participation exacerbates land degradation, conflict, and food insecurity, particularly for women. The study recommends incorporating indigenous fire knowledge into policy, enhancing women’s decision-making roles, and aligning contemporary land-use systems with traditional pastoral practices to promote resilience, equitable land access, and sustainable livelihoods for Maasai women.