nepad planning and coordinating agency · are statements in support of water conservation/water...

NEPAD PLANNING AND COORDINATING AGENCY _________________________________________________________________________________

Overview of the:

POLICY, LEGISLATIVE AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS FOR

SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR IN KENYA

KENYA COUNTRY REPORT

February 2016

________________________________________________________________________________________ Policy and Institutional Frameworks for SLM in Kenya ii

Overview of the:

Policy, Legislative and Institutional Frameworks for

Sustainable Land Management in the Public Sector in Kenya

Procurement Number: NPCA/POLICYREVIEW/TERRAF/001/2015

Submitted to:

TERRAFRICA PROJECT NEPAD PLANNING AND COORDINATING AGENCY

P.O. Box 218 Midrand, Midrand 1685, Gauteng, Johannesburg, South Africa

4th February 2016 Prepared by: Bancy M. Mati Resource Plan Mombasa Road, Vision Plaza, 2nd floor, suite 20 P.O. Box 59890 - 00200 Nairobi, Kenya

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Assessment of Policy & Institutional Frameworks for SLM in Kenya ii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This Report outlines the findings of the assessment of the Policy, Legislative and Institutional Frameworks impacting on Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in the Public Sector in Kenya. The assessment was conducted between October-December 2015. It was advised by a thorough review of existing umbrella and sectoral policy, legal, and institutional frameworks governing the work of government agencies involved in land management and combating degradation. The sources of information were documents from Government Ministries e.g. Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MENR), Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Development (MoALF), Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI), Ministry of Planning and Vision 2030, NEMA, WRMA and other Semi-autonomous Governments agencies (SAGAs), bilateral and multilateral organizations, research institutes, NGOs active in the sector, and sources such as libraries and the internet. The assessment sought to identify; (i) the gaps in technical capacity to support SLM in the targeted government institutions, (ii) Strengths and weaknesses regarding the current policy, legislative, and institutional framework for SLM among public sector agencies in Kenya, making determinations as to the adequacy of the above instruments and arrangements in promoting and attaining SLM, and (iii) the extent to which SLM considerations are incorporated into macro-economic policies and recommendations for mainstreaming SLM in the relevant legislations, policies and institutional frameworks. A total of 89 documents covering the national laws, policies, strategies, institutional frameworks, development plans and statutes relevant to SLM in the public sector in Kenya were reviewed. Also reviewed alongside these, were other documents, reports and literature that provided the background on Kenya, technical and socio-economic perspectives and other important information. It was found that a very large number of laws, policies, strategies, development plans and Institutional frameworks exist each having reference to land degradation and SLM. Due to the ICT penetration in Kenya, a majority of these documents can be obtained from the internet. It was found that there is a lot of overlap in jurisdictions and duplication of efforts across Ministries and sectors, each of which address certain aspects of SLM. For instance whereas there are statements in support of water conservation/water harvesting, few Government Departments have put resources to its implementation, and the few that do, implement mostly large infrastructure developments, e.g. dams, as stipulated by MTP-II. Small-scale water harvesting and conservation efforts have received little/isolated funding, yet these are more cost effective in achieving SLM. Despite so many Laws, Policies, Strategies and Action Plans, gaps still exist in how the SLM interventions are addressed. Since 2013, Kenya adopted the devolved system of Government, yet a large number of laws and policies have not been harmonized with the new Constitution (2010) and Vision 2030. Other emerging issues such as invasive species, biopiracy and insecurity are not adequately captured in current policy, legislation and institutional frameworks. This is mirrored by the escalating insecurity

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Assessment of Policy & Institutional Frameworks for SLM in Kenya iii

situation in Kenya’s northern and coastal areas, posing constraints in policy implementation. Another dimension is that most of the policies do not mention or link with customary laws (with the exception of the ASAL Policy). But Kenya is a country with 42 ethnic communities, meaning that such customary laws are multiple and thus, pose a challenge as to how to mainstream them. But most customary laws were facilitative of natural resources conservation. Examples include; maintaining hilltops as sacred areas, forbidding living next to watercourses, preserving thick forests as sacred groves and reserving certain grazing areas and water points in the dry zones as strategic reserves for drought resilience. Many of these positive traits in customary laws are missing in the national laws and policies meant to protect water and land from degradation. There are gaps in terms of addressing sustainable land management in agricultural systems. For instance, although the MoALF is the focal Ministry linking farmers to SLM, it does not host a single SAGA/parastatal dedicated to SLM issues (e.g. comparable to NEMA which is under MENR). Furthermore, there is no one-stop-shop to address targeted investments for SLM for smallholder land users and Kenya. As yet, there is no Country Strategic Investment Framework (CSIF) addressing SLM tacitly. Such a framework will be useful as a tool for policy advocacy, resources mobilization, investment planning, project targeting as well as responding to emerging issues and opportunities. The prospects for a Kenya SLM Investment Framework (KSIF) are viable under KAPSLM given that national policies already support such ventures, and KAPSLMP is embedded in the MENR, whose core business SLM fall under. Based on this, it is recommended that Kenya should develop a KSIF to help address the apparent gaps in investment in the SLM. This Report is structured in nine Chapters. Chapter-1 provides an introduction to Kenya, highlighting the salient bio-physical, climatic, demographic and socio-economic characteristics, which constitute the resource base relevant to SLM. Chapter-2 provides a historical background of the policy, legislative and development plans against which SLM has evolved in Kenya, tracing from colonial to present day national policies. Chapter-3 provides an overview of the current national laws and legal instruments that have a bearing on SLM, Chapter-4 analyzes the national policies and strategies that drive the agenda or impact on SLM, Chapter- 5 Reviews the institutional frameworks facilitating SLM promotion and implementation. Chapter-6 provides some case studies of SLM programmes in Kenya. Chapter 7 provides the Conclusions and Recommendations emanating from the study. Literature was cited and annotated as footnotes in the body of the report, and a list of References is provided as Chapter 8. Chapter 9 contains the Appendices, these being the lists of laws, policies, development plans, strategies and MEAs touching on SLM in Kenya.

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Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................. ii

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... vii

1. COUNTRY CONTEXT AND RATIONALE................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Kenya: Extent, Topography and Population ................................................................................. 1 1.2 Climate ........................................................................................................................................ 4 1.2.1 Rainfall amounts and distribution............................................................................................ 4

1.2.2 Agro-climatic Zones ................................................................................................................. 5

1.2.3 Arid and semi-arid lands .......................................................................................................... 6

1.3 Land tenure ................................................................................................................................. 7 1.4 Agriculture, Food Security and Poverty ........................................................................................ 7 1.4.1 Smallholder farming ................................................................................................................ 8

1.4.2 The Livestock Sector ................................................................................................................ 9

1.4.3 Food Security ........................................................................................................................ 10

1.4.4 Rural poverty ........................................................................................................................ 11

1.4.5 Trends in public expenditure on agriculture .......................................................................... 11

1.5 Land Degradation in Kenya ........................................................................................................ 13 1.5.1 Defining Land ........................................................................................................................ 13

1.5.2 Defining Land Degradation .................................................................................................... 14

1.5.3 Types of land degradation ..................................................................................................... 15

1.5.4 Major drivers of land degradation in Kenya ........................................................................... 16

1.5.5 Climate change threats ......................................................................................................... 19

1.6 Sustainable Land Management (SLM) ........................................................................................ 20 1.6.1 Defining Sustainable Land Management (SLM) ...................................................................... 20

1.6.2 Policy Reforms are needed to address SLM in Kenya ............................................................. 23

1.7. Assessing Kenya’s Policy and Institutional Frameworks for SLM ................................................ 23 1.7.1 The need for an SLM Investment Framework for Kenya ......................................................... 23

1.7.2 Conducting the SLM Policy review ......................................................................................... 24

2. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES OF KENYA’S LAWS AND POLICIES BEARING ON AGRICULTURE AND SLM .. 26

2.1 Pre-independence policies (before 1963) .................................................................................. 26 2.1.1 Early Colonial Period (before 1945) ....................................................................................... 26

2.1.2 The post World War-II Colonial Era (1945 -1963) ................................................................... 27

2.2 Post independence laws and policies (after 1963)...................................................................... 28 2.2.1 Post Independence land reforms ........................................................................................... 28

2.2.2 First Development Plan ......................................................................................................... 29

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2.2.3 Second Development Plan..................................................................................................... 30

2.2.4 Fourth Development Plan ..................................................................................................... 30

2.2.5 Fifth Development Plan (1984-88) ......................................................................................... 31

2.2.6 Structural Adjustment Programmes ...................................................................................... 32

2.3 Policy Reforms in the Multi-party Era (2003 - 2012) ................................................................... 33 2.3.1 Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth & Employment Creation (2003-2007) ...................... 33

2.3.2 Strategy for Revitalization of Agriculture ............................................................................... 34

3. LAWS AND LEGISLATIONS WITH BEARING ON SLM ............................................................................ 35

3. 1 Overview of multiplicity of laws, policies and institutions ......................................................... 35 3.2 The Constitution of Kenya (2010)............................................................................................... 36 3.3 Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority Act (AFFA) of 2013 .................................................... 38 3.4 Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) ....................................................... 39 3.5 Land Act (2012) ......................................................................................................................... 42 3.6 Forest Act, 2005 ........................................................................................................................ 43 3.7 Water Act 2002 and Water Bill 2014 .......................................................................................... 45 3.8 The Lakes and Rivers Act Cap 409, 2009 .................................................................................... 46 3.9 The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Act .................................................................... 46 3.10 International Treaties and Agreements .................................................................................... 47 3.10.1 Background on international Treaties .................................................................................. 47

3.10.2 Current international Treaties ............................................................................................. 48

3.10.3 Other International Instruments.......................................................................................... 50

3.11 Analysis of opportunities and threats inherent in relevant laws ............................................... 50 4. POLICIES AND STRATEGIES IMPACTING ON SLM IN KENYA ................................................................. 52

4.1 Vision 2030................................................................................................................................ 52 4.2 Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) ...................................................................... 54 4.3 National Environment Policy, 2013 ............................................................................................ 55 4.4 National Policy for Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands .......................................................... 56 4.5 National Land Policy (2009) ....................................................................................................... 57 4.6 National Climate Change Response Strategy, 2010 .................................................................... 58 4.7 Kenya Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan, 2015 ............................................... 60 4.8 The National Water Services Strategy (2007- 2015) ................................................................... 61 4.9 Flood Mitigation Strategy, 2009 ................................................................................................. 62 4.10 National Agricultural Sector Extension Policy, 2012 ................................................................. 63 4.11 National Agribusiness Strategy, 2012 ....................................................................................... 64 4.13 Analysis of opportunities and threats inherent in relevant policies .......................................... 65

5. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS FOR SLM IMPLEMENTATION ............................................................. 68

5.1 National Government Ministries ................................................................................................ 68 5.2 County Governments................................................................................................................. 69 5.3 Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs) .................................................................... 70

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5.4 Non-State Actors (NSAs) and CBOs engaged in SLM conservation .............................................. 73 5.5 International institutions ........................................................................................................... 73 5.6 Private Sector Institutions ......................................................................................................... 74

6. CASE STUDIES OF SOME SLM PROGRAMMES IN KENYA ..................................................................... 75

6.1 Types of SLM Programme Activities ........................................................................................... 75 6.2 Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Sustainable Land Management Project (KAPSLMP) ............ 76 6.3 Mainstreaming Sustainable Land Management in Agro-pastoral Production Systems ................ 78 6.4 Initiatives to Increase Forest Cover ............................................................................................ 79 6.5 Conservation Programmes bearing Financial Incentives ............................................................. 80 6.5.1 Payment for Environmental Services (PES) ............................................................................ 81

6.5.2 Agricultural Carbon Credits ................................................................................................... 81

6.5.3 Green Water Credits (GWC) .................................................................................................. 83

6.5.4 Equitable Payment for Watershed Services (EPWS) ............................................................... 84

6.5.5 PRESA ................................................................................................................................... 84

6.5.6 Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund (UTNWF) ............................................................................ 85

7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................................... 87

7.1 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................... 87 7.2 Recommendations .................................................................................................................... 89

8. REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................... 91

9. APPENDCES ....................................................................................................................................... 95

Appendix 1: List of Laws and Legal Instruments ............................................................................... 95 Appendix 2: List of National Policies ................................................................................................ 95 Appendix 3: List of Strategies and Action Plans ................................................................................ 96 Appendix 4: Relevant International Multilateral Environmental Agreements ................................... 97

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List of Acronyms and Abbreviations Acronym Full Name ARD Agriculture and Rural Development ASAL Arid and Semi-Arid Lands CBD Convention on Biodiversity CBO Community Based Organization CSIF Country Strategic Investment Framework EAC East African Community EIA Environmental Impact Assessment FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GCF Green Climate Fund GHG Greenhouse gas GoK Government of Kenya GWC Green water Credits IWRM Integrated Water Resource Management KAPSLMP Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Sustainable Land Management Project KFS Kenya Forest Service KMS Kenya Meteorological Service KSIF Kenya SLM Investment Framework KWS Kenya Wildlife Service LADA Land Degradation Assessment LVEMP Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project MEA Multilateral Environmental Agreement MENR Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Regional Authorities MoALF Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries MWI Ministry of Water and Irrigation NAMAs Nationally appropriate mitigation actions NEMA National Environment Management Authority NGO Non Governmental Organization NRM Natural Resources Management NSA Non-State Actor (modern word for NGO) NWMP-2030 National Water Master Plan 2030 (published in 2013) PES Payments for Ecosystem Services PRESA Pro-poor Rewards for Environmental Services in Africa REDD Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation SAGA Semi-Autonomous Government Agency (modern word for Parastatal) SLM Sustainable Land Management UNCCD United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNFCCC United Nations Framework on Climate Change UTNWF Upper Tana Nairobi Water Fund VCS Verified Carbon Standards WKCCD/FM Western Kenya Community Driven Development-Flood Mitigation Project WKIEMP Western Kenya Integrated Ecosystem Management Project WRMA Water Resources Management Authority WRUA Water Resources Users Association

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Assessment of Policy & Institutional Frameworks for SLM in Kenya 1

1. COUNTRY CONTEXT AND RATIONALE

1.1 Kenya: Extent, Topography and Population The Republic of Kenya lies approximately between Latitudes 4°N and 4°S and Longitudes 33o83’ E and 41o75.5’ E, straddling the Equator. Kenya shares borders with Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, Ethiopia in the north, South Sudan in the north-west, Somalia in the east and the Indian Ocean to the southeast (Figure 1.1). This strategic position accords Kenya an important influence as a regional and economic hub for East Africa. The country covers a total area of about 582,646 km2, of which 11,230 km2 (1.9%) are water bodies. Of the remaining 571,416 km2 landmass, some 490,000 km2 (or 84% of total land mass) comprises arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) which are characterized by low, erratic rainfall, high evapotranspiration rates, poor soil fertility and few water resources. The remaining 16% of Kenya’s landmass is of high and medium agricultural potential with adequate and reliable rainfall.

Figure 1.1: Kenya- Extent and topography


The geography of Kenya is diverse, with relief, climatic and ecological extremes affected by altitudes, which vary from sea level to over 5199 m a.s.l. on Mt. Kenya, the highest mountain in the country. The terrain (Figure 1.1) ranges from coastal reefs to inland plains, plateaus, with dominant features being major highlands which constitute the “Water Towers” of the country. These are the Mt. Kenya, the Aberdares, the Mau escarpment, Cherangani/Tugen Hills and Mt. Elgon. The diverse water towers contain about 164 sub-basins with perennial river flows, of which 33 are without perennial river flow, while 90 sub-basins suffer from surface water deficits1. However, about 54% of Kenya’s water is within transboundary basins, shared with other countries. Other smaller water towers and catchment areas include low mountains and hills in the drylands, which include the Chyulu, Iveti, Nyambene, Manga, Maragoli, Ngong, Shimba and Taita Hills, Mts. Kulal, Marsabit, Ndoto and Nyiru. Other significant catchments include the sandy reserves at the Kenyan Coast such as Shella Dunes of Lamu and oases in the arid areas such as Loiyangalani in Marsabit. Moreover, Kenya has a 608 km long coastline extending from Ishakani in Somalia to Vanga at the Tanzanian border in the south. Population: The population of Kenya was 38.6 million according to the Population and Housing Census data of 20092, with growth rates averaging 3.0% annually. Current estimates indicate a total population of 43 million people3 (in 2014). Kenya’s population has grown by an average of one million people per year in the past 10 years, from about 5.4 million people in 1948 to over 40 million people in 2010. The country has a population density of 67 people per square kilometer, with an annual population growth rate of approximately 2.7%. A majority of the Kenyan population (67.2%) live in rural areas, while 32.5% are in urban centres. Seventy-five percent of Kenya’s population is under 30 years of age. This has great implications for agriculture, water resources, food security, land resources exploitation and the environment. As urbanization increases, the propensity for higher demands to cultivate more land has increased the challenges to be overcome for sustainable land management is to be achieved. Administratively, Kenya is divided into 47 Counties4 (Figure 1.2), in a devolved system of Government, which became operational after the General elections of March 2013. Devolution5 is a form of decentralization where political, administrative and fiscal authority is transferred from the national level to independent sub-national constitutional or statutory agencies. Kenya's devolution model involves the National Government transferring powers, functions and responsibilities by legal and constitutional provisions to independent popularly elected county governments. By this, the Constitution gives full responsibility and public accountability for certain functions to the counties.

1FAO, 2005. Country Profile and Factsheet for Kenya. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations GoK, 2009. 2Population and Housing Census. Government of Kenya, Ministry of Planning and Vision 2030 3GoK, 2015/. Kenya Facts and Figures. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Republic of Kenya 4GoK, 2010. The Constitution of Kenya. The Government of the Republic of Kenya 5Republic of Kenya, 2015. Draft Devolution Policy Ministry of Planning and Devolution


Figure 1.2 Administrative Counties of Kenya


1.2 Climate 1.2.1 Rainfall amounts and distribution Kenya has a moderate tropical climate which is tempered by topographic relief, especially mountains like Mt. Kenya, Aberdares, the Mau range and Mt. Elgon, as well as the movement of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Rainfall is also affected by large water bodies like Lake Victoria and the Indian Ocean. The country generally experiences two seasonal rainfall peaks of long rain (March – May) and short rain (October -December) in most places. Most of the country is relatively dry with mean annual rainfall estimated at 680 mm per year. But this rainfall is unevenly distributed over country in both spatial as well as temporal scales, varying from about 200 mm in the ASAL zones to over 2,000 mm in the humid zone (Figure 1.3). A narrow tropical belt lies along the Indian Ocean coast, but immediately inland, stretches large areas of arid and semi-arid and lands (ASALs).Generally, most of the country suffers low rainfall and erratic weather, with recurrent droughts and floods. These in turn impact on the national economy, which is highly dependent on rainfed agriculture.

Figure 1.3: Distribution of mean annual rainfall in Kenya (data source, KMS)


1.2.2 Agro-climatic Zones Kenya’s land mass is commonly divided into seven agro-climatic zones, namely; humid, sub-humid, semi-humid, semi-humid to semi-arid, semi-arid, arid and very arid (Figure 1.4). However, about 83% of the land area is classified as arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), which also include the very arid zones. The remaining area of about 81,000 km2 is classified as humid to sub-humid, where rainfed agriculture can be sustainable, and thus supports a substantial portion of the Kenyan economy and human population. The agro-climatic zones (Table 1.1) generally depict the climate, landform, soils, land cover and agricultural potentials of the country, as well as the types and distribution of ecosystems.

