About Ministry of Environment and Forestry - Kenya
The Ministry of Environment and Forestry was created vide Executive Order No. 1 of 2018 on the organization of government of Kenya. It is mandated to undertake National Environment Policy and Management, Forestry development policy and management, Development of re-afforestation and agro-forestry, Restoration of strategic water towers, Protection and conservation of Natural environment, Pollution control, Lake Victoria management programme, Restoration of Lake Naivasha basin, Kenya Meteorological department, Kenya meteorological training, Conservation and protection of wetlands and Climate change affairs.
The Ministry is committed to facilitating the enabling policies, legal and regulatory reforms for promoting sustainability of the environment and forest resources, while at the same time, mitigating the effects of climate change.
Strategic Objectives
In pursuit of the vision, and in line with the mission, the Ministry will focus on the following performance objectives:
1. Protect and manage the environment for sustainable development and posterity
2. Promote innovation and appropriate technologies for sustainable utilization of natural resources
3. Protect and restore forest ecosystem for the benefit of the present and future generation
4. Increase forest and tree cover to enhance social-economic benefits of the Kenyan people and healthy environment
5. To create enabling environment for good governance in environment and natural resources management
6. To strengthen institutional framework for efficient utilization of resources and effective service delivery
7. Promote research and innovations for enhanced environmental sustainability
8. Enhance climate change resilience and low emission development pathway in all economic sectors for sustainable development and posterity
9. Enhance the generation and dissemination of weather and climate information for early warning, planning and decision support
Guiding Principles:
This Strategic Plan (2018-2022) takes into cognizance that environment, and natural resources in the country are governed by the following principles:
A Right to a Clean and Healthy Environment: Every person in Kenya has a right to a clean and healthy environment and a duty to safeguard and enhance the environment.
A Right to Development: The right to development will be exercised taking into consideration the economic, social and environmental needs.
Ecosystem Approach: An integrated ecosystem approach to conserving environment and natural resources will be adopted and enhanced to ensure that all ecosystems are managed through a holistic approach while also providing a range of benefits to people.
Total Economic Value: The benefits that ecosystems generate will be integrated into the national accounting system, programmes and projects.
Sustainable Use: Environment and natural resources will be utilized in a manner that does not compromise the quality and value of the resource, or decrease the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems.
Public Participation and Inclusivity: A coordinated and participatory approach to environment and natural resources protection and management will be enhanced to ensure that the relevant government agencies, county governments, private sector, civil society and communities are involved in planning, implementation and decision making processes.
Subsidiarity: The management of the environment and natural resources will be through decentralization and devolution of authority and responsibilities at the lowest level possible.
Precautionary: Where there are credible threats of serious or irreversible damage to environment and forests, lack of full scientific certainty will not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent degradation.
The Polluter Pays Principle: The polluter and users of environmental and natural resources shall bear the full environmental and social costs of their activities.
International Cooperation: Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and regional instruments will be domesticated and implemented for better environmental management of shared environmental and forest resources.
Good Governance: Rule of law, effective institutions, transparency and accountability, respect for human rights and the meaningful participation of citizens will be integrated in environment and forest management.
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