A/HRC/4/32/Add.3 page 13 sustainability of their community. They also demand to be granted an annual licence for the hippo hunt, which is a rite of passage in the lives of young males and a big cultural event for the whole community. 41. These and other hunter-gatherer communities constitute the most marginalized communities in Kenya, and require urgent government attention to guarantee their enjoyment of basic human rights. The Government is currently developing an Indigenous Planning Framework for the Western Kenya Community-Driven Development and Flood Mitigation Project and the Natural Resource Management Project “to improve social welfare, enhance living standards and promote the sustainable use of water, land, forests and other natural resources through support of small-scale initiatives among the Ogiek and Sengwer. The purpose of the Framework is to ensure that the development process fully respects the dignity, human rights, economies, and culture of indigenous peoples” (Office of the President, draft, December 2006). D. Environmental rights 42. Indigenous peoples’ reliance on natural resources and their disproportionate poverty make them more vulnerable to the effects of environmental threats such as cyclical droughts and floods, deforestation, soil erosion and pollution, which turn into major human rights concerns. One of the most pressing issues faced by nomadic pastoralists is access to water in ASALs, which is exacerbated by recurrent drought and inadequate government responses as well as the privatization of water points. 43. The El Molo and Turkana, who depend on Lake Turkana for their subsistence, have witnessed the rapid drying out of the lake as a result of prolonged drought and the damming of the tributary rivers, leading to the depletion of fish and increasing intercommunal conflicts. Similarly, the West Borana, dependent on the Wuaso Ngiro River, suffer the effects of the diminishing volume and pollution of the river due to over-abstractions for agriculture upstream. 44. The Munyayaya are affected by the construction of seven hydroelectric dams along the Tana River. Their farms, houses and animals are washed away as a result of the electrical company’s release of water from the dams, caused by heavy rains that rapidly increase the volumes of the water in the dams, forcing them to relocate during some periods. Similar mega-development projects threaten the livelihood of pastoralist communities, such as the Turkwel Hydroelectric project in Turkana District and the proposed Tana Delta sugar project. 45. Gem mining in the Endorois’ traditional lands around Lake Turkana has polluted the river Sandai, on which they depend for their subsistence. Similarly, the Maasai of Laikipia denounce the environmental degradation caused by the extracting of soda from the Magadi deposits, and demand participation and an equal share of the benefits. Flower farms across the Maasai landscape severely limit access to necessities like water, grass and saltlicks, especially those erected around the shores of Lake Naivasha. Dumping of toxic waste has also been denounced in Wajir and Marsabit, owing to the adverse effects this has on pastoralist grazing areas.