Figure 1.4 The agro-climatic zones of Kenya (Data source: Kenya Soil Survey)


Table 1.1. Agro-Climatic zones of Kenya

Zone Classification Moisture index

R/Eo ratio (%) Annual

rainfall (mm) Land Area

(km2) Land Area

(%) I Afro-Alpine >80 700 25,400 4.4 II Humid 65-80 1000-2200 23,800 4.1 III Sub-humid 50-65 950-1500 25,700 4.4 IV Semi-humid to semi-arid 40-50 500-1000 28,700 4.9 V Semi-arid 25-50 300-600 87,300 15.0 VI Arid 15-25 200-400 126,400 21.7 VII Very arid <15 150-300 265,300 45.5 Total 582,600 100.0

Source: Sombroek et al (1982)6

1.2.3 Arid and semi-arid lands The arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), cover 84% of the land mass of Kenya straddling agro-climatic zones IV to VII. ASALs are characterized by low, erratic rainfall, high evapotranspiration rates, poor soil fertility, few water resources and poor infrastructure. As a result, ASALs are poorly suited for rain-fed farming and are used as rangelands. Due to the vast areas prone to drought, Kenya’s vulnerability to food insecurity is highest among the pastoralists and small-scale agriculturalists in the ASALs of the country. There are 24 million hectares of land in the ASAL that can be used for livestock production, but only 50 per cent of the carrying capacity of the land is currently being exploited. Additionally, there are 9.2 million hectares in ASAL which have the potential for crop production if irrigated7. This irrigable area is equivalent to the total farmland in high and medium potential areas in the country. The ASALs are home to about 10 million people, about 70% of the livestock herd and 75% of the wildlife in the country8. Over 60% of ASAL inhabitants live below the poverty line, subsisting on one dollar per day. In the vast northern Counties of Turkana, Marsabit, Wajir and Mandera, about 74% - 97% of people live below the absolute poverty line9. ASAL communities remain the most chronically food insecure groups in the country experiencing consistently high malnutrition rates that are habitually above international emergency thresholds. Furthermore, the soils are highly weathered and erodible, thus land and water management poses a challenge, requiring extra technological and socio-economic attention.

6 Sombroek W C, Braun H M H and van der Pouw B J A. 1982. Explanatory soil map and agro-climatic zone map of Kenya.

Report E1. National Agricultural Laboratories, Soil Survey Unit, Nairobi, Kenya. 56 pp 7 Pastoralist Thematic Group (PTG), 2001. Pastoral Poverty Reduction Strategy 8 GoK, 2008. Review and analysis of existing drought risk reduction policies and programmes in Kenya. National Report on

Drought Risk Reduction Policies and Programmes. Ministry of State for Special Programmes. Republic of Kenya. 9 Releasing our Full Potential – Draft Sessional Paper on National Policy for the Sustainable Development of Northern Kenya

and other Arid Lands: 2009 Government of Kenya, Office of the Prime Minister


1.3 Land tenure According to the Constitution of Kenya (2010), land in Kenya is classified as public, community or private. Public land includes protected mountains, hills, forests, national parks, rivers, lakes and other water bodies, territorial sea and the continental shelf; all roads, land on which public utilities stand e.g. offices, schools, hospitals, and all lands held by County Governments. Community land, on the other hand consists of land lawfully registered in the name of group representatives, e.g. Cooperatives, ancestral lands, or any other land declared to be community land by an Act of Parliament. Private land consists of registered land held by any person under any freehold tenure or leasehold tenure. The land tenure system in Kenya has been facilitative of competitive private enterprise and general development. It is also a source of numerous conflicts across ethnic, economic and individual levels. Private land acquisitions are at the centre of reduction of protected public lands, with consequent impacts of land degradation and conservation. The Government of Kenya adopted the new Land Policy in 2009. This policy provides for private land ownership and the category of ‘trust land’ is changed into ‘community land’. It also allows the demarcation of ‘community land’ and the allocation of its title to a particular community group. A six step process is provided including documenting and mapping of customary land tenure systems; establishing a clear legislative framework and procedures for registration; reviewing all acquisitions; developing participatory processes; incorporating customary mechanisms of conflict resolution. The policy seeks to recognize the rights of communities to access resources upon which they depend. Community Land Boards (community-elected) are established to manage access to the land. The Policy also allows for secondary-user access of land e.g. for access to water points, drought reserves or mineral licks and recognizes the particular role of women. Non-Kenyans are barred from owning freehold land and only allowed to hold land under 99 year leases. All public land should be identified, registered and handed over to a National Land Commission. A strategy is being put in place to determine economically viable minimum sizes for different land uses. The government could compulsorily acquire any land that has minerals found on it to protect the communities from exploitation. The mechanisms for implementing the policy are still being put in place, so it remains to be seen how effective it will be. These components have been endorsed and supported by the new Constitution (approved in August 2010) and which states that land laws would be revised and enacted to effect the new provisions (Article 68).

1.4 Agriculture, Food Security and Poverty Agriculture is the mainstay of Kenya’s economy, contributing 27.3% of the GDP in 201410. The sector accounts for 65% of Kenya’s total exports, 75% of industrial raw materials, 60% of export earnings, as well as 18% and 60% of the formal and total

10 Economic Survey, (2015). The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Government of Kenya


employment respectively11. Agriculture provides income to more than 80% of the population, employing over 40% of the total population and over 70% of the rural population12. The sector comprises five subsectors –industrial crops, food crops, horticulture, Livestock and fisheries, and farmer institutions (e.g. co-operatives). Crop production accounts for 82% of agricultural GDP and 94% of export earnings from agriculture. The livestock, fisheries and forestry subsectors account for 18% of agricultural GDP and 8% of export earnings from agriculture, and have significant potential which has not been fully exploited. Cultivated areas in Kenya occupy about 5 million hectares of land (Figure 1.5). Some 4.3 million ha are used to grow food crops, 0.56 million ha are under horticultural crops, 0.48 million ha of industrial crops and 0.10 million ha of oil crops. The major food cereals grown in Kenya include maize, wheat and rice. Maize is Kenya’s main staple food crop for about 90% of the population in Kenya13 and is also a key component of feedstuff for livestock. The area under maize cultivation has stagnated at around 1.6 million ha, producing about 2.5 million metric tonnes per annum against an estimated consumption of 3 million metric tonnes. Other food crops include beans, roots and tubers (cassava, potatoes), millets and sorghums. Industrial crops include sugar, pyrethrum, cotton, tobacco, and sisal, while major export crops include tea, coffee and horticulture.

1.4.1 Smallholder farming Kenya’s agriculture14 is predominantly small-scale farming where production is carried out on farms averaging 0.2–3 ha, mostly on a commercial basis. The medium and large scale farms account for about 2% of the holdings, but cover about 54% of the area farmed. The small-scale farms accounts for 75 per cent of the total agricultural output and 70 per cent of marketed agricultural produce. Small-scale farmers produce over 70% of maize, 65% of coffee, 50% of tea, 80% of milk, 85% of fish, and 70% of beef and related products. A typical smallholder farm contains different crops grown together in the same field: a grain such as maize, a legume such as beans; and perhaps a few trees producing coffee, bananas, or other fruit tree. This allows the family to harvest a variety of foods for a balanced diet. Some farmers also keep a few animals such as cattle and goats, and majority raise poultry. However, adoption of improved inputs such as hybrid seed, concentrate feeds, fertilizer, safe use of pesticides and machinery by small-scale farmers is relatively low. There is huge potential for increasing productivity for these farmers with adoption of modern farming practices. Adoption of improved inputs such as hybrid seed, concentrate feeds, fertilizers and pesticides or machinery by small-scale farmers is low. This indicates that there is huge potential for increasing productivity for farmers who adopt modern and green farming practices.

11 Republic of Kenya, 2013. Second Medium Term Plan (2013-2017). 12GoK (Government of Kenya), (2011). Medium-Term Expenditure Framework 2011/12 – 2013/14, Report for the Agriculture

and Rural Development Sector. Nairobi: Government Printers. 13 National Food and Nutrition Security Policy, 2011. Government of Kenya. 14Government of Kenya, 2010. Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (2010–2020)


Figure 1.5 Map of land suitability for rainfed cereal crops in Kenya

1.4.2 The Livestock Sector The Livestock sector provides an important source of livelihoods for 90% of the people who live in the ASALs. Animal products make up 43% of the agricultural gross domestic product, but three-quarters of this amount is from milk production.


Smallholder farmers produce 80% of the milk, helping to meet the national demand for milk and with surplus exported mainly to EAC countries15. In the rangelands, livestock production systems (cattle, goats, sheep and camels) feature mainly pastoralists who produce the bulk of meat consumed in Kenya. Livestock herd sizes in the ASALs are considerably large, characterized by communal grazing, with low use of purchased inputs like feed, drugs and artificial insemination. Unlike Ethiopia, Sudan or Somalia, Kenya is not entirely self-sufficient in the production of meat, as some of the animals slaughtered in Kenya come from northern neighbouring states (Somalia, Ethiopia) through mostly informal trade16.

1.4.3 Food Security Food and nutrition security has been defined17 as a situation “where all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”. In Kenya, over 10 million people suffer from chronic food insecurity and poor nutrition, while some 7.5 million people live in extreme poverty18. At any one time in Kenya, between two and four million people require emergency food assistance. Meanwhile, nearly 30% of Kenya’s children are classified as undernourished. The national per capita energy supply per day is less than the recommended rates of 2,250 Kcal/day per active African adult male equivalent and for many; the basic diet is inadequate in terms of diversity and quality (this includes both macronutrients, such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats, as well as micronutrients including vitamins and minerals). An estimated 16% of adult males suffer from iron deficiency (anemia)19. In addition, children under five years are particularly affected by deficiencies in vitamin A (84% of children), iron (73.4%), and zinc (51%). Women, especially pregnant women, are among the most vulnerable with a high risk of iron deficiency (60% among pregnant women) and vitamin A deficiency (39%). Furthermore, the food price crisis is posing a major challenge to the country. Although Kenya has in the past experienced perennial food crises largely attributable to prolonged or recurrent droughts, the food crisis is also fuelled by new challenges such as climate change, high energy prices and globalization that are rapidly redefining food affordability. These factors make poor people further limit their consumption and shift to even less balanced diets and less frequent meals thereby affecting health and nutrition both in the short and long term. In addressing these issues, the Government of Kenya has developed the National Food and Nutrition Security Policy, which is meant to (i) achieve adequate nutrition for optimum health of all Kenyans; (ii) increase the quantity and quality of food available, accessible and affordable to all Kenyans at

15ILRI, Milk markets as ‘the great equalizer’ in East Africa? http://www.ilri.org/ilrinews/index.php/archives/tag/smallholder-

dairy-project 16IGAD.The Contribution of Livestock to the Kenyan Economy. 2011. 17 World Food Summit, Rome Declaration on World Food Security, 1996. Available at:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3613e/w3613e00.HTM 18 National Food and Nutrition Security Policy, 2011. Government of Kenya. 19 Central Bureau of Statistics, Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (1998, 2003, 2008/9).


all times; and (iii) protect vulnerable populations using innovative and cost-effective safety nets linked to long-term development. Generally, agriculture in Kenya has come under pressure due to the population increase and extreme weather changes. The sub-division of land, resulting from population pressure and the relative scarcity of productive agricultural land, has resulted in small uneconomic farm sizes, which cannot be managed sustainably. The problem is expected to increase, with reduction in available land per capita in Kenya decreasing from a mean of approximately 1.5 ha and predicted to be 0.3 ha by 205020. This could further affect agricultural production.

1.4.4 Rural poverty The incidence of poverty in Kenya has dropped, from 52.2% in 1997 to 46% in 201321. The country ranks 147/186 in the Human Development Index22. Within the high potential areas of Kenya, despite having relatively high rainfall, the land units are small, averaging less than two hectares per capita. The region is home to 44.3% of Kenya’s population, and given its small size in terms of land area, it also has the highest population density. Rapidly expanding urban centers in the highlands continually cause agricultural land sizes to decline and expansion of agricultural land is highly limited. Thus, high population density, rapid growth, and intensive farming practices all contribute to the environment challenges facing the region, including deforestation, erosion, and diminishing water resources. Paradoxically, these high potential areas also host a large numbers of poor people, with poverty prevalence estimated23 at about 35.4%. Despite smaller landholdings, the favorable climate lends itself to high value agriculture, while good infrastructure generally provides better access to urban markets. These opportunities have not been fully exploited to benefit smallholders. As land topography is generally steep, the agricultural lands are prone to degradation from soil erosion, 1.4.5 Trends in public expenditure on agriculture Public investment in the agricultural sector is crucial to agricultural productivity, which is documented as a necessary condition for poverty alleviation. In one study24, an analysis of budgetary allocation to the agriculture and rural development sector, over the period from 2009 to 2013 revealed that over the 2009/10-2012/13 period, Kenya’s total budget increased by 131% reaching Ksh.1,459.9 billion in 2012/13 from Ksh.634 billion. However, over the same period, the total budget of the agriculture sector only rose by 56.6% to reach Ksh.50.4 billion in 2013. But despite the growth of the agriculture and rural development budget, it declined as a ratio of the total budget

20 GoK, 2007. Kenya Vision 2030. Nairobi. Nairobi: Government Printers. Government of Kenya). Available at: http://www.vision2030.go.ke/cms/vds/Popular_Version.pdf

21 Kenya Population situation analysis. UNFPA, 2013 (http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/kenya/drive/FINALPSAREPORT.pdf) 22 Human Development Index (HDI), 2014. 23 Agricultural Growth and Poverty Reduction in Kenya. ReSakss, 2012. 24 IEA 2014. Public Spending in Agriculture in Kenya: Is it Beneficial to Small Scale Women Farmers? Action Aid and Institute of

Economic Affairs. Nairobi


considerably from 5.1% in 2009/10 to 3.5% in 2012/13 (Figure 1.6). This implies that the Government of Kenya not only falls short of meeting the MDG target of allocating 10% of its budget to the agricultural sector but also the ratio has been declining, yet agriculture is considered as Kenya’s economic mainstay. Moreover, donors’ participation in the ARD sector increased from 1.9% in 2009/2010 to 8.2% in 2012/2013, implying that domestic expenditures in agriculture reduced significantly

Figure 1: Trends in ARD budget as a share of national budget

Further, SLM/NRM share of budget expenditure is the lowest within the Ministry for Agriculture. The disaggregated spending in the Ministry of Agriculture among six sub-programmes, namely: General Administration and Planning (GAP), Policy, Legal Reviews and Regulations of Agricultural Inputs and Outputs (PLRAIO), Monitoring and Management of Food Security (MMFS), Facilitation and Supply of Agricultural Extension Services and Research (FSAESR), Information Management for Agricultural Sector (IMAS) and Protection of Natural Resource Base for Agriculture (PNRBA). Figure 1.7 shows that on average, the bulk (58.5%) of the MoA budget over the period 2009/10-2012/13 went to FSAESR, with allocation to IMAS of 15.8% on average coming a distant second. Matters with regard to PNRBA received the least allocation (2.4%) over the same period.


Figure 1.7: Composition of Ministry of Agriculture budget for 2009/10-2012/13 (Source IEA, 2014)

1.5 Land Degradation in Kenya 1.5.1 Defining Land Land, in the context of land degradation assessment, has been defined25 as “all natural resources which contribute to agricultural production, including livestock production and forestry”. Land therefore includes soils and vegetation, landform, climate and water resources, including both grassland resources and forests. Land is a basic resource for supporting both biotic and abiotic assets on earth, including the production of food, preservation of biodiversity, facilitating the natural management of water systems and acting as a carbon store. The Kenya Land policy26 describes land as having multiple values which should be protected by both policy and law: (a) Land is an economic resource that should be managed productively; (b) Land is a significant resource to which members of society should have equitable access for livelihood; (c) Land is a finite resource that should be utilized sustainably; and (d) Land is a cultural heritage which should be conserved for future generations. Land therefore embodies the values of economic productivity, equity, environmental sustainability and the conservation of culture. Thus, its utilization and management should facilitate the protection of these values. Moreover, Kenya’s Vision 203027 describes land as a critical resource for socio-economic and political development of the country. Land represents one of Kenya’s most important resources and one on which the livelihoods of the poor are critically dependent. If degraded, land impedes agricultural growth, increases poverty and vulnerability, and contributes to social tensions as populations rise and impose greater burdens on limited natural resources.

25FAO (1979) Report on the second meeting of the working group on soil degradation assessment methodology. FAO, Rome. 26Republic of Kenya, 2009. Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2009 on National Land Policy. Ministry of Lands.

27 GoK, 2007. Kenya Vision 2030. Government of the Republic of Kenya, Ministry of Planning and National Development and Office of the President


1.5.2 Defining Land Degradation There are many definitions of Land Degradation. In 1979, FAO28 defined land degradation as “a decline in the current and/or potential capability of soils to produce (quantitatively and/or qualitatively) goods and services”. The Millennium Assessment29, described land degradation as “the reduction in the capacity of the land to perform ecosystem goods, functions and services that support society and development”. A more thorough definition was offered by the UNCCD30, defining land degradation in the context of drylands as: “a reduction or loss, in arid and semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rainfed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of processes, including processes arising from human activities and habitation patterns.” This was further simplified to state “Land Degradation is the reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity. A more simple definition describes land degradation as "the long-term loss of ecosystem function and productivity caused by disturbances from which the land cannot recover unaided31”. The point of convergence is that land degradation is a negative process that lowers the value of land, its utility and thus impacts on livelihoods. This Report adopts the FAO’s LADA definition of land degradation32, described as “the reduction in the capacity of the land to provide ecosystem goods and services and assure its functions over a period of time for its beneficiaries”. The “Ecosystem goods” are products of land which have an economic and/or social value: they include land availability, animal and plant production, soil health and water quantity and quality. “Ecosystem services” include biodiversity and the maintenance of hydrological, nutrient and carbon cycles. These definitions provide a broad view on the nature of land resources (soil, vegetation and water) and the range of products, goods and services people obtain from the land. Land degradation is not necessarily confined to biophysical impact, and is not limited to human-induced phenomena, but also includes natural impacts and effects. Land degradation is thus the loss of utility or potential utility of land, through deterioration or damage to the physical, social, or economic features and/or reduction of ecosystem diversity.

28 FAO, 1979. A Provisional Methodology for Soil Degradation Assessment. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations. Rome. 29 MEA (2005) Watson R. et al. (49 authors). Living beyond our means: Natural assets and human well-being. Statement from

the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) Board. 30 UNCCD. 1994. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries. Experiencing Serious Drought and/or

Desertification, Particularly in Africa. United Nations, New York, USA. Available at: http://www.unccd.int/convention/text/convention.php

31 Bai, Z.G., Dent, D.L., Olsson, L., and Schaepman, M.E. (2008). “Global Assessment of Land Degradation and Improvement 1: Identification by Remote Sensing”. Report 2008/01, FAO/ISRIC –Rome/Wageningen

32 FAO 2011. Manual for Local Level Assessment of Land Degradation and Sustainable Land Management. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome.


1.5.3 Types of land degradation Land degradation can be typified according to different types: physical, chemical, and biological processes. Physical land degradation processes refer to erosion; soil organic carbon loss; changes in the soil’s physical structure, such as compaction or crusting and waterlogging. Chemical processes, on the other hand, include leaching, salinization, acidification, nutrient imbalances, and fertility depletion. According to FAO LADA/WOCAT33, there are six types of land degradation, grouped as:

(i) Soil degradation– Decline in the productive capacity of soil resources as a result of adverse changes in their biological, chemical, physical and hydrological properties. Soil degradation is manifested in soil erosion and it includes other negative changes of the chemical properties of soil (chemical degradation), which result in soil fertility decline/ reduced organic matter content, leaching, nutrient mining, oxidation and volatisation (N), acidification- lowering of the soil pH, or alkalinization (increasing pH). This in turn increases the vulnerability of soil to accelerated erosion through both water and wind, which is manifested in loss of topsoil by water, gully erosion, landslides, riverbank erosion and offsite effects: sedimentation downstream, flooding, siltation of reservoirs.

(ii) Vegetation degradation – Decline in the quantity and quality of the grasses, herbs and woody species found in the country’s grasslands, woodlands and forest, combined with a decrease in the ground cover by such plants (e.g. through deforestation, overgrazing, fires, cultivation).

(iii) Biodiversity degradation – Loss of wildlife habitats and decline in genetic resources, species and ecosystem diversity (including loss of crop plant genetic resources), lowering of habitat quality and reduction in habitats for associated species – both floral and faunal (terrestrial and aquatic).

(iv) Water degradation – Decline in the quantity and quality of both surface ground water resources and increased risk of downstream flood damage. It also includes degradation of ground water resources -lowering of water tables, reduced groundwater recharge, reduction in water storage capacity (sedimentation of reservoirs), systematic decline in soil moisture content, as well as hydrological regime imbalances – aridification, drying up of water sources (rivers, springs, lakes, ponds, boreholes). It also includes degradation of water quality (pollution of water resources, salinity build up) and water pollution (discharge of human and animal wastes, agro-chemicals, industrial and mining wastes).

(v) Chemical degradation - Negative changes in chemical properties of soil, leading to fertility decline and reduced organic matter contents. It also includes the loss of nutrients through leaching, mining, oxidation and volatisation (N). Other processes such as acidification, salinization and alkalinisation which cause net increase of salt content of (top)soil leading to a productivity: lowering of the soil pH. It also includes soil pollution by pesticides, industrial effluents and soil

33 FAO, 2009. Field Manual for Local Level Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands. LADA-L Part 1: Methodological Approach,

Planning and Analysis. FAO, Rome.


contamination with toxic material, salinization/ alkalinisation leading to a productivity decline.

(vi) Physical degradation – Loss of natural or aesthetic physical conditions of the land e.g. from quarrying, mining, scarification and unplanned developments. It may also be caused by soil compaction, due to damage of soil structure by trampling or machinery and tools. This results in surface sealing and crusting: clogging of pores with fine soil material; creation of an impervious soil surface layer obstructing rainwater infiltration; water-repellent layer (e.g. ashes after forest fire) and subsidence of organic soils, settling of soil

Other factors associated with a lowering of the productive potential of land include:

(vii) Climate deterioration – Adverse changes in the micro and/or macro climatic conditions that have increased the risk of failure of crop and livestock systems and impacted negatively on plant growth in rangelands, woodlands and forests.

(viii) Land conversion – Decline in the total area of land used, or with potential to be used for crop, livestock and/or forestry as a result of land being converted to urban, industrial, mineral extraction and infrastructure purposes.

In essence, land degradation also includes the sum total of one or more of these processes, which lead to long-term loss of ecosystem function and productivity caused by disturbances from which the land cannot recover unaided. These processes have contributed to the current levels of land degradation found in the country.

1.5.4 Major drivers of land degradation in Kenya Land degradation is increasing in many areas of Kenya in both severity and extent. As of 1997 approximately 23% of Kenya’s land was vulnerable to very severe desertification, a figure that rose to 30% in the early 2000s34. More recent estimates have indicated that over 20% of all cultivated areas, 30% of forests, and 10% of grasslands suffer land degradation35, with the ASAL areas being most affected36. Approximately a third of the Kenya’s population depends directly on the land that is being degraded. The main drivers of land degradation in Kenya include; population pressure requiring to grow more food and expansion of cropping into marginal lands and fragile ecosystems. Also, activities such as poor farming practices (failure to use inputs, over-grazing), poorly planned infrastructure developments and generally unsustainable over-exploitation of natural resources cause land degradation. It is manifested in the loss of forest cover and/or destruction vegetation, soil erosion and generally, reduction in the productive capacity of the land. However, soil erosion is the most common type

34 UNEP (2002). African Environment Outlook: GEO-4: United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi. 35 Muchena, F. N. (2008). “Indicators for Sustainable Land Management in Kenya’s Context”. GEF Land Degradation Focal Area

Indicators, ETC-East Africa. Nairobi, Kenya. 36 Bai Z, Dent D, Olsson L et al (2008). Global Assessment of Land Degradation and Improvement 1: Identification by Remote

Sensing”. Report 2008/01,. Rome/Wageningen: FAO/ISRIC.


of land degradation in Kenya. It results in loss of topsoil by water, gully erosion, landslides, riverbank erosion and offsite effects: sedimentation downstream, flooding, siltation of reservoirs. It also includes physical processes such as physical and chemical degradation from soil compaction, sealing and crusting and loss of fertility. The main factors associated with land degradation are further described below.

(a) Deforestation The loss of forest cover, especially in the water towers, has great impacts on catchment degradation in Kenya. Kenya’s forests have suffered progressive depletion due to human population pressure for new settlements and the supply of timber and non timber products. Forest cover has decreased by about 30% in Kenya between 1990 and 201037, resulting in severe degradation of catchment areas. The montane forests of Kenya’s five water towers are surrounded by some of the most densely populated areas of Kenya and are therefore under significant pressure. Approximately 5% of forest area was lost between 1990 and 2005, when allocation of forest land and illegal acquisitions were at their highest. Deforestation in Kenya is estimated at 50,000 hectares annually, with a consequent yearly loss to the economy of over USD 19 million38. The most threatened forests currently include Kakamega, the Mau Forest Complex and coastal forests. There are also currently approximately 165,000 hectares of plantation forestry in Kenya, which are generally poorly managed. One of the key identified drivers of deforestation and land degradation in Kenya is the demand for fuelwood which accounts for 70% of all energy consumed (90% in rural areas)39. Moreover, deforestation in Kenya’s water towers deprives the Kenyan economy of 6 billion Shillings annually and threatens the supply of more than 70% of the country’s water supply40. For instance, in the expansive Mau Forest, destruction of natural forests threatens the very existence of the ecologically and economically important Maasai Mara Game Reserve and Lake Victoria water resources and biodiversity41, which are threatened by human encroachment.

(b) Pollution Pollution of water sources, especially surface water sources, continues to increase affecting the quality of water and in some cases, salinity build up. Causes of pollution can be considered in two categories; namely; non-point sources and point sources.

(i) The non-point source pollution is associated with catchment degradation which has been on the increase and causes sediment accumulation in water bodies in the form of both suspended and dissolved solids. Agricultural activities in water catchment areas increase turbidity and fertilizers/pesticide residues in water resources.

37Republic of Kenya (2013). National Water Master Plan 2030.

38 National Forest Policy, 2014 39 UNEP 2009. Water Security and Ecosystem Services. The Critical Connection. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya 40 Republic of Kenya, (2012) Report of the high - level national dialogue on Kenya water towers, forests and green economy 41 NEMA (2011). State of the Environment and Outlook Report for Kenya 2010. National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Nairobi


(ii) Point source pollution are also on the increase and they are mainly non-performing treatment plants, industrial effluent including hotels. Industrial effluent, agricultural chemicals, municipal sewage and are some of the sources of pollution. Expanding and poorly planned urban development is creating health hazards, by destroying ecosystems, adversely affecting biodiversity and causing build up of pollutants. Poor disposal of wastes which has shown increasing trends in the recent past has also aggravated the problem.

The pollution of water sources causes the eutrophication and siltation of lakes, dams and pans and pollution from toxic chemicals, including agricultural pesticides and heavy metals. Meeting the growing demand for water faces major challenges particularly due to rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles.

(c) Drought Drought is a major problem in Kenya with repercussions on land degradation and productivity. Kenya experiences drought on a cyclic basis. Previous cycle of severe droughts used to affect the country every ten years as experienced in 1974, 1984 and 1994. For instance, since the 1970s, serious droughts have been recorded42 in 1972, 1974/75, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983/84, 1991/92, 1995/96, 1999/2000, 2004, 2006, 2009 and in 2010/2011. The average incidence of serious drought has increased from around seven serious droughts during the period 1980-1990 to 10 in the period 1991 to 2003. Drought recurrence is getting ever more frequent, and over the last decade, drought events occurred every two years. Droughts result in loss of human life and livestock, heavy government expenditure to facilitate response and general high economic losses of unprecedented levels. Both meteorological and agricultural droughts have increased in recent years, as well as prolonged dry spells. This results in loss of vegetation cover, increasing propensity for soil erosion, desertification and lowering of productivity. The ASALs, in particular suffer land degradation associated with drought as well as from a multiplicity of factors such as a rapidly growing population due to immigration and expansion of settlements onto more marginal areas. The result is shrinking space for migratory pastoralism, overgrazing of the fragile ecosystems and denudation. These zones suffer cattle rustling and general insecurity, such that a large number of internal refugees in Kenya are from ASAL areas, majority being environmental refugees who are dislocated from their rural livelihoods due to drought43. The main link to most of these problems is shortage of water and food, fodder and grazing resources which disrupt rural livelihoods. Even when relatively good rains are received, recovery is usually a slow process as the droughts severely erode the productive assets of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in the arid zones. Generally, many pastoralists having lost their herds entirely resort to settling in more urban/ semi-urban areas often with little opportunity to start new ways of living.

42 Republic of Kenya (2009), National Policy on Disaster Management. Nairobi, Kenya. 43 GoK, 2011. Livestock Sub-Sector Stakeholders’ Conference for North Eastern Kenya. Proceedings of a Conference, 12th-14th

January 2011 Garissa, Kenya.


(e) Floods

Floods have increasingly become a major threat to life, property and a major cause of land degradation. Areas most affected by floods in Kenya include the Lake Victoria Basin, Lower Tana River basin, Nairobi, Mombasa, Kwale and parts of Ewaso Ng’iro North basin44. The worst floods were experienced in 1997/1998 El Nino rains which covered the entire country resulting in about 1.5 million people were affected through displacement, loss of property and livelihoods. Several rivers burst their banks causing siltation of dams. Floods also cause landslides with excessive loss of soil and vegetation, the most affected areas being slopes of the Aberdares in Muranga and Nyeri, Mt. Kenya areas in Meru and parts of Cherangani hills.

1.5.5 Climate change threats There is growing evidence that climate change is occurring in Kenya (Figure 1.8). The frequency of droughts, floods, and other extreme climate events has increased over the last four decades. Since the early 1960s, both minimum and maximum temperatures have been increasing (warming) throughout the country. The minimum temperature has risen generally by 0.7–2.0oC and the maximum by 0.2–1.3oC, depending on the season and the region45. Temperatures are increasing and the six warmest years have all occurred since 1987. Also, the frequency of ‘hot’ days has increased dramatically, by 57 days per year whilst cold nights have declined by 42 days per year. Projections indicate increases of 1-3.5 degrees centigrade by 2050s46. The general warming is leading to reduced glaciers on Mt Kenya and sea level rise along the coast. Rainfall patterns in Kenya have become highly variable with increased climate variability and occurrence of extreme events. The climate is also influenced by El Nino events, becoming wetter in October to December in ENSO events and drier than average in La Nina. For instance, the long rains in central and eastern Kenya have declined more than 100 millimeters since the mid-1970s47. A warming of more than 1° Celsius may exacerbate drying impacts, especially in lowland areas. The drying trends could particularly impact on critical crop growing areas in eastern and central Kenya where prime arable land could diminish substantially. For the ASALs, climate change could reduce the growing seasons for pastures and cause drying up of water sources, particularly in the longer term i.e. 20-50 years. Moreover, the number of rain days have reduced meaning more intensive storms are experienced, especially in the ASALs, where seasonal rainfall has also declined48. As a result, climate change affects land degradation in many ways, including escalating wind erosion due to drying of land and loss of natural vegetation. These phenomena continue to impact other sectors

44 Republic of Kenya (2013). National Water Master Plan, 2030 45Government of Kenya, 2010.National Climate Change Response Strategy. 46GoK2010 State of the Environment Report, 47 Thornton P., Herrero M., Freeman A., Mwai O., Rege E., Jones P., and McDermott J., 2008. “Vulnerability, Climate Change

and Livestock – Research Opportunities and Challenges for Poverty Alleviation”. ILRI, Kenya 48 Mati, B.M., Kinyangi, J., Recha, J. and Radeny, M. 2012. Enhancing climate resilience through soil water technologies to

increase agricultural productivity in semi-arid eastern Kenya. Research Report. CCAFS, Nairobi.


including agriculture, health and water resources. The continued annual burden of the extreme climatic events could cost the Kenyan economy as much as US$500 million a year49, which is equivalent to approximately 2.6 percent of the country’s GDP with implications for long-term economic growth. SLM is among the important ways of building resilience and adaptation to climate change.

Figure 1.8 Climate Change effects on rainfall and temperature in Kenya

(Source: FEWSNET)

1.6 Sustainable Land Management (SLM)

1.6.1 Defining Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Sustainable land management (SLM) has been defined50 as: ‘The use of land resources, including soils, water, animals and plants, for the production of goods to meet changing human needs, while simultaneously ensuring the long-term productive potential of these resources and the maintenance of their environmental functions’, SLM encompasses all of the land use systems within the landscape and their associated ecosystem services. It involves a holistic approach, recognizing that people - the human resources-and the natural resources on which they depend, directly or indirectly, are inextricably connected. A simplified definition by the World Bank defines SLM as: a knowledge-based procedure that helps integrate land, water, biodiversity, and environmental management (including input and output externalities)

49National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) 2013 -2017. Republic of Kenya, Vision 2030.GoK, 2013 50 FAO (2007) TerrAfrica – A Vision paper for Sustainable Land Management in Sub-Saharan Africa. Food and Agriculture

Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.


to meet rising food and fiber demands while sustaining ecosystem services and livelihoods51. Therefore, SLM is considered crucial for sustainable development, building on the complementarities of twin objectives - enhancing agricultural productivity and building long-term environmental health. In essence, SLM also refers to the activities which balance the often conflicting ideals of economic growth and maintaining environmental quality and viability. Land degradation at national scales can be mitigated and/or reversed through the adoption of SLM. The requisite SLM interventions may range from intensive agriculture to the management of natural ecosystems, to include:

Preserving and enhancing the productive capabilities of cropland, forestland, and grazing land (such as upland areas, down-slope areas, flatlands, and bottomlands),

Maintaining the integrity of watersheds for water supply and hydropower-generation needs and water conservation zones,

Sustaining productive forest areas and potentially commercial and non-commercial forest reserve,

Maintaining the ability of aquifers to serve the needs of farm and other productive activities, and

Actions to stop and/or reverse degradation - or at least to mitigate the adverse effects of earlier misuse. Such actions are increasingly important in uplands and watersheds—especially those where pressures from the resident populations are severe and where the destructive consequences of upland degradation are being felt in far more densely populated areas downstream.

For rainfed systems, sustainable land management requires an integrated resource management approach that embraces locally appropriate combinations of the following technical options:

Better rainwater management to increase infiltration and eliminate or reduce runoff so as to improve soil moisture conditions within the rooting zone, thereby lessening the risk of moisture stress during dry spells, while reducing erosion

Improvement of soil rooting depth and permeability through breaking of cultivation-induced compacted soil layers (hoe or plough pan) by means of conservation tillage practices (using subsoilers, chisel ploughs, hand-hoe planting pits, double-dug beds, deep-rooted perennial crops, trees, and shrubs)

Integrated crop-livestock production can enhance environmental sustainability by feeding crop residues to animals, thus improving nutrient cycling. This crop-livestock approach is likely to become increasingly profitable given the large, worldwide increase in demand for meat, milk, and other products derived from animals. The suitability of many livestock enterprises to the production systems of small farms holds considerable potential for poverty reduction.

Build-up of soil organic matter and related biological activity to optimum sustainable levels for improved moisture, infiltration and storage, nutrient supply, and soil structure through the use of compost, farmyard manure, green

51 World Bank (2008). Sustainable Land Management Sourcebook. The International Bank for Reconstruction and

Development/ The World Bank, Washington DC.


manures, surface mulch, enriched fallows, agroforestry, cover crops, and crop residue management

Better crop management using improved seeds of appropriate varieties; improved crop establishment at the beginning of the rains (to increase protective ground cover, thereby reducing water loss and soil erosion); effective weed control; and integrated pest management

Integrated plant nutrition management with locally appropriate and cost-effective combinations of organic or inorganic and on-farm or off-farm sources of plant nutrients (such as use of organic manures, crop residues, and rhizobial nitrogen fixation; transfer of nutrients released by weathering in the deeper soil layers to the surface by way of tree roots and leaf litter; and use of rock phosphate, lime, and mineral fertilizer)

Agricultural diversification must be pursued where existing farming systems are not environmentally sustainable or economically viable. Diversification into high-value, non-traditional crop and livestock systems (e.g. horticultural crops) responding to the growing market demand for these products. Although highly labour intensive, they bear high economic returns. In contrast to other low-input strategies for sustainable intensification, diversification to high value products frequently requires the use of relatively high levels of inputs, which must be monitored and managed carefully.

Tree crops, including fruit, beverage, timber, and specialty crops, offer opportunities for environmentally sound production systems because they maintain vegetative cover and can reduce soil erosion. Tree crops, especially when multiple species are planted, help maintain a relatively high level of biodiversity. They are important for export earnings in many countries and, although often suited to large-scale plantations, are also important to smallholders with mixed cropping systems.

Reclamation, where appropriate (if technically feasible and cost-effective), of cultivated land that has been severely degraded by such processes as gullying, loss of topsoil from sheet erosion, soil compaction, acidification, or salinization

The Kenya Vision 2030 espouses the adoption of sustainable management of natural resources and sustainable agricultural intensification. These can be achieved using a wide range of water management technologies and practices, designed to suit the different agro-climatic and socioeconomic needs. This means ensuring the optimal utility of every drop of water, be it from rainfall or irrigation52. It may include various combinations of technologies, practices, and approaches for sustaining the control of water, and its conveyance and application from such sources as rainfall, surface runoff, and a wide range of technologies and approaches exists53. Sustainability implies maintaining components of the natural environment over time (such as biologic diversity, water quality, preventing soil degradation), while simultaneously maintaining (or improving) human welfare (provision of food, housing, sanitation and

52 Molden, D., Frenken, K., Barker, R., de Fraiture, C., Mati, B. Svendsen, M., Sadoff, C and Finlayson C. M. 2007. Trends in

water and agricultural development. In: Water for Food, Water for Life: A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture. London: Earthscan and Colombo: International Water Management Institute, 57-89.

53 Mati, B.M. (2007). 100 Ways to Manage Water for Smallholder Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa. A Compendium of Technologies and Practices. SWMnet Working Paper 13. Nairobi.


infrastructure). To effectively manage resources, there is need to develop (i) up-to-date information regarding the condition of the natural resources, and (ii) clear policies on how the resource should be managed (laws, policies and strategies). The Land degradation assessment also included assessment of SLM practices and their current and projected impacts in mitigating land degradation in the country. 1.6.2 Policy Reforms are needed to address SLM in Kenya The performance of key growth sectors of the economy have a direct link with land resources management. It recognizes land and environmental degradation as bearing costs which are bound to have a negative impact on Kenya’s international competitiveness. Therefore, there is a need to determine whether available policies are facilitative of development, particularly agriculture and environmental management in view of the devolved system of Government. The Kenya Vision 2030 commits the country to mitigate unintended adverse land degradation. Generally, attention needs to be paid to the rate of conversion of previously pristine lands to more exploitative uses as these have bearing on the country’s agricultural sector, natural resource base and eco-environmental balances. Some of the effects of poor land use practices are felt by land users themselves in the form of declining agricultural yields and higher costs to maintain current production levels. Factors such as insecure tenure, extreme poverty, and lack of access to credit often result in inadequate investment in maintaining soil capital affect the extent to which farmers may engage SLM practices. At other times, land degradation may result from disconnect in national policies. Historical myths54 and misconceptions from the past have contributed to ineffective approaches used in addressing land degradation and promoting SLM, especially in the ASALs. Some of these are still prevalent today, adversely affecting the acceptance and implementation of policies and development strategies. For instance, ASALs are sometimes referred to as “low potential” or hardship areas”, terms that are derogatory and discouraging. Furthermore, SLM has been poorly targeted policy, legislative, and institutional contexts, being embedded in the general laws policies and institutional frameworks that govern agriculture and sometimes, the environment. This can be traced from Kenya’s history, because the policies that guide Kenya’s agricultural development are either inherited from the colonial era, or derived from it.

1.7. Assessing Kenya’s Policy and Institutional Frameworks for SLM

1.7.1 The need for an SLM Investment Framework for Kenya One of the key responses to increasing agricultural production is countering land degradation challenges through the wide-scale adoption of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices. However, Kenya lacks a national investment framework to support the SLM subsector, resulting in missed opportunities for resource mobilization and action. There has been low level of awareness of the importance for SLM and the potential profits from investments in SLM techniques, at the farm, 54 AU-IBAR policy briefing paper No 7: Dry land myths: Policies that hurt pastoralists.


landscape and leadership levels. This has become a fundamental barrier to wide adoption of SLM measures in the country. Besides technical SLM practices and technology alternatives, farmers are not provided with information on proven economic profitability of SLM investments. A prerequisite for addressing these hurdles, and promoting the adoption and scaling- up of SLM practices therefore is to acquire a better understanding of the negative externalities of land degradation and the related benefits of SLM practices. This would in fact provide evidence to decision-makers of the magnitude of the problem and of the benefits from implementing SLM policies and practices. Decision-making processes would thus be better driven, and grounded on a better understanding of the problem. Currently, the Kenya SLM Investment Framework (KSIF) is being proposed under component three (3) of Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Sustainable Land Management Project (KAPSLMP) to respond to the country’s development priorities and to align the various sectors, stakeholders and donors engaged in SLM around a common priority investments roadmap that sets Kenya on a path towards formulating a comprehensive and integrated SLM Country Programme. The preparation of the KSIF entails carrying out diagnostic studies and reviews to identify opportunities for mainstreaming and scaling-up SLM interventions and investments. To facilitate guided investment planning, a review of the policy, legislative and institutional frameworks for SLM within the public sector of Kenya, forms one of the diagnostic studies recommended towards the preparation of the Kenyan investment framework for SLM. This is the import of this study, and hence this inception report.

1.7.2 Conducting the SLM Policy review

The main objective of the SLM policy review was to assess the policy, legislative, and institutional framework for land management within the public sector, with the view to recommending best approaches for mainstreaming SLM into national development policies, plans and regulatory framework. This was done follows:

(i) First, a desk review of the sectoral policy, legal, and institutional frameworks with a bearing on SLM was conducted. This involved assessment of historical and existing policy, legal and institutional frameworks governing the work of government agencies involved in land management and degradation, SLM, agriculture and environmental conservation and impacts on smallholder agriculture in Kenya. The source of information included documents from Government Ministries e.g. Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Development, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Ministry of Planning and Vision 2030, NEMA, River Basin authorities and other statutory boards, bilateral and multilateral organizations, research institutes, NGOs active in the sector, and other relevant sources such as libraries and the internet.


(ii) The gap analysis was conducted to identify extent of policy and strategic capacities to support SLM implementation in Kenya. The review sought to determine if the laws, policies, strategies, development plans and institutional frameworks were responsive to SLM issues, given the prevailing conditions.

(iii) An assessment of the Institutional capacities for SLM in public sector agencies in Kenya was done based on documents obtained from institutions working directly or indirectly on SLM. These include Government Ministries and Departments, parastatals, NGOs, international organizations and private sector institutions. The analysis focused on; policy formulation and implementation, investment planning, organizations and institutions involved in the SLM policy process, linkages between different policy players as well as policy and strategy monitoring and evaluation.

(iv) Based on critical analysis of the data/information gathered to extract evidence of SLM mainstreaming into relevant policies, laws and institutional frameworks, the strengths and weaknesses of existing policy, legislative and institutional frameworks with a bearing on SLM was determined. This helped in determining the extent to which SLM is incorporated into macro-economic policies.

(v) -Based on the study findings, recommendations were made to identify mechanisms that would strengthen mainstreaming SLM into Kenya government’s policies, legislation and regulations currently under review and in the future, including entry points for improving on SLM investments and harmonization among the various sectors.


2. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES OF KENYA’S LAWS AND POLICIES BEARING ON AGRICULTURE AND SLM

Kenya’s agricultural policy development is intertwined with the policies and attitudes that have been initiated at various stages of the history of the country, dating back from pre-colonial era. Indeed, early explorers reported finding a serene countryside where people, their livestock and wildlife co-existed in an almost untamed pristine environment55. Over the years, the laws, policies and institutional frameworks have contributed to the structure, performance, and problems, which have impacted on the agricultural sector of today, and by extension the land degradation and interventions in sustainable land management (SLM). A number of chronological phases exist, and simply put, Kenya’s agricultural policies can be broadly grouped into two distinct classes; the pre-independence policies (before 1963) and the post-independence period (after 1963). A third phase can be delineated covering Kenya’s agricultural reforms from the year 2000 to date.

2.1 Pre-independence policies (before 1963) The laws and policies pursued during the colonial era can be broadly categorized into those applied during the early colonial period (before 1945) and the ones applied during after World War-II as part of the agrarian revolution of the 1950s.

2.1.1 Early Colonial Period (before 1945) During the early colonial period (before 1945), agricultural policy developments were almost entirely oriented to benefit European settlers, with scant attention paid to African agriculture. Land rights were governed by the then British Settlements Act of 1887 and the Foreign Jurisdiction Act (1890). Even in the early 1900s, pressure on land resources started to be experienced as native populations were relocated to generally poorer and more fragile farmlands and grazing areas and ecosystem degradation was reported56. Another consequence of colonial land policies was the general disruption of indigenous social systems which resulted from indiscriminate expropriation of large chunks of land, which were appropriated by colonial settlers. The scale of human and livestock dislocation in Kenya was astounding. Indigenous communities were crammed into native reserves or otherwise pushed onto the least productive and most difficult terrain57. In contrast, the land alienated for European settlements was usually the best and the highest potential. Due to a steady rise in population and stagnation in technologies of production, this loss of equilibrium in the native lands led inevitably to land deterioration and widespread poverty.

55 Thomson, J. (1887). Through Masailand; A journey of Exploration among the snow-clad volcanic mountains and strange tribes

of Eastern Equatorial Africa. 56 Tate, H.R. (1904). Notes on the Kikuyu and Kamba tribes of British East Africa. Journal of the Royal Anthoropological

Institute, Vol 34; 130-148. 57 Okoth-Ogendo, H (2005). The Tragic African Commons A century of expropriation, suppression and subversion. Occasional

Paper No. 24, Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies, University of Western Cape.


The pre- and colonial laws which significantly impacted on the Kenyan scene with respect to environmental management were: the Indian Lands Acquisition Act (1894), the Crown Lands Ordinance (1902, 1915), the Native Lands Trust Lands Ordinance (1938), Crown Lands (Amendment) Ordinance (1938) and the National Parks Ordinance (1945). These laws generally led, among other things, to the forceful acquisition of productive land from the African people for exclusive use by the White farmers, thereby marginalizing Africans. The European settlers were encouraged to undertake agricultural activities and were protected by the colonial government through provision of exclusive rights to land ownership alienated from Africans, control of labour supply through poll tax and development of residence labour (squatter system), control of production of specific crops (coffee, sisal, wheat, dairy cattle), and monopoly to research and advisory services. Africans were restricted from occupying particular areas and from growing particular crops that were designated as settler crops, especially cash crops (tea, coffee, wheat). The Africans were designated to live in settlement schemes referred to as “reserves”. During this period, the African land resources development was inaugurated and mainly administered through the African Land Development Board (ALDEV), without any specific plan up to 1946. Development was essentially piecemeal in the African areas and limited almost entirely to subsistence crops such as maize and beans. These policies generated problems of landlessness and land degradation. As a result, population densities on poor quality or marginal lands increased over a relatively short time and traditional land management strategies became non-viable. By the 1930s, reports of soil erosion and land degradation were being documented and raising much concern58. To effectively implement agricultural policy, extension and research divisions were established in the then Department of Agriculture. It was during this period that extension work through compulsory soil conservation was enforced by the colonial administrations, later referred59 to as the “Colonial Error in Soil Conservation”.

2.1.2 The post World War-II Colonial Era (1945 -1963) This period was marked by African agitation for political freedom from colonial rule, also calling for land reforms and justice. The colonial government then began to pay some attention to African agriculture. By then, Africans were greatly disadvantaged, as for example, the Agricultural Ordinance of 195560 had reserved 3.1 million ha for the Whites only. The major policy changes for African agriculture occurred in the 1950s with the introduction of the Swynerton Plan61, which proposed settling African farmers on privately owned land, in selected areas, but reserving the more fertile “white Highlands” for large scale agriculture. It envisioned mixed farming systems modeled

58 Maher, A. C. 1937. Soil erosion and land utilisation of the Ukamba (Machakos) Reserve. Report to the Kenya Department of

Agriculture, Nairobi, Kenya. 59 Admassie Y. 1992. The catchment Approach to Soil Conservation in Kenya. SIDA/RSCU Report No. 6. Nairobi 60 The Official Gazette of the Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, Vol. LVII-No.41, 2nd August 1955 61Swynerton, R J M 1955.A plan to intensify the development of African agriculture in Kenya. Colony and Protectorate of

Kenya. Government Printer, Nairobi.


on a European management style, including the upgrading of zebu breeds, with fodder made available from rotational cropping with grass leys, on farms that were ideally not less than 10 acres (4 ha) in size, affecting mostly the high rainfall areas. This set the pace for the subdivision of land into small parcels, which to date defines smallholder agriculture in the country. The Plan reflected a continuation of post-war policies in which soil conservation, livestock improvement, construction of water supplies and experimentation into farming systems for crops, methods of cultivation, fertilizer and pasture research were implemented. The plan also emphasized increased expenditure in extension, research, credit, and marketing development to support commercial farming on small farms. The Plan formed the basis of policies, largely driven by technocrats, which were later followed even after independence in 1963. Other laws that impacted in Land resources included the Kenya Land Order Council62 of 1960, which attempted to review land rights but still was in favour of the colonial powers. For instance, Part II-Land in Kenya, Article 3 stated that “All land in Kenya is hereby declared to be either Crown land or private land or Trust land”. This meant that land not much had changed throughout colonial history on land rights for Africans.

2.2 Post independence laws and policies (after 1963) 2.2.1 Post Independence land reforms Upon attainment of independence in 1963, agricultural policies were initially based on principles outlined in the Sessional Paper No. 10 which was based on Socialist principles63. The policy emphasized political equality, social justice, and human dignity. These principles were based on state control of the economy and defined the state as the entity that not only maintains law and order but also outlined and implemented social and economic programs in a bid to remedy historical and social inequalities. In the early days of independent Kenya, the transfer of ownership structures of Kenyan agricultural lands from the former colonial rule was the primary target of the agricultural policy. The limited land reform programme that had been started in the mid-1950s under the Swynerton Plan was expanded. The new Government devoted much of its effort towards land transfer and resettlement of smallholders on formerly European-owned mixed farms. This was done through programmes as the Million Acre Scheme where over 35,000 families were settled on 470,000 hectares families were settled on 470,000 hectares and Haraka Scheme where 14,000 families were settled on 105,000 hectares64. Between 1963 and 1969, three-quarters of all agricultural development expenditure went into land transfer programmes. Despite this being the main policy instrument and the majority of the agricultural budget resources flowing to it, the policy outcome was of limited success. About one-third of European farm land was made available for transfer while two-thirds, mainly corporate farms, were left untouched. By 1968, a total of 934,000 hectares of land had been transferred, with about half of these being settled by approximately 500,000 smallholder farmers.

62 Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, 1960. the Kenya Land Order Council of 1960. Kenya Gazette No.93, Legal Notice No. 589. 63Republic of Kenya, 1965. African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya. Government Printer. 64Nyangito and Okello, 1998.Kenya’s agricultural policy and sector performance: 1964 to 1996. IPAR


Meanwhile, the newly independent Kenyan government operated on a unitary constitution with a unicameral legislature. Many sectoral laws were formulated, each dealing with specific and scattered conservation issues. The result was laws such as the Agriculture Act (Cap 318), the Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act (Cap 254), the Forests Act (Cap 385), the Plant Protection Act (Cap 324), the Grass Fires Act (Cap 327), the Public Health Act (Cap 242), the Water Act (Cap 372, 1972), the Merchant Shipping Act (Cap 389) and the Factories Act (Cap 514). Each of these legislations had some stake in the management of natural resources, though not a comprehensive one. Some of them were enacted during the colonial era but have been amended by respective post-independence Parliaments. Moreover, the post-independence euphoria (1960s-1970s), also brought with it a sense of laisser faire among the smallholder land users, who felt “free” from colonial rules such as soil and water conservation, resulting in a period of rejection known as the “lost years”. The incoming African settlers brought with them a background of subsistence agriculture even on fragile marginal lands. As the farm sizes were small, the land under small scale agriculture was subjected to intensive cultivation and overgrazing, resulting in declining soil fertility and soil erosion65. Thereafter, a raft of National Development Plans (NDPs) were centrally formulated and implemented.

2.2.2 First Development Plan Kenya's first five-year development plan (l966-70) set out a programme of import substitution industrialization to diversify the economy away from its agricultural base. The policy instruments used to encourage these included tariff protection, monopoly status, quotas, subsidies and the maintenance of an over-valued exchange rate. The net result of these interventions was an implicit taxing of agriculture, while the manufacturing industry received protection from competition. The 1964-72 period was marked by a decline in the domestic terms of trade between agricultural and non-agricultural commodities and by a net capital outflow from the agricultural to the non-agricultural sector. However the real income earned by agriculture increased by over 40 percent during the same time period, meaning that agriculture still grew substantially despite the policy environment being unfavorable. Moreover, fertilizer imports were used mainly on exportable cash crops. Other policy changes which took place in the immediate post-independence period included projects to encourage livestock production in arid and semi-arid areas and experimentation with integrated rural development projects. In 1972, the first world summit on the environment held in Stockholm raised concerns about land degradation in Africa, and in particular, Kenya. The Government of Kenya turned focus on controlling soil erosion, which was identified as a major cause of land

65 Huber, M and Opondo, C J (1995) Land use change scenarios for subdivided ranches in Laikipia District, Kenya. Laikipia-Mount Kenya Papers. No.19. Laikipia Research Program, Kenya and University of Berne, Switzerland.


degradation66. It was during this period (1970s) that soil conservation initiatives were subsequently re-introduced and the Soil Conservation Branch created in the Ministry of Agriculture. Overall, agriculture grew very rapidly with the export sub-sector outpacing the domestic one until 1978 when the former virtually stagnated. The policies responsible for this performance were land reforms, agricultural pricing and marketing, and public investment in research, extension and other agricultural services.

2.2.3 Second Development Plan The Second Development Plan67 (1970-1974) was enacted at a time of relative economic growth. The development of smallholder agriculture was the second policy goal of the time, and by 1972 out of the estimated farmland area of 6.2 million hectares, or two-thirds of agricultural lands were operated by smallholders with an average farm size of two hectares or less. Cash crop production for export particularly by smallholders was encouraged68. The main smallholder cash crops rapidly became tea and coffee, with the government up commodity specific boards responsible for production and marketing of produce, and several laws enacted with a bearing on SLM. The Third Five-Year Development Plan (1974-78) coincided with the realization that income inequalities were increasing at unacceptable rates, and the unemployment was growing. It was also marked by political agitation for equity and the need to address the growing poverty and environmental damages, especially soil erosion and deforestation.

2.2.4 Fourth Development Plan The Fourth Development Plan (1979-83) emphasized on smallholder development and the need for incentives for farmers to further encourage output from the sector. The Plan called for increased competition, reduced government intervention, relaxation of internal restrictions on food crop movements and development of market infrastructure, in particular grain storage facilities. Pricing policies for agricultural products were to be brought into line with world prices and services to the sector were to be expanded, including: research, education; extension, livestock services and credit. Also during the Fourth Plan, a National Food Policy was drafted. During this period, there was consolidation of some of these laws as well as creation of specialized agencies to deal with specific issues in the management of natural resources. The laws enacted then include; the Kerio Valley Development Authority Act (Cap 441, 1980); the Pest Control Products (Act No. 20, 1982); the Lakes and Rivers Act (Cap 409, 1983); the Government Lands Act (Cap 280, 1984); the Kenya Wildlife (Conservation and Management) Act (Cap 376, 1985); the Lake Basin Development Authority Act (Cap 442); the Coast Development Authority Act (Cap 449); the Ewaso

66 Lundgren, L. (1993) Twenty years of soil conservation in Eastern Africa. RSCU/Sida. Report No. 9. Nairobi, Kenya. 67 GoK. 1969. The Kenya Second Five Year Plan (1970-1974). Republic of Kenya 68Gow and Parton, 1992.The evolution of Kenyan Agricultural Policy. Paper presented to the Australian Agricultural Economics

Society Conference, Canberra, February, 1992.


Ng’iro North River Basin Development Authority Act (Cap 448); the Ewaso Ng’iro South River Basin Development Authority Act (Cap 447); the Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority Act (Cap 443); the Irrigation Act (Cap 434); and the Radiation Protection Act (Cap 243). Among the specialized bodies or agencies created included: the Presidential Commission on Soil Conservation and Afforestation (in 1981) and Presidential Commission on Drought Monitoring and Relief. Also, a number of laws were enacted and others reviewed touching on land. These included; Land Control Act (Cap 302), Land Consolidation Act (Cap 283), Land Adjudication Act (Cap 284), and the Land (Group Representatives) Act (Cap 287). Other related legislations are: the Land Disputes Tribunal Act (No. 18, 1990), the Land Planning Act (Cap 303), and the Land Titles Act (Cap 282). Meanwhile, from the 1980s, the Kenya Government was pre-occupied with large scale impacts of soil erosion such as sedimentation of dams and desertification, and the president led the country in soil conservation campaigns. In contrast, local concerns centered on soil productivity and access to water, with terracing, bunding, vegetative strips and other structural measure being adopted by farmers69. Stakeholders were beginning to demand linkages between conservation and productivity and to move from “soil conservation to land husbandry”. This meant more holistic treatment of land, to include care and management of crops and animals, so that land improvement comes first and the control of erosion follows as a result of good land husbandry70.

2.2.5 Fifth Development Plan (1984-88) The Fifth Development Plan (1984-88) continued the thrust of the policy initiatives of the Fourth Plan and the National Food Policy. Policy interventions outlined in the Fourth and Fifth Plans provided a framework that was more than adequate to encourage agricultural development. However, it coincided with the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs). It was around this time (late 1980s-90s) when participatory soil conservation extension approaches with community mobilization, such as the Catchment Approach, Focal Area Approaches, were starting. The Catchment Approach to Soil Conservation71 was a relatively long term programme implemented in Kenya. It was meant to address soil and water conservation from a catchment perspective and worked with farmers within hydrological catchments. The focus was still individual-farm based and therefore did not lead to the conservation of the entire catchment. Moreover, there was more emphasis on private on-farm activities at the expense of off-farm activities and public lands reducing community participation. Around the same time, international

69 Thomas, D. B., ed. 1997. Soil and Water Conservation Manual for Kenya. Soil and Water Conservation Branch, Ministry of

Agriculture, Livestock Development and Marketing. Nairobi, Kenya. 70 Lundgren, L. and Taylor, G. (1993) From Soil Conservation to Land Husbandry. Guidelines Based on SIDA’s Experiences.

Natural Resources Management Division, SIDA. Stockholm. 71 Admassie Y. 1992. The catchment Approach to Soil Conservation in Kenya. SIDA/RSCU Report No. 6. Nairobi


attention was focusing on more integrated approaches for dealing with land management, beyond soil conservation It was at this that the Sessional Paper No. 1 on Economic Management for Renewed Growth (Kenya, 1986) was enacted. The policies spelt out in the paper included a liberalization of markets from government controls and a concomitant shift to open market operation and a removal of government support (subsidies) on most investments and services and a corresponding shift towards privatization and cost sharing. It laid emphasis on relaxation of fertilizer import licensing systems, price decontrol and removal of obstacles in the marketing and distribution systems. Meanwhile, attention was shifting from too much emphasis on structural measures to addressing the farmer as the decision maker capable of controlling what happens on the land, through farmer-centered approaches72. There was much experimentation with technologies, policies, research and extension packages meant to improve land husbandry73. However, it was soon realized that these approaches ignored the knowledge already existing in communities and failed to recognize the processes by which farmers learn and adopt new practices. Thus, indigenous and innovative technologies were promoted, involving a wide diversity of interventions such as integrated soil fertility management, soil and water conservation, rainwater and runoff harvesting systems, integrated pest management, tillage and soil management systems, improved seeds, innovative agronomic practices and better ways of scaling out successful practices. There followed a wave on projects described in different terms such as on-farm research, farming systems, agro-ecological research, rapid and participatory rural appraisal, farmer participatory methods and farmer field schools74. From these initiatives, it was becoming increasingly clear that water was the main limiting factor to crop production in the drier areas of Kenya, even where soil conservation initiatives had been well practiced. Attention was now shifted to rainwater harvesting75. From 2003, efforts aimed at addressing the problems of poverty adopted participatory approaches, culminating in the formulation of the Poverty Reduction Strategies Paper (PRSP) and the Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS), all emphasizing agriculture as the main sector both for poverty reduction and economic development.

2.2.6 Structural Adjustment Programmes The structural adjustment programmes (SAPs), were implemented in the 1990s, through poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSP), and the decentralization of decision making and administrative systems. Generally, most of the policy statements targeting

72 Chambers, R., Pacey, A. and Thrupp, L.A. (eds) 1989. Farmer First. Farmer innovation and agricultural research. Intermediate Technology Publishers. London.

73 Kiome, R. M.; Stocking, M. 1995. Rationality of farmer perception of soil erosion. The effectiveness of soil conservation in semi-arid Kenya. Global Environmental Change 5 (4): 281-295.

74 Tengberg, A.; Ellis-Jones, J.; Kiome, R.; Stocking, M. 1998. Applying the concept of agrodiversity to indigenous soil and water conservation practices in eastern Kenya. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (70): 259-272.

75 Mati, B. M. 2005. Overview of water and soil nutrient management under smallholder rain-fed agriculture in East Africa. Working Paper 105. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI).


land degradation were diagnostic, decrying the poor state of infrastructure, the unreliable weather, insecurity and lack of natural endowments to support both crops and livestock production. For instance, Chapter 5 section 128 (iii) of the PSRP76 noted that the majority of the poor were in ASALs, and thus, the policy recognized “the problems of insecurity, intermittent droughts, banditry and cattle rustling, huge gender disparities, lack of market infrastructure, and lack of basic communication infrastructure including roads and telecom, high unemployment among the youth and poor integration into the national social and political economies”. Consequently, the PRSP proposed relief food and emergency. This was a recurring feature of most policies then, in that they tend to advocate for relief food and even allocate resources for it, while placing less emphasis on developing viable production systems, improving dryland crop production and addressing rural development issues such as energy, employment, agricultural education, services and infrastructure. The NPEP77 recognized livestock and wildlife as sources of income for drylands, and under section 3.16, it recommended that “Relief is needed on a recurrent basis to prevent hunger and suffering”, while Section 7.17 stated that in the ASALs, pastoralists migrate to towns unless large-scale relief is available. More specifically, sections 7.14 to 7.17 deal with arid lands as a special case, indicating arid lands as having only pastoralists and promising “development of infrastructure and livestock marketing”. Most of the policies lumped together the nomadic, semi-nomadic and agro-pastoral communities in the ASALs, and thus resources were provided in an aggregated manner, with emphasis on livestock, and little is said about the possibility of improving crop production.

2.3 Policy Reforms in the Multi-party Era (2003 - 2012) 2.3.1 Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth & Employment Creation (2003-2007) The Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERSWEC)78, was formulated as part of the new multiparty era, to cover the policy period (2003-2007). It was designed to reverse the slow and stagnant economic growth that had been the hallmark of the 1990s, under the SAPs. ERSWEC harmonized new development strategies based for accelerated economic growth with the country's poverty reduction strategies (PRSPs). The central focus of the Plan was job creation through sound macroeconomic policies, improved governance, efficient public service delivery, an enabling environment for the private sector to do business, and through public investments and policies that reduce the cost of doing business. The Plan also included an equity and social-economic agenda focusing on reducing inequalities in access to productive resources and basic goods and services. It also addressed sustainable management of natural resources such as land, water and forests. The

76 GoK, (2001). Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for the period 2001-2004. Republic of Kenya, Ministry of Finance and

Planning) 77 GoK, 1999. National Poverty Eradication Plan (NPEP) 1999-2015. Department of Development Co-ordination, Office of the President 78 Government of Kenya, 2003. Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (2003 – 2007). Ministry of

Planning And National Development


ERSWEC was quite successful in growing the Kenyan economy, from a negative trend (-2% growth) of the 1990s to over 7% growth by 2007, thus achieving improved economic growth and poverty reduction, wealth creation and employment. The ERSWEC espoused tree planting promising to “Promote development of agro-forestry and encourage community participation inefficient management of forests, complemented with continued re-afforestation including private sector participation to ensure the attainment of the minimum required forest coverage of 10 per cent by the end of 2007”. It also proposed other measures to restore and preserve environment which included: a comprehensive afforestation programme; development o f a national policy on antipollution; introduction in schools of curriculum on environmental education; and development of a policy on recycling. For agricultural water management, ERSWEC proposed the rehabilitation of existing dams, pans and drilling of more boreholes and development of irrigation schemes as well as flood control infrastructure, especially targeting western Kenya. However, with the exception of the re-afforestation agenda, the ERSWEC did not adequately address tackling land degradation and thus SLM was poorly addressed by this Strategy.

2.3.2 Strategy for Revitalization of Agriculture A raft of policy documents has since been enacted in a bid to revitalize Kenya’s agricultural sector. The Strategy for Revitalization of Agriculture (SRA) was developed in year 2000, modelled on the Kenya Rural Development Strategy (KRDS).The SRA mainly related to the organizational/institutional reform of ministries (downsizing) rather than agricultural sector policies. The SRA became a tool for the sectoral implementation of the Economic Recovery Strategy (ERS) for Wealth and Employment Creation, 2003-2007. Most recently, the Kenya Vision 2030 has placed agriculture at the top of the development agenda. All these documents ranked agriculture and rural development as the topmost Government priority, with food security listed as one of five key sub-sectors. The ERS was supported by the Strategy for Revitalizing Agriculture (SRA) 2004-2014 which evolved into the Agriculture Sector Development Strategy ASDS (2010-2020). The primary objective of the SRA is to provide a policy and institutional environment that is conducive to increasing agricultural productivity, promoting investment, and encouraging private sector involvement in agricultural enterprises and agribusiness. Important for this environment is the creation of a legal and regulatory framework that is fair to all farmers, producers, processors and marketers of agro products. Among the objectives of the institutional reform agenda set out in the SRA are: increasing productivity to lower per unit costs of production, improve the extension service system, improve the link between research, extension and the farmer, improve access to financial services, encourage growth of agribusiness, reduce taxation of agriculture, increase market orientation and improve the regulatory framework.


3. LAWS AND LEGISLATIONS WITH BEARING ON SLM

3. 1 Overview of multiplicity of laws, policies and institutions A raft of laws, bills, policies, strategies, development plans, institutional and regulatory structures exist, while other are being developed, revised and/or reviewed to be in line with the new Constitution (2010), the Kenya Vision 2030 and other emerging policy changes. A number of these laws have a bearing on Agriculture, land, water and ecosystems, and thus SLM. These instruments interact in a complex web of Kenyan laws, policies, strategies and institutions as illustrated in figure 3.1.

Figure 7.1 Illustration of legal, policy and institutions associated with SLM in Kenya


Efforts to institutionalize both the biophysical and the socio-economic components of SLM have been on-going across multiple fronts. As a result, Kenya has put in place a number of legal instruments; laws, statutes, policies, regulations, and strategies to safeguard her natural resources, enhance conservation and regulate utilization of her rich biodiversity. Some of the most crucial legal instruments include the: (i) Constitution of Kenya, 2010, (ii) Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority Act No. 13, 2013, (iii) Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act (EMCA) No.8 of 1999, (iii) Land Act, No. 6 of 2012, (iv) Forest Act, 2005 (repeal of Cap 385), (v) Water Act, 2002 (No. 8 of 2002) – (under review as Water Bill 2014) (vi) Irrigation Act (cap 347) of 1965 (under review as National Irrigation Bill 2015). This section reviews the major laws, legal and regulatory instruments. They include, among others, the following sectoral Statutes (see Appendix 1 for full list):

3.2 The Constitution of Kenya (2010) The new Constitution of Kenya79 was promulgated in August 2010. Hailed as a ‘Green’ Constitution, it contains elaborate provisions with considerable implications for sustainable development. These range from environmental principles to the right to a clean and healthy environment as enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Chapter V is entirely dedicated to land and environment. It also embodies a host of social and economic rights which are of environmental character such as the right to water, food and shelter, among others. The Constitution assigns responsibility for agriculture to the 47 Counties under the devolved system of government80. The new devolved system of government elected in March 2013 has wide-ranging implications for agriculture, more specifically stating that “(a) crop and animal husbandry; (b) livestock sale yards; (c) county abattoirs; (d) plant and animal disease control; and (e) fisheries” are to be handled by Counties. With regard to water resources, the Constitution recognizes water as a human right and espouses the protection of the environment and natural resources such as forests, game reserves, water catchment areas, including all rivers/springs, lakes and wetlands. It accords that water resources/catchment areas; rivers, lakes, protected areas and other water bodies should be held in trust for the people by the National Government (NG). Of importance to SLM, the new Constitution entrenches a range of environmental imperatives and provides an avenue for remedying the land tenure, land use and gender inequity issues that have negatively affected the country’s natural resources. Articles 42, 60(c) and 69(a-h), of the Constitution recognize the rights to a clean and healthy environment, sustainable and productive management of land resources, and sustainable use and protection of genetic and biological diversity, respectively. Article 42 states that “Every person has the right to a clean and healthy environment”, which includes the right to:

79 The Constitution of Kenya (2010). The Government of the Republic of Kenya. 80GoK, 2013. Devolution in Kenya: Opportunities and Challenges for the Water Sector. Water and Sanitation Program Policy Note.


(i) have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations through legislative and other measures, and

(ii) have obligations relating to the environment fulfilled under Article 70. Further, the environment and natural resources are protected under Article 69 which promises to:

i. ensure sustainable exploitation, utilization, management and conservation of the environment and natural resources, and ensure the equitable sharing of the accruing benefits;

ii. work to achieve and maintain a tree cover of at least ten per cent of the land area of Kenya;

iii. protect and enhance intellectual property in, and indigenous knowledge of, biodiversity and the genetic resources of the communities;

iv. encourage public participation in the management, protection and conservation of the environment;

v. protect genetic resources and biological diversity; vi. establish systems of environmental impact assessment, environmental audit

and monitoring of the environment; vii. eliminate processes and activities that are likely to endanger the environment; viii. utilize the environment and natural resources for the benefit of the people of

Kenya. The constitution further incorporates the principles of equity in access to land and improving productivity, through Article 60(1), which states that land should be held in Kenya in a manner that is equitable, efficient, productive and sustainable and in accordance, inter alia, with the principles of sustainable and productive management of land resources, transparent and cost effective administration of land and sound conservation and protection of ecologically sensitive areas. Such a provision in the constitution advances the rights of the environment by ensuring that is safeguarded and enhanced for its own sake and for the benefits of the present and future generations. In addition, Article 70 (1 and 2) provides directions on the enforcement of environmental rights. It says that if a person alleges that a right to a clean and healthy environment recognized and protected under Article 42 has been, is being or is likely to be, denied, violated, infringed or threatened, the person may apply to a court for redress in addition to any other legal remedies that are available in respect to the same matter. The court may make any order, or give any directions, it considers appropriate to prevent, stop or discontinue any act or omission that is harmful to the environment; compel any public officer to take measures to prevent or discontinue any act or omission that is harmful to the environment or provide compensation for any victim of a violation of the right to a clean and healthy environment.


3.3 Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority Act (AFFA) of 2013

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority Act (AFFA)81 No. 13 of 2013 came into effect on the 17th January 2014, and is the current legal instrument regulating the agricultural sector in Kenya. Prior to this, the agriculture sector the sector had in excess of 130 laws that made the sector uncompetitive, inefficient and too bureaucratic for a conducive business environment. The merger process commenced with consolidation of the Agricultural sector legislations which culminated into the enactment of three key laws, namely; the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority Act, 2013, the Crops Act, 2013, and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Act, 2013. AFFA therefore is an Act of Parliament that provides for the consolidation of the laws on the regulation and promotion of agriculture generally. The Act also provided for the establishment of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority, to make provision for the respective roles of the national and county governments in agriculture excluding livestock and related matters in furtherance of the relevant provisions of the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution and for connected purposes. The Act outlines policy guidelines and rules on agricultural land preservation, utilization and development in part IV sections 21, 22 and 23. AFFA repealed the former Agriculture Act of 1993 (Cap 318)82 which can be said to be responsible for much of the agricultural activities, challenges and/or gains made over the last 20 years. The former Agriculture Act (Cap 318) had specific rules meant to prevent the destruction of vegetation on lands with slopes exceeding 35%, and prohibit cultivation in slopes between 12% and 35% unless the soil is protected from erosion. However, it was unsuccessful in curtailing land degradation, partly due to technicalities that make its enforcement impractical. By comparison, the current AFFA is silent on limits of slopes allowable for cultivation, but sets Rules on preservation, utilization and development of agricultural land under section 22. AFFA has comprehensive land preservation guidelines. Under Section 23 states that “the conservation of the soil, or the prevention of the adverse effects of soil erosion on, any land, may, prescribe national guidelines for any or all of the following matters”: (a) Prohibiting, regulating or controlling the undertaking of any agricultural activity

including the firing, clearing or destruction of vegetation when such prohibiting, regulating or controlling is deemed by the Cabinet Secretary to be necessary for the protection of land against degradation, the protection of water catchment areas or otherwise, for the preservation of the soil and its fertility;

(b) Requiring, regulating or controlling— (i) The afforestation or re-afforestation of land; (ii) The drainage of land, including the construction, maintenance or repair of

drains, gullies, contour banks, terraces and diversion ditches; (iii) Salination, acidification and saltification of soil;

81 GoK, 2014. Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority Act (AFFA) No. 13 of 2013. Republic of Kenya 82 The Agriculture Act (Cap 318) (as amended by Act No. 11 of 1993 and No.2 of 2002), Government of Kenya


(c) Requiring the uprooting or destruction, without payment of any compensation therefore, of any vegetation which has been planted in contravention of a land preservation order;

(d) Requiring the supervision of unoccupied land; and (e) Prohibiting, restricting or controlling the use of land for any agricultural purpose

excluding livestock. Also, Section 40 of the AFFA calls for the participation of farmers in decision making stating that: For purposes of ensuring effective participation of farmers in the governance of the agricultural sector in Kenya, there should be close consultation with all registered farmers’ organizations in the development of policies or regulations and before the making of any major decision that has effect on the agricultural sector.

3.4 Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) An important legal instrument for the protection of Kenya’s natural resources is guided by the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA)83. EMCA was enacted in 1999, against a backdrop of 78 sectoral laws dealing with various components of the deteriorating state of Kenya's environment, as well as increasing social and economic inequalities, the combined effect of which negatively impacted on the environment. EMCA contains several provisions that could be used to promote the conservation of forests and natural resources, including conservation easements, restoration orders, and environmental impact assessment. On protection and conservation of the environment, EMCA has regulations covers the protection of forests, rivers, lakes, wetlands, traditional interests, hill tops and hill sides, mountain areas and forests. It also covers the reforestation and afforestation of hill tops, hill slopes and mountainous areas and planting of trees or woodlots. Further, the Act covers the conservation of biological diversity (in suit and ex-situ) and energy conservation. EMCA also covers the protection of environmentally significant areas, coastal zone, ozone layer and access to genetic resources of Kenya. The object and purpose for the establishment of EMCA was to exercise general supervision and co-ordination over all matters relating to the environment and to be the principal instrument of Government in the implementation of all policies relating to the environment. Provisions of the National Environment Action Plan are made under Section 38, 39 and 40 which elaborate the contents of the national environment action plan at national, provincial and district levels. The need to protect rivers, lakes and wetlands, hill tops, hill sides, mountain areas and forests together with the powers of the Minister in enforcing this are stated in Section 42, 44, 45 and 46 of this Act. Section 43 of this Act takes care of traditional interests of local communities. The Act also emphasizes conservation of biological diversity under section 50, as well as prohibiting chemical degradation through Section 93, 94 and 98 The approaches for achieving this are illustrated in various sections below.

83 GoK, 1999. The Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act (EMCA No.8 of 1999), Government of Kenya


1) Under Section 9 (1) the policies was to be implemented by; (i) Co-ordinating the various environmental management activities being

undertaken by the lead agencies and promote the integration of environmental considerations into development policies, plans, programmes and projects with a view to ensuring the proper management and rational utilization of environmental resources on a sustainable yield basis for the improvement of the quality of human life in Kenya

(ii) Taking stock of the natural resources in Kenya and their utilization and conservation

(iii) Establishing and reviewing in consultation with the relevant lead agencies, land use guidelines

(iv) Examining land use patterns to determine their impact on the quality and quantity of natural resources;

(v) Advising the Government on legislative and other measures for the management of the environment or the implementation of relevant international conventions, treaties and agreements in the field of environment, as the case may be;

(vi) Advising the Government on regional and international environmental conventions, treaties and agreements to which Kenya should be a party and follow up the implementation of such agreements where Kenya is a party;

(vii) Undertaking and co-ordinating research, investigation and surveys in the field of environment and collect, collate and disseminate information about the findings of such research, investigation or survey;

(viii) Rendering advice and technical support, where possible, to entities engaged in natural resources management and environmental protection so as to enable them to carry out their responsibilities satisfactorily;

EMCA through Section 42 (1) protects rivers, lakes and wetlands by prohibiting any person from carrying out certain activities without carrying out an environmental impact assessment and obtaining a written approval of the Director-General. The activities are;

(i) Erecting, reconstructing, placing, altering, extending, removing or demolishing any structure or part of any structure in, or under the river, lake or wetland;

(ii) Excavating, drilling, tunneling or disturbing the river, lake or wetland; (iii) Introducing any animal whether alien or indigenous, dead or alive, in any river,

lake or wetland (iv) Introducing or planting any part of a plant specimen, whether alien or

indigenous, dead or alive, in any river, lake or wetland; (v) Depositing any substance in a lake, river or wetland or in, on, or under its bed,

if that substance would or is likely to have adverse environmental effects on the river, lake or wetland;

(vi) Directing or blocking any river, lake or wetland from its natural and normal course;

(vii) Draining any lake, river or wetland.


Section 43 of EMCA takes care of traditional interests of local communities customarily residing within or around a lake shore, wetland, coastal zone or river bank or forest to be protected. Sections 44, 45 and 46 give guidelines on the identification and protection of hill tops, hill sides, mountain areas and forests. The Authority should, in consultation with the relevant lead agencies, develop, issue and implement regulations, procedures, guidelines and measures for the sustainable use of hill sides, hill tops, mountain areas and forests and such regulations, guidelines, procedures and measures should control the harvesting of forests and any natural resources located in or on a hill side, hill top or mountain area so as to protect water catchment areas, prevent soil erosion and regulate human settlement. The Act advocates for afforestation or reforestation of the identified areas through encouraging voluntary self-help activities in their respective local community, to plant trees or other vegetation in any area within the limits of its jurisdiction. This section also applies to leasehold or any other interest in land including customary tenure. On biodiversity, Section 50 of this Act emphasizes the issue of biological diversity conservation through; identification, preparation and maintenance of an inventory of biological diversity of Kenya, determining the components of biological diversity that are endangered, rare or threatened with extinction, identifying potential threats to biological diversity and devising measures to remove or arrest their effects, undertaking measures intended to integrate the conservation and sustainable utilization of ethic in relation to biological diversity in existing government activities and activities by private persons, specifying national strategies, plans and government programmes for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, protecting indigenous property rights of local communities in respect of biological diversity and measuring the value of unexploited natural resources in terms of watershed protection, influences on climate, cultural and aesthetic value, as well as actual and potential genetic value thereof. The guidelines provided for in section 51 and 52 was meant to apply while conserving resources in situ. Guidelines on the activities that help in the conservation, sustainable management and utilization of biological resources a are described under Section 51, 52 and 53, more specifically for species threatened with extinction..It is stated that the Authority should, in consultation with the relevant lead agencies, prescribe measures adequate to ensure the conservation of biological resources in situ by issuing guidelines for;

(a) Land use methods that are compatible with conservation of biological diversity; (b) The selection and management of protected areas so as to promote the

conservation of the various terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems under the jurisdiction of Kenya;

(c) Selection and management of buffer zones near protected areas; (d) Special arrangements for the protection of species, ecosystems and habitats

threatened with extinction; (e) Prohibiting and controlling the introduction of alien species into natural

habitats; and (f) Integrating traditional knowledge for the conservation of biological diversity wit


(g) Mainstream scientific knowledge.

Section 71 and 72 allows the Standards and Enforcement Review Committee, in consultation with the relevant lead agencies, to advise the Authority on how to establish criteria and procedures for the measurement of water quality for various uses. Further, the committee is charged with the responsibility of analyzing conditions for discharge of effluents into the environment as well as the monitoring and control of water pollution. Under these sections, the Act also states the penalty for any person who contravenes the instructions. Meanwhile, Sections 93, 94 and 98 prohibits chemical degradation caused by discharging any hazardous substance, chemical (pesticides and toxic substances), oil or mixture containing oil into any waters or any other segments of the environment contrary to the provisions of this Act or any regulations there under. Issues of environmental restoration orders are described under section 108 (1). It outlines requirements of any person who may be served with the order. The person may be required to restore land, including the replacement of soil, the replanting of trees and other flora and the restoration as far as may be, of outstanding geological, archaeological or historical features of the land or the area contiguous to the land or sea as may be specified in the particular order; cease to take any action which is causing or may contribute to causing pollution or an environmental hazard; remove or alleviate any injury to land or the environment or to the amenities of the area; prevent damage to the land or the environment, aquifers beneath the land and flora and fauna in, on or under or about the land or sea specified in the order or land or the environment contiguous to the land or sea specified in the order; remove any waste or refuse deposited on the land or sea specified in the order and dispose of the same in accordance with the provisions of the order; pay any compensation specified in the order.

3.5 Land Act (2012) The Land Act84 is an Act of Parliament that gives effect to Article 68 of the Constitution, to revise, consolidate and rationalize land laws; to provide for the sustainable administration and management of land and land based resources, and for connected purposes. Section 10 gives guidelines on the management of public land. Endangered or endemic species of flora and fauna, critical habitats or protected areas and land based natural resources such as forests are taken care of under section 11 of the Act Part II of this Act outlines the general provisions for the management and conservation of public land. The Act stipulates the following values and principles—

(a) Equitable access to land; security of land rights; (b) Security of land rights; (c) Sustainable and productive management of land resources;

84 Republic of Kenya, 2012. Land Act No. 6 of 2012. www.kenyalaw.org


(d) Transparent and cost effective administration of land; (e) Conservation and protection of ecologically sensitive areas; (f) Elimination of gender discrimination in law, customs and practices related to

land and property in land; (g) Encouragement of communities to settle land disputes through recognized local

community initiatives; (h) Participation, accountability and democratic decision making within

communities, the public and the Government; (i) Technical and financial sustainability; (j) Affording equal opportunities to members of all ethnic groups; (k) Non-discrimination and protection of the marginalized; and (l) Democracy, inclusiveness and participation of the people; and (m) Alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in land dispute handling and

management. The National Land Commission Act (2014) instituted the Lands Commission which is mandated to identify and keep record of all public land as well as plan for its use under section 8 of the act. This Act made further provisions as to the functions and powers of the National Land Commission, qualifications and procedures for appointments to the Commission; to give effect to the objects and principles of devolved government in land management and administration, and for connected purposes. The issues on land management are stated in section 3 of this Act. The Act empowers the commission enforce land principles outlined in Article 60 of the constitution and the national land policy. Section 6 and 16 of the Act is recognizes the existence of counties and therefore allows them to establish their own committees and county offices while keeping in mind gender equity and ethnic diversity within the county. Establishment and composition of county land management boards - (6) The appointment of the members should be approved by the county assembly and should take into account the national values referred to in Article 10 and Article 232 of the Constitution and should reflect gender equity and ethnic diversity within that county.

3.6 Forest Act, 2005 The purpose of the Forest Act85 is to provide for the establishment, development and sustainable management, including conservation and rational utilisation of forest resources for the socio-conomic development of the country. The Act promotes community participation/involvement and protection of cultural interests, facilitating education and research, maintenance and protection of sacred trees, prohibiting activities that threaten forests such as mining and quarrying, and groves and other areas of cultural ethno botanical and scientific significance. Section 18 of this Act established a Forest Management and Conservation Fund, meant for the following purposes:

a) The development of forests b) The maintenance and conservation of indigenous forests

85 GoK, 2005. The Forest Act-2005 (repeal of Cap 385). Sessional Paper No. 9. Government of Kenya, Nairobi


c) The promotion of commercial plantations d) The rehabilitation of provisional forests e) The provision of forest extension services f) Promotion of community-based forest projects g) Facilitation of education and research activities h) Establish of arboreta and botanical gardens i) Maintenance and protection of sacred trees and groves and other areas of

cultural ethno-botanical or scientific significance. j) Undertaking of surveys and establishment of databases k) The protection and management of unique trees for natural resources

conservation l) The establishment of nurseries and production of seedlings m) Silvicultural practices and tree improvement n) The management and protection of protected trees

However, the Forest Act is rather soft on enforcement. Article 50 lists the Forest Officer as being responsible for apprehending offenders, searching and/or consificating materials stolen from forests including livestock. This is difficult to achieve without other law enforcement arms of government. The Agriculture (Farm Forestry) Rules, (2009) were instituted to promote the establishment and sustainable management of farm forestry for the purposes of maintaining a compulsory farm tree cover of at least 10 per cent of any agricultural land holding; conserving water, soil and biodiversity; protecting riverbanks, shorelines, riparian and wetland areas; sustainable production of wood, charcoal and non-wood products; providing fruits and fodder; and carbon sequestration and other environmental services. This is a requirement for all agricultural land owners. The Act emphasizes the need of the tree species/varieties not to have adverse effects on water sources, crops, livestock, soil fertility and the neighborhood and should not be of invasive nature. Forest Act (No. 7 of 2005) applies when a farmer is harvesting trees from his farm. To enforce this, an inspector is authorized to enter the farm and ascertain the situation and take measures appropriately. Every person who owns or occupies agricultural land should establish and

maintain a minimum of 10 per cent of the land under farm forestry which may include trees on soil conservation structures or rangeland and cropland in any suitable configurations;

No agricultural landowner or occupier shall grow or maintain any Eucalyptus species in wetlands and riparian areas.

Part II Farm Forestry Inspection and Enforcement and Section 6 on Maintenance of the 10 per cent tree cover stipulates that an inspector may at any reasonable time enter upon any agricultural land or commercial nursery situated in an area in respect of which he is authorized to be an inspector for the purpose of ascertaining whether the farm owner or occupier has complied with 10 per cent farm forestry or nursery requirement.


Section 8 Protection of land prone to degradation, stating that:

(1) Every District Agricultural Committee shall identify land under its area of jurisdiction which is at the risk of land degradation and institute measures necessary for ensuring its conservation including planting of trees.

(2) Where land is at the risk of degradation, the land owner or occupier shall be required to implement farm forestry measures as outlined in paragraph (1).

(3) Every District Agricultural Committee shall undertake measures to plant trees in any areas specified under paragraph (1) by encouraging voluntary self-help tree planting activities; undertaking farm forestry activities financed through devolved and any other funds.

(4) The Agriculture (Basic Land Usage) Rules shall apply to sloping lands.

3.7 Water Act 2002 and Water Bill 2014 The Water Act (2002) is an Act of Parliament that provides for the management, conservation, use and control of water resources and for the acquisition and regulation of rights to use water; to provide for the regulation and management of water supply and sewerage services; to repeal the Water Act (Cap. 372) and certain provisions of the Local Government Act; and for related purposes. To enhance the participation of local communities in water management, the Water Act provides for the establishment of Catchment Area Advisory Committees (CAACs), and Water Resources Users Association (WRUAs). The principal functions of CAACs include; to advise WRMA on conservation of water resources, to advise on use and apportionment of water resources and to advise on the grant, adjustment, cancellation or variation of any permit to use water resources. However, WRUAs are more grassroots based and have greater mandates on water resources use and conservation. For proper management of the quality and quantity of water and for equitable distribution, the Act under section 35 allows for the issue and withdrawal permits for given water uses. The Act also provides for agreements with any person to protect the catchment under section 71. The license allows catchment protection, drainage of land, carrying out soil conservation measures or the control of vegetation or more effectively collecting, conveying or preserving the purity by the person. It states in section 75 that the person can construct and maintain drains, sewers and other works for intercepting, treating or disposing of any foul water arising or flowing upon such land. Section 94 prohibits obstruction or pollution of watercourse or water resource by throwing any rubbish, dirt, refuse, effluent, trade waste or other offensive or unwholesome matter or thing into or near to any water resource. The Water Act 2002 is currently under review, as the Water Bill86. Although still in progress, key policy issues to guide the water sector are emerging. Most of the regulations in Water Act 2002 have been retained. For instance, the right to clean and safe water is reinstated in as stipulated in Article 43 of the Constitution of Kenya, also

86Republic of Kenya 2014. Water Bill 2014 (released by Parliament).


retaining ownership of water resources by the National Government. The bill further espouses the administrative and regulatory structures to support water resources management, including retaining the roles of Water Resources Users Associations (WRUAs) and geographic mandates as per water catchment areas (rather than Counties) as the basic planning unit. Part III of this Bill outlines regulations of the management and use of water resources. Under section 28, a National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority is established to develop structures for water storage, on behalf of the government work on. The functions and powers of this Authority are outlined in section 30. In the Bill, and for the purpose of regulating water rights and works, a water permit is also required for certain uses as stated in section 34. Section 3, 4 and 6 of the third schedule contains provisions for a permit holder who has acquired an easement that authorizes the construction of a canal. The Water Resources Management Rules87, were set by WRMA to safeguard water resources by enforcing policies, plans, programmes, and activities that are subject to the Water Act 2002. The rules that apply to land degradation are meant to protect watercourses, wetlands, rights to water for storage, release and Use of Stored Water, water permits, control of Water Pollution, spillage. The Rules also recognize the need to identify and conserve riparian land and catchment areas. They also cover soil and water conservation plans and catchment management strategies and establishment of catchment management strategies. The rules also stipulate the management rules related to a protected area or groundwater conservation area including setting the reserve quantities.

3.8 The Lakes and Rivers Act Cap 409, 2009 This is an Act of Parliament to regulate dredging and the use of steam vessels on certain lakes and rivers. Under the third schedule, the Act protects land from degradation by laying out regulations on dredging of lakes and rivers so as to reduce occurrence of erosion. Section 6 states that if in the opinion of the inspector the dredging or any operations connected therewith have caused any groin, shoal, deposit or other obstruction to be formed, either at or near the site of the operations or in any other part of the lake or river, which causes or tends to cause erosion or other danger to the stability of the bed of the lake or river or to the navigation, the groin, shoal, deposit or other obstruction shall be removed immediately upon the receipt of a written notice from the inspector.

3.9 The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Act The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Act88 No. 17 of 2013 is an Act of Parliament enacted to reform research in agricultural and related sectors. It created a new research institution, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) by merging four state corporations, the former Kenya Agricultural Research

87WRMA, 2007. Water Resources Management Rules. Water Resources Management Authority. 88 GoK, 2013. The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research (KALRO) Act No. 17 of 2013. Government of the Republic of Kenya


Institute (KARI), the former Tea Research Foundation of Kenya (TRF), the former Coffee Research Foundation of Kenya (CRF) and the former Sugar Research Foundation of Kenya (KESREF). The Act defines the functions of organizations involved agricultural research as being responsible for (i) Promoting, streamlining, co-ordinating and regulating research in crops, livestock, marine and fisheries, genetic resources and biotechnology in Kenya, and (ii) Expediting equitable access to research information, resources and technology and promotion the application of research findings and technology in the field of agriculture. The mandates of KALRO include to develop and promote SLM technologies and methodologies for the agricultural sector. However, its institutional structure does not have a dedicated center for SLM.

3.10 International Treaties and Agreements 3.10.1 Background on international Treaties Responding to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. 2393 (XXIII) of 1971, Kenya joined the world community in seeking solutions for a global approach to the protection of the environment. The country participated in the first United Nations Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, in June 1972, at which the problem of soil erosion in Kenya was presented. This conference led to the birth of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), now headquartered in Nairobi. In 1974, the Kenya government formed the National Environment Secretariat (NES) as the lead environment agency to coordinate and oversee environmental activities in the country. Kenya also became a party to the Convention on Wetlands of International importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (1971) in 1990. Through this Convention, lakes Nakuru, Naivasha, Baringo and Lake Bogoria have been named as Ramsar sites, under the list of wetlands of international importance under article 2(1) of the Ramsar Convention. Kenya became a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1979. This is a treaty of great significance to countries with economies dependent on tourism based on their endowment with big game. In 1992, Kenya participated in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. Kenya endorsed and adopted Agenda 21, and also signed the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)89. It ratified the CBD in 1994. Agenda 21, among other things, specifically called for the development of national strategies for the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of biological resources, which feature prominently throughout the 40 chapters of the Agenda. In 1994, the NES founded the Inter-ministerial Committee on Environment (IMCE) which was a multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary team with membership from the government, private sector, and NGOs. The IMCE was made up of sub-committees and the Biodiversity sub-committee is responsible for the implementation of the (CBD). A

89 Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992, Nairobi


multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral Task Force was established in 1996 to function as a broad-based consultative and advisory group to steer the development of a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).The Project Planning Team was appointed in 1997 to coordinate and execute the undertaking. The Sessional Paper No. 6 of 1999 on Environment and Development paved the way for the enactment of the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, (EMCA) in 1999. Since then, Kenya has witnessed a remarkable rise in environmental awareness as evidenced by the phenomenal growth of relevant institutional and sectoral activities. More than eight regulations and guidelines on environmental conservation and land management have been gazetted and operationalized. The country has also instituted measures to link the CBD, the Ramsar convention on wetlands, the Bonn convention on migratory species, the World Heritage Convention, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), CITES and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

3.10.2 Current international Treaties Kenya is a party to many international treaties, agreements and protocols on Natural resources management, biodiversity, ecosystems and the environment. The country ratified the. Since then, Kenya has made significant progress in putting in place the proposed measures for resource use and conservation. In addition, Kenya also participates in the CBD’s international programmes of work in agro-biodiversity, dry and sub-humid lands, forests, inland waters biodiversity, islands, mountain ecosystems and marine and coastal resources. The county has also put in place governance structures with strong policy and legal instruments to facilitate implementation. More than eight regulations and guidelines on environmental conservation and management have been gazetted and operationalized. At the regional level, legal instruments and initiatives include: the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Environmental Initiative, African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), and the Protocol on Protected Areas and Wild Fauna and Flora in Eastern Africa. Another important regional development was Kenya becoming a signatory, along with Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Rwanda, to the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework. Besides providing for more equitable use of the waters of the world’s longest river, the parties committed themselves to collectively working towards conserving the Nile and implicitly, the vast naturals resources wealth of the Nile basin. The international declarations, treaties, conventions, protocols and policies which apply to conservation of land and water, ecosystems, the environment and sustainable use of their components include the following

Declaration on Environment and Development made at Stockholm in 1972

Agenda 21on Environment and Development at Rio de Janeiro in 1992, - which set specifically called for development of national strategies for the conservation


and sustainable use of biological resources. NRM related activities feature prominently among the 40 Chapters of Agenda 21.

The Millennium Declaration (2000), which covers seven development targets.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) which Kenya ratified in 1994. Article 6 of the CBD obliges Parties to the CBD to prepare National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) to guide implementation of the requirements of the CBD at national level.

The Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development, in Johannesburg in 2002,

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification – called for cooperation in combating drought and desertification and its consequences by taking actions that contribute to sustainable use of arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) to avoid spread of desertification. Kenya ratified this convention in 24 June, 1997.

The Framework Convention on Climate Change aims at regulating and stabilizing greenhouse gases at levels that do not change the climate. Kenya ratified this convention in 1994.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) protects endangered species from trade through controlling import and exports. Kenya ratified this convention on in December 1978.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention) of 1979. It provides for protection of wild animals that migrate outside national boundaries, e.g. the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem.

The World Heritage Convention provides for protection of ecosystems and habitats of global scientific value.

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (1992) – is of International Importance protects wetlands to enables them to perform their ecological, economic, cultural, scientific and recreational functions, especially as habitats for birds and other organisms. The convention requires contracting parties to formulate and implement plans that ensure conservation and wise use of wetlands within their boundaries. Kenya ratified this convention in 5 June, 1990

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is a global treaty to protect human and environmental health from chemicals that persist for a long time in the environment. Kenya ratified this in September, 2004. The country has since developed the National Implementation Plans for the recommendations of this Convention.

The Convention for the Establishment of the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization was ratified by Kenya in 1996 and applies to the fisheries of Lake Victoria.

The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries provides international guidelines and standards for conservation, management and development of living aquatic resources and their environment.


3.10.3 Other International Instruments The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer; The Montreal Protocol and (London Amendment) on Substances that Deplete the

Ozone The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNICLOS); The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous

Wastes and their Disposal. Basel, 22 March 1989 The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage; The Convention of the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and

other matter; The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships; The Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of

Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa. Bamako, 30th January 1991.

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Stockholm, 22 May 2001 The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain

Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade. Rotterdam, 10 September 1998

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Montreal, 29th January 2000.

3.11 Analysis of opportunities and threats inherent in relevant laws Legislation Strengths/ Opportunity Weaknesses/ Threat

Constitution of Kenya 2010

The constitution is supportive of SLM. Articles 42, 60(c) and 69(a-h), of the Constitution recognize the rights to a clean and healthy environment, sustainable and productive management of land resources, which translates to SLM

Being a broad, long-term national document, the Constitution does not mention tacitly “sustainable land management” or “ecosystems” and thus could be misinterpreted as being vague on SLM issues.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority Act (AFFA) -2013

AFFA has harmonized the institutional set ups in the Agriculture sector, merging the numerous State corporations and thus reducing overlaps.

It expanded the definition of agriculture to be more exhaustive (includes fisheries)

AFFA supports soil and water conservation and other SLM activities, including prevention of noxious and invasive weeds.

The Act removed unnecessary regulatory bureaucracy in the agriculture sector and reduced duplication and overlap of functions among institutions involved

AFFA does not limit cultivable slopes, meaning very steep slopes may be cultivated, which could trigger land degradation including landslides

The Act does not adequately provide for punitive measure for causing land degradation or failure to implement SLM.

The Act is not clear on cooperation between counties on areas of comparative advantage given the trans-county nature of some of the production areas needs to be reviewed


Legislation Strengths/ Opportunity Weaknesses/ Threat

Attract and promote private investment in agriculture

Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) - 1999

On SLM, EMCA under Section 42, 44, 45 and 46, upholds the protection of rivers, lakes and wetlands, hills, mountain areas and forests.

It proposes land use methods that are compatible with conservation of biological diversity.

EMCA has been instrumental in enforcing control of pollution of water resources and land

EMCA covers environmental issues at industrial, commercial and domestic levels quite well, but its implementation focuses on urban areas, with less focus on SLM in rural settings

The Land Act (2012)

The Land Act streamlined land rights and security of tenure. It accommodated the protection of public lands

The Act allows for the protection of the environment and prevention of degradation

The Act did not set proper limits for subdivision of land, thus there are un-economical subdivision of lands still on-going.

The Act does not adequately cushion the poor and landless from exploitation by the rich

Forest Act (2005) Upholds forest establishment, development, protection and sustainable management, including conservation and rational utilisation of forest resources. It also promotes community participation in tree planting and protection of cultural interests, facilitating education and research

The Act is rather soft on enforcement. Article 50 lists the Forest Officer as being responsible for apprehending offenders, searching and/or consificating materials stolen from forests including livestock. This is difficult to achieve without other law enforcement arms of government.

Water Act (2002) The Water Act separates the functions of Government from direct implementation to those of policy direction, oversight and regulation. It provides for the participation of local communities (WRUAs) in water resources management and catchment protection. It is supportive of SLM in water catchment areas.

The Water Act 2002 is outdated and not harmonized with the Constitution 2010, Vision 2030, and recent issues such as climate change. Although the Water Bill (2014) has undergone second reading in Parliament, it is yet to become law and could change substantively before then

Lakes and Rivers Act (2009)

This Act protects lakes and rivers from degradation, including regulations that cover dredging, which is prohibited

The Lakes and Rivers Act is really a duplication of efforts as many of the issues are also covered under Water Act (2002) and also in EMCA (1999)

Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Act (2013)

Streamlined the institutional setups of agricultural research, by merging the commodity-based research institutes to be under one umbrella KALRO

Functions of SLM seem lost since there was no institution created to handle NRM/SLM, which was put as a “Cross-cutting issues” including research on land degradation/ SLM


4. POLICIES AND STRATEGIES IMPACTING ON SLM IN KENYA

Policy refers to “a general course of action or proposed overall direction that a government is or will be pursuing and which guides on-going decision-making”. It is a statement of intent specifying what government wants to be done. Several significant policy and Strategy documents have been developed that facilitate the preservation of land and water resources in Kenya (See Appendix 2). Although the country has so many laws, policies and strategies touching on NRM, they are not harmonized with each other and with the new Constitution. These include policies concerning agriculture, land, water, forests, trade and industry, which have significant implications on the environment. The sectoral rather than integrated and ecosystem approach to management of natural resources has proved inadequate in addressing SLM implementation challenges. In addition, weak enforcement of laws and weak implementation of policies remain a major issue of concern. The main policy documents guiding SLM implementation in Kenya include the following:

4.1 Vision 2030 The Kenya Vision 203090 is the country’s new development blueprint covering the period 2008 to 2030. It aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrializing, “middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens in a clean and secure environment by the year 2030”, while simultaneously meeting the millennium Development Goals for Kenyan’s by 2015. The transformation is to be achieved through a phased development that is premised on three pillars: The political pillar; demands democratic political systems that is issue-based,

people-centered, result-oriented and accountable to the public. The Economic pillar; seeks to facilitate an annual economic growth rate of 10%

over the vision period by focusing on six priority sectors ,namely tourism, agriculture and livestock; whole and retail; trade, manufacturing, finance and business process outsourcing (BPO).

The social pillar; Developments under this pillar envisage a transformation in eight key social sector namely; Education and training water and sanitation the Environment Housing and Urbanization, Gender, Sports and Culture.

The three pillars are anchored on the 7 foundations of vision 2030: infrastructure for utilities; information and communication technology (ICT) science, technology and innovation (STI) land reforms, human resources development, security and public sector reforms. The Social pillar seeks to create just, cohesive and equitable social development in a clean and secure environment, while the Economic pillar aims to achieve an economic growth rate of 10 per cent per annum and sustain the same till 2030 to generate more resources to address the MDGs. Agriculture is identified as one of the key sectors to deliver the 10 per cent annual economic growth rate. To achieve this growth,

90 GoK, 2007. Kenya Vision 2030. Government of the Republic of Kenya, Ministry of Planning and National Development and

Office of the President.


transforming smallholder agriculture from subsistence to an innovative, commercially oriented and modern agricultural sector is critical. Among other approaches, this transformation is to be accomplished through: a) Transforming key institutions in agriculture, livestock, forestry and wildlife to promote agricultural growth, b) Increasing productivity of crops, livestock and tree cover, c) Introducing land-use policies for better use of high- and medium-potential lands, d) Developing more irrigable areas in arid and semi-arid lands for both crops and livestock. On land use, the Vision 2030 notes that land in the high- and medium-potential areas as well as in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) remains under-exploited for agricultural production. Much of the available cropland remains under-used with smallholders using only 60% of their land for agricultural production. It also calls for proper management of catchment areas and conservation of natural resources and the environment. The Second Medium Term Plan 2013-2017 (MTP-II)91, is the prevailing Action Plan for the implementation of Vision 2030. It identifies key policy actions, reforms, programmes and projects to be implemented in the 2013-2017 period in line with government priorities, the Kenya 2010 constitution and the long-term objective of Vision 2030. Accordingly, the theme of this MTP is Transforming Kenya: Pathway to Devolution, Socio-Economic Development, Equity and National Unity. The MTP gives priority to devolution as spelt out in the constitution and to more rapid socio-economic development with equity as a tool for building national unity. The Second MTP also aims to build on the successes transformation through infrastructure development, and strategic emphasis on priority sectors under the economic and social pillars of Vision 2030. It has spelt out several flagship programmes some of which have a bearing on SLM. Major ones include:

Rehabilitation and Protection of the Water Towers This programme entails rehabilitation and protection of Kenya’s five water towers namely; the Aberdares, Cherangani, Mau, Mt. Kenya and Mt. Elgon In addition, other smaller significant water towers and catchment areas in the country such as; the hills in Machakos and Kitui, the Chyulu, Igembe, Manga, Maragoli, Ngong, Shimba and Taita Hills, and Mt. Kulal, Marsabit, Ndoto , Nyiru and Shella Dunes of Lamu, and oases in the arid areas such as Loiyangalani in Marsabit would be rehabilitated.

Forest Conservation and Management Ecosystem and Participatory forest management plans support sustainable forest management. Bamboo, commercial forestry and other nature based enterprises facilitate poverty alleviation and environmental conservation. This programme is implemented both on farmlands and drylands in collaboration with Community Forest Associations. Farm and Dryland provide the best opportunity for increasing the tree cover to 10% both nationally and at the county level. Famers are encouraged to integrate planting of the appropriate tree species in their land to

91 GoK 2013. Second Medium Term Plan, 2013 – 2017. Ministry of Devolution and Planning. Government of the Republic of Kenya


increase the availability of tree products on farm and also attain the requisite forest cover.

National Land Information Management - This involves development of a transparent, decentralized, affordable, effective and efficient GIS based Land Information Management System.

Water resources management programme: The programme entails the review of 6 Catchment Management Strategies; preparation of 200 sub-Catchment Development Plans; construction of 50 sand dams and/sub-surface dams along seasonal rivers especially in ASAL areas; Up-grading of 100 gauging stations to Telemetric Stations complete with data-loggers; rehabilitate or establish 100 water quality monitoring stations; Development of a National Water Allocation Plan.

4.2 Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) The Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS)92 2010-2020, was developed to be in line with the Kenya Vision 2030, and to upscale the agricultural sector. Drawing from the Vision 2030, under the economic and social pillars, it emphasizes the enhancement of productivity of crops and livestock, incomes, and food security and nutrition. ASDS outlines ways to transform the agricultural sector to encompass innovative, commercially-oriented and modern agricultural undertakings. The overall goal of the agricultural sector is to achieve an average growth rate of 7 percent per year over the next 5 years. The mission of the ASDS is therefore to create an innovative, commercially-oriented and modern agriculture to ensure a food-secure and prosperous nation. The overall development and growth of the sector was anchored in two strategic thrusts: (a) Increasing productivity, commercialization and comprehensiveness of agricultural commodities and enterprises; and (b) Development and managing the key factor of production. On improving land use and crop production, the ASDS proposes that the subsector would gain dynamic equilibrium of agricultural land through sustainable land-use practices and environmental conservation. In land-use development, the subsector should conceptualize and develop irrigation schemes and soil and water conservation programmes, reclaim drylands, and protect forests and riverbanks. Through this intervention, the subsector should enhance sustainable land management through promoting the development and adoption of soil and water conservation measures, agroforestry, riverbank protection, water-harvesting technologies, and equipping and improving agriculture mechanization stations. Further, the Strategy proposes developing and implementing a land-use master plan, noting that in rural areas, land-use practices are largely incongruent with the specific ecological zones. Uneconomic land subdivisions coupled with poor land-use practices are responsible for accelerated land degradation and declining land productivity. In

92 Government of Kenya, 2010. Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (2010–2020)


urban areas, proliferation of informal settlements, urban sprawl and encroachment into protected land remain key challenges. The escalation of desertification as a result of land degradation and climate change poses risks to the lives of people living in ASALs. This intervention facilitates the development and implementation of an agricultural land-use master plan for more efficient use of all forms of land. ASDS also calls for improving environmental conservation, and enhancing conservation and Management of Resources, including the forests, grasslands, wetlands, coral reefs and mangroves which are biodiversity hotspots. It also calls for developing river basins and large water body resources, conserving river banks, water bodies and catchments, as well as protecting, conserving and managing forest resources

4.3 National Environment Policy, 2013 The National Environment Policy93 was also developed following the requirements of the Vision 2013 and the Constitution of Kenya 2010. The Policy supports the management of ecosystems and sustainable use of natural resources, encompassing; forest ecosystems, freshwater and wetland ecosystems, coastal and marine ecosystems, mountain ecosystems, arid and semi-arid lands ecosystems, land, soils, minerals, biodiversity, wildlife resources, livestock and fisheries. On restoration of water and ecosystem restoration, the Policy proposes among others to promote and institutionalize payment for environmental services schemes to support catchment protection and conservation. Also, to ensure rehabilitation and restoration of degraded wetlands, riverbanks and lakeshores and, as appropriate, promote and support establishment of constructed wetlands, and to involve and empower communities in the management of fresh water and wetland ecosystems. To address unsustainable use of land in urban and rural areas, the Policy under section 4.6.2 offered to ensure implementation of the Constitution and the National Land Policy in a way that takes into account sustainable conservation and management of the environment and land resources. It also promised to promote and enhance best practices for optimal and sustainable land use, support land restoration policies and to involve and empower communities in land utilization and management. To combat soil erosion, the policy promised to develop and implement a National Soil Conservation Policy (this has still not been done). It also offered to promote and support eco and organic farming so as to maintain soil fertility, ensure the protection of wetlands, riverbanks, hilltops and slopes from unsustainable practices to prevent soil erosion and environmental degradation. Further, the Policy intends to promote good soil management practices to avert landslides, mudslides, floods and other disasters that are preventable, as well as to involve and empower communities in soil conservation.

93 Republic of Kenya, 2013. National Environment Policy, 2013. Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Nairobi.


4.4 National Policy for Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands The National Policy for the Sustainable Development of Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands94 is also known as the ASAL Policy. It was formulated with extensive consultations lasting several years. The main objective of this policy is to facilitate and fast-track sustainable development in Northern Kenya and other arid lands by increasing investment in the region and ensuring that the use of those resources is fully reconciled with the realities of people’s lives. This is meant to lead to poverty reduction and wealth creation through investments in sustainable development of the ASAL, enhance food security and reduce dependency on food aid by the population living in the ASALs. It is noted in the policy under chapter 2 that there was need to develop this policy due to uniqueness of ASAL areas such as historical marginalization and persistent myths about the ASALs that Pastoralists are primitive and inefficient users of natural resources leading to over-grazing by livestock hence major land degradation; also that Common land is over-exploited and less productive than privately owned land also resulting in rapid environmental degradation. Since economic growth, poverty reduction and inequality are inextricably related, this policy document promote changes in resource distribution enhancing equity and access to economic resources while providing viable incentives to pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, small-scale farmers and traders in the ASALs. Improving natural resource management and utilization by strengthening pastoral land tenure systems and reducing and managing risks due to drought, floods, food and human insecurity are among the focus areas in this policy framework as expounded in section 4. Water availability, its appropriate development and use are key in the development of the ASALs. The development of both ground and surface water through appropriate community-owned water harvesting structures such as pans and dams is equally emphasized as a strategy to provide water in sufficient quantities and quality for human and livestock consumption, crop farming and agro-forestry. The use of indigenous technical knowledge and locally available materials in the development and management of water harvesting and irrigation facilities constitute key considerations. Dryland farming is mentioned in section 5.4.4, which stipulates that agro-pastoralism and marginal farming are critical to the livelihoods of communities in semi-arid areas in particular. In arid areas farming should be done in a manner that complements mobile pastoralism. The potential to increase both rain-fed and irrigated crop production is constrained by inadequate extension services and production technologies, limited access to affordable credit (particularly given the high investment required for irrigation), and poor postharvest management and storage facilities. Management of land degradation by conservation, sustainable utilization and managing the natural resources and the environment is well state in section 5.4.2.2,

94 Republic of Kenya (2012). National policy for the sustainable development of northern Kenya and other arid lands. Ministry

of State for Development of Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands. Sessional Paper No.8 of 2012


which states that “In order to ensure sound land and natural resource management in the ASALs, the Government promises to:

Reinforce the authority of traditional natural resource management systems that promote sound environmental practices.

Protect and promote indigenous knowledge and practice, promote environmental education and awareness, and intensify environmental conservation efforts.

Protect and increase forest cover, riverine vegetation and critical water catchment areas in the ASALs, including special ecosystems such as Mts. Marsabit and Kulal.

Eradicate undesirable invasive species such as Prosopis Juliflora. Promote low-maintenance water technologies, with an emphasis on water

harvesting which (given likely climate change impacts) can deal with both abundance and scarcity.

Ensure that the interests of pastoralists, particularly pastoralist women, are adequately and appropriately addressed in new land legislation and institutions, in line with the National Land Policy.

The ASAL Policy proposed for the establishment of the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) and the National Drought and Disaster Contingency Fund (NDDCF), so as to ensure timely activation of contingency plans;

4.5 National Land Policy (2009) The Government of Kenya adopted the new Land Policy95 in 2009. This policy provides for private land ownership and the category of ‘trust land’ was changed into ‘community land’. It also allows the demarcation of ‘community land’ and the allocation of its title to a particular community group. A six step process is provided including documenting and mapping of customary land tenure systems; establishing a clear legislative framework and procedures for registration; reviewing all acquisitions; developing participatory processes; incorporating customary mechanisms of conflict resolution. The policy sought to recognize the rights of communities to access resources upon which they depend. Community Land Boards (community-elected) were established to manage access to the land. The Policy also allows for secondary-user access of land e.g. for access to water points, drought reserves or mineral licks and recognizes the particular role of women. Non-Kenyans were barred from owning freehold land and only allowed to hold land under 99 year leases. All public land was to be identified, registered and handed over to a National Land Commission. A strategy is being put in place to determine economically viable minimum sizes for different land uses. The government could compulsorily acquire any land that has minerals found on it to protect the communities from exploitation. These components have been endorsed and supported by the new Constitution (approved in August 2010) and which states that land laws should be revised and enacted to effect the new provisions (Article 68).

95 Republic of Kenya, 2009. Sessional Paper No. 3 of 2009 on National Land Policy. Ministry of Lands, Nairobi


According to the Constitution of Kenya (2010), land in Kenya is classified as public, community or private. Public land includes protected mountains, hills, forests, national parks, rivers, lakes and other water bodies, territorial sea and the continental shelf; all roads, land on which public utilities stand e.g. offices, schools, hospitals, and all lands held by County Governments. Community land, on the other hand consists of land lawfully registered in the name of group representatives, e.g. Cooperatives, ancestral lands, or any other land declared to be community land by an Act of Parliament. Private land consists of registered land held by any person under any freehold tenure or leasehold tenure. The land tenure system in Kenya has been facilitative of competitive private enterprise and general development. It is also a source of numerous conflicts across ethnic, economic and individual levels. Private land acquisitions are at the centre of reduction of protected public lands, with consequent impacts of water resources, biodiversity and ecosystems. Generally, the National Land Policy articulates the land problems in Kenya quite openly. It highlights the mistakes of the past and reflects a determination to solve land-related challenges. The policy has an agrarian focus, dwelling less on the urban and peri-urban areas, and this is particularly true of the level of attention given to rapid urbanization and the needs for shelter it poses. Kenya is undergoing rapid urbanization and that it will likely accelerate in future. There is a relationship between population growth, land pressure and rapid urbanization. Based on international evidence, urbanization is creating rapidly rising demand for land and land prices in urban and peri-urban areas, and thus escalate competition and conflict over land in those areas. At the same time, population inflows into urban areas are not expected to slow down. Thus, there is growing pressure on rural land due to demand to grow more food and cash crops to support the expanding population, especially since majority of the country’s population is still rural.

4.6 National Climate Change Response Strategy, 2010 Kenya between 2009 and 2010 developed the National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS)96. Both the NCCRS and the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) (2013) seek to mainstream an inclusive and equitable low-carbon development pathway for the country in the face of climate change. The Action Plan feeds into Vision 2030’s Second Medium Term Plan (2013 – 2017) and lays a solid foundation for reducing vulnerability to climate change and enhancing climate adaptation in the country. The NCCAP seeks to ensure that climate change is mainstreamed in all development plans. It takes adaptation and mitigation efforts in all key sectors including: livelihood diversification, development of human capital, water resources conservation and development, climate-proofed infrastructural development (roads and energy), afforestation and reforestation, and climate-resilient agricultural systems, among others. As a result, intervention programmes are implemented through line ministries in collaboration with development partners. 96 Republic of Kenya (2010). National Climate Change Response Strategy 2010


The NCCRS has wide ranging recommendations towards making Kenyan agriculture climate-resilient, including provision of downscaled weather information and farm inputs; water harvesting e.g. building of sand dams for irrigation; protection of natural resource base (soil and water conservation techniques); and research and dissemination of superior (drought tolerant, salt-tolerant, pest and disease resistant) crops. Some of the programmes with agriculture and/or SLM focus include;

(i) Agriculture: Provision of downscaled weather information and farm inputs; water harvesting e.g. building of sand dams for irrigation; protection of natural resource base (soil and water conservation techniques); and research and dissemination of superior (drought tolerant, salt-tolerant, pest and disease resistant) crops.

(ii) Water: Construction of dams and water pans; protection of water towers, riverbanks, and water bodies; de-silting of riverbeds and dams; municipal water recycling facilities; building capacity for water quality improvement, and awareness campaign to promote water efficiency measures. Interventions in the water sector needs to adopt integrated approaches to water resource management and utilization.

Climate change mitigation also features in NCCRS. Through it, efforts are made to limit the current and future emissions by increasing potential sinks for GHGs. In Kenya, the sectors associated with high emissions include forestry (due to loss of forests from logging and land use change), energy, agriculture and transport. The proposed mitigation interventions include projects of the Kenya Forest Service’s Forestry Development Plan (FDP); Energy Ministry’s Green Energy Development; as well as other interventions in the transport and agricultural sectors. The Forestry Development Plan (FDP) aims at growing of 7.6 billion trees during the next 20 years. Further, climate change communication, education and awareness programmes are proposed to be implemented through;

Establishing a National Climate Change Awareness campaign through print and electronic media to pass climate change information in various articles and programmes on climate change in the media.

Education-based entertainment: educating the citizens on climate change while entertaining them at the same time through theatrical performances.

Mainstreaming climate change awareness in all programmes and projects undertaken by the Government, media and other organizations.

Creating climate change training material and programmes for target groups of stakeholders and specific groups, i.e. women, men, children, youth, people with disabilities, religious groups.

Promotional activities and sponsorship of events with climate change themes, e.g. a reward scheme for pupils or individuals who plant trees and maintain them.

Online blogging on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Groups, and Yahoo Groups through which various topics on climate change could be discussed, and involving the corporate sector, especially the mobile telephone industry e.g. to display ‘airtime top-up messages’ on climate change.


4.7 Kenya Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan, 2015 The Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan (GESIP)97 is based on four principles drawn from national policy planning as enshrined in Article 10 of the Constitution of Kenya. The strategy also recognizes that 42% of Kenya’s GDP and 70% of overall employment is derived from natural resource-related sectors, including agriculture, mining, forestry, fishing, tourism, water supply and energy; and that climate change leads to adverse impacts across all of these sectors particularly the agricultural sector if proper management measures are not taken. Thus, it is expected that, in 7-10 years’ time, there will be positive economic returns after green economy policy interventions are implemented. Similarly, economic development is expected to reduce poverty as real per capita incomes grow. The Strategic Area 3 under section 4.1.3 defines sustainable natural resource management and provides for the effective management of natural wealth (biological and physical) which supports about 42 percent of GDP. The sector’s importance is expected to increase following the discovery of oil, gas and other minerals. This focus area covers sectors such as agriculture, forestry, water, fisheries, wildlife, land use, fossil fuel extraction and mining. The key priority areas include strengthening natural resource governance institutions; ensure fair and transparent taxation and sharing of natural resources rents; improving natural capital accounting through resource mapping; supporting standards and certification of natural resource products; and promoting sustainable land and water resource management practices. Under Section 4.1.4 Strategic Area 4 on Promoting Resource Efficiency, it seeks to identify ways in which current resource usage can be optimized, minimizing costs and impacts. Increasing resource productivity requires that over time, higher output is realized per unit of resource inputs including land, water, mineral ores, construction materials and fuels. Transition to green economy also entails support for green and eco-friendly technologies (and this could include SLM) and related research and innovation activities. Investment inefficiency can lead to increased resources available to invest in green economy transition, fewer harmful emissions and less waste generation. Resource efficiency is applicable at different levels of the economy including the production supply chains. At the macroeconomic level, green economy should support high Total Factor Productivity (TFP) or GDP to Domestic material consumption ratio. At the sector level, respective measures of efficiency and productivity apply. In this regard, to support green growth, the government needs to develop efficiency and productivity targets and indicators. Specific opportunities and activities related to resource efficiency are identified in the relevant sector strategies. The mainstreaming of green economy implementation takes into account other relevant policy initiatives that are being implemented. Some of the relevant initiatives include the National Climate Change Action Plan 2013-2017 that aims to build a low carbon resilient economy, Energy Policy, Climate Change Policy, Master Plan for

97 Republic of Kenya (2015). Kenya Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan (GESIP) – Draft


Conservation and Sustainable Management of Water Catchment Areas in Kenya, and Environment Policy. Ensuring that these policy initiatives and processes are complementary and not in conflict or duplicated is essential to success. The synergies facilitate smooth implementation, reduce the potential for conflict, and generate efficiencies. There are a wide range of sectors and stakeholders that should be involved in the implementation of the initiatives that have been identified in this strategy. It is essential for the national government to play a prominent role given the need for leadership and coordination between different layers of government and other stakeholders including private sector and civil society. Realistic costing and development of a feasible financing framework on nationwide scale as in the case of GESIP has a number of challenges. But combinations of various financing options have been identified. However, the key channels of financing green economy initiatives include the MTEF budget process both at national and county government level. The financing tools also include concessional grants and loans; public private partnerships, and government-led investment, as well as mobilizing international sources of funding. Access to international climate financing entail continued Kenyan engagement in international climate financing mechanisms; demonstrating transparency and sound fiscal management, as well as facilitating private sector investments through appropriate tools. Other innovative financing options include establishing Green Funds or sovereign wealth funds; developing stronger partnerships with emerging economies (e.g. BRICs); co-financing with other funds and banks; and stronger focus on leveraging existing funds to new opportunities. The financing windows that could be open to Kenya are wide especially climate change related funds. This underscores the need for close integration of green economy and climate change plans. Given the diverse nature of funding opportunities which may have different requirements, it is important that Kenya adopts a clear strategy on resource mobilization and funding to implement the GESIP.

4.8 The National Water Services Strategy (2007- 2015) The objective of National Water Services Strategy (NWSS)98 is to provide an effective and efficient response to the challenges facing water service provision in the country. The overall goal of the NWSS is to ensure sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation to all Kenyans. The key principles of the NWSS relevant to land degradation and SLM are sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation as a human right; Sustainability of water and sewerage services (WSS) systems through cost-recovery by taking into account a pro-poor pricing policy, meeting, equity as well as economic and environmental concerns; Environmentally friendly operations of water and sanitation services, e.g. polluter pay principle applies. The strategy separately outlines specific strategies for both urban and rural settings. Strategies for water supply in urban settings prioritize demand management over supply management, thus giving priority to the rehabilitation of existing systems for 98 Republic of Kenya , 2007. The National Water Services Strategy (NWSS) (2007 – 2015). Ministry of Water and Irrigation


water production than increasing capacity. For rural settings, the strategies are; increased investments and ownership for sustainable access to water by increasing monitoring of existing water systems and points for sustainability; improved water quality of water sources by investing in rural water supply through protection of water sources for both human and livestock uses, particularly in pastoral areas and to conduct training community committees to have the water quality periodically tested at water points. A sufficient range of technical solutions aiming at hampering risks of pollution should also be provided through this strategy. Environmental sustainability is a key concern and it is stated that water resources should be preserved and maintained according to the defined standards, and that effluent is discharged in a controlled manner. Preparation, management and mitigation of disasters should be done by establishing monitoring systems and compulsory measures. Areas prone to water-related disasters should be identified and mapped for use in the planning and management of disasters. The design, construction and management of dams used for water services should comply with established standards to minimize disasters.

4.9 Flood Mitigation Strategy, 2009 The Flood Mitigation Strategy99 has listed water availability and use as forming fundamental components for economic, social and cultural development in Kenya. It notes that many human and wildlife settlements occur next to waterways and in flood plains because of the advantages they offer, including proximity to water. In spite of these benefits, water can also cause destruction and damage to lives and crop production when it occurs in excess. During the last couple of decades, Kenya has experienced serious incidents of flood and drought disasters, in different parts of the country and caused major disturbances, destroying property and resulting in loss of life. Floods occur due to natural factors like flash floods, river floods and coastal floods but may also occur due to human manipulation of watersheds, drainage basins and flood plains. The Flood Mitigation Strategy aims at stipulating national goals, objectives and actions to reduce the vulnerability of this country to effects of floods. The strategy, not only deals directly with the flood hazard, but also has strong links with national social, economic and other development policies since the disasters caused by floods result into a complex interactions between social, economic, political and environmental processes. Factors leading to increases occurrences of and vulnerability to floods, proper interventions and threats to implementation were discussed. Poor management of natural resources and infrastructure are listed as the main causes of this disaster. To mitigate floods, an overall approach has been proposed based on the concept of Integrated Flood Management (IFM) integrating land and water resources development in a flood plain, within the context of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)100, with a view to maximize the efficient use of the flood plains

99 GoK, 2009. Flood Mitigation Strategy. Ministry of Water and Irrigation. 100 WRMA, 2009. Integrated Water Resources Management and Water Efficiency Plan for Kenya. Water Resources

Management Authority.


and minimize loss of property and life was adopted. IWRM essentially means provision of water in adequate quantity and of appropriate quality for all those sectors of economy, which depend directly or indirectly on water by promoting coordinated development of land, water and related resources. The proposed activities include; (i) Entrenchment of flood mitigation in catchment management Strategies (CMS) through improved land use planning, and (ii) Soil and water conservation measures enhanced in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and other actors. The structural measures are also proposed, such as flood embankments. Structural measures play an important role, among the range of available options. High flood discharges when in excess of the carrying capacity of river channels, spill over the banks and inundate large areas on either side. In the outfall reaches of the rivers, due to mild land slopes, there is drainage congestion, which is often aggravated due to high water levels of the lake. When the high floods in a river coincide with high lake levels, the back water effect travels far upstream causing wide spread inundation for long durations. Protection against these floods is provided with the help of dykes. Among the non-structural measures, flood forecasting and warning is one of the most effective methods, of reducing risk to life and property. It is important that the flood warnings are delivered to affected communities without loss of time, and that they understand them, in order to take immediate preventive steps. However, this is a complex process and needs proper awareness building and education of both the forecasters and the communities. The local knowledge and beliefs of the communities and their special social and cultural setting have to be kept in perspective while issuing flood warnings. The Strategy therefore calls for Promoting Community Participation – which could be useful in assisting the field staff monitoring of river water levels at the flood forecasting sites, communicating water levels to the flood forecasting office, receiving flood warning and its dissemination, and mobilizing and directing transport to predetermine disaster management units (DMU) of the district during rescue operations. Community based NGOs can provide help in organizing relief camps and distributing essential supplies. The Strategy further calls for encouraging non-state actors to facilitate community participation at various stages including relief and rescue operations and capacity building at community level.

4.10 National Agricultural Sector Extension Policy, 2012 The National Agricultural Sector Extension Policy (NASEP)101 is a broad sector-wide policy enacted to take care of changes that took place in the agricultural sector since 2001, at the time of the formulation of SRA, cognizant of the strategic plans of the sector ministries. Its predecessor, the National Agricultural Extension Policy (NAEP) was published in 2001. Modalities for putting NAEP into effect had been set out in the

101 GoK, 2012. National Agricultural Sector Extension Policy (NASEP). Agricultural Sector Coordination Unit (ASCU),

Government of Kenya


National Agriculture and Livestock Extension Programme (NALEP)102 Implementation Framework (NALEP-IF). Under NAEP, the idea was to promote the emergence of extension systems that are demand-driven by farmers and other clients and deliver high quality services, a greater role for the private sector in delivery of services, and progressive commercialization and privatization of public sector extension. With time, this model was found not to work well. It was acknowledged103 that appropriate institutional arrangements and legal frameworks had not been put in place, and that NAEP was not widely owned by stakeholders outside (and in some cases within) the sector ministries, and that resources were needed to give effect to key policy provisions were slow to materialize. It was thus concluded that concluded that NAEP and its implementation faced considerable constraints, which NASEP was designed to address

The NASEP draws its strength from the ASDS principles, with the objective is to promote and guide the realization of demand-driven, sustainable and effective pluralistic extension system. The long-term goal is to have private sector-led and fully commercialized extension service such as that already provided by private companies. In recognition of the increasing role of other stakeholders in extension services provision, the Government promises to:

(i) Promote pluralism in extension service delivery and institute mechanisms to coordinate extension services for improved quality services,

(ii) Continue to be involved in providing agricultural extension services either directly (using existing Government institutions) or indirectly mainly in areas where private sector participation is still low (e.g. in ASALs) with special attention to vulnerable groups,

(iii) Invest in building capacity of ESPs, extension clientele and relevant institutions, and

(iv) Promote decentralized extension service provision through clientele organizations and other grassroot institutions /forums organized at all levels, in line with the Government devolved structures.

The NASEP concedes that it is a big challenge to develop comprehensive and dynamic extension packages that includes cross-cutting issues such as sustainable use of natural resources and gender. It therefore seeks to embrace sustainable environmental management through wider community participation in natural resource management and formulation of conservation strategies. Some of the approaches that are proposed include; taking into consideration the importance of indigenous knowledge and technologies, promoting farmer innovations, developing guidelines for the operations of extension-led extension provision such as farmer-to-farmer extension, Farmer Field Schools and addressing agro-ecological diversity and that recognize socio-economic and cultural characteristics of the clients and promote enterprise diversification.

4.11 National Agribusiness Strategy, 2012

102 NALEP, 2001. The National Agricultural and Livestock Extension Program (NALEP). Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nairobi, Kenya

103 GoK 2007. National Agricultural Sector Extension Policy Implementation Framework. Ministry of Agriculture Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development Ministry of Cooperative Development and Marketing, Nairobi.


The National Agribusiness Strategy (2012) was developed to support the need to transform smallholder agriculture from subsistence activities to innovative, commercially-oriented, internationally competitive and modern agricultural as stated in the Vision 2030 under the economic pillar. One of the key drivers for this transformation is agribusiness- a sector that comprises types of businesses involved in agricultural production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, processing, marketing and retail sales. One of the main factors identified as contributing to the current low farm productivity is inappropriate land use, which degrades the quality of Kenya’s natural resources. To improve on productivity, there is need to attract investment by creating an enabling environment and putting performance above politics. Such funds should be used to improve agricultural water management to include expanded irrigation infrastructure.

4.13 Analysis of opportunities and threats inherent in relevant policies Policy document Strengths/ Opportunity Weaknesses/ Threat

Kenya Vision 2030 (2007)

Vision 2030 introduced land reforms and paved the way for the National Land policy.

It proposed the development of the Land information system.

It also upholds Sustainable management of natural resources, promising to intensify conservation of strategic natural resources (forests, water towers, wildlife sanctuaries and marine ecosystems)

On Agriculture, the Vision facilitated the formulation of land use polices for better utilization of high and medium potential lands

Vision proposed raising the standards of the country’s water resource management, storage and harvesting capability;

It proposed enhancing disaster preparedness in all disaster-prone areas and improving the capacity for adaptation to global climatic change.

The Vision 2030 was enacted before the new Constitution 2010; hence issues of devolution are not captured by this development blue print.

Other than mentioning soil erosion under situation analysis, the Vision does not tacit

The Vision is national in nature and thus requires further disaggregation of issues in its application at local levels

Inadequate financial and human resources in the counties to enable effective and sustainable development and utilization of natural resources for the benefit of local communities.

Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) 2010-2020

On SLM, ASDS proposes to: Improving Management of the

Environment and Natural Resources Improving pollution and waste

management Enhancing conservation and

management of resources Developing and implementing

appropriate mechanisms for protecting, conserving and sustainably managing forest and wildlife resources

The ASDS predates the era of devolution and thus its implementation is constrained by the fact that agriculture became a devolved function, a factor not reflected in its governance structure.


Policy document Strengths/ Opportunity Weaknesses/ Threat Conserving river banks, water bodies

and catchments Implement the national climate change

response strategy

National Environment Policy (2013)

The NEP was formulated following the requirements of the Vision 2013 and the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and thus fits well with devolved system of government

NEP identifies Kenya’s critical ecosystems and natural resources. It proposes measures to enhance conservation and management of ecosystems and sustainable use of natural resources.

It addresses broad environmental issues including environmental diseases, noise, toxic and hazardous substances, radiation and waste management

It provides a framework for integrated ecosystem approach to conserving environmental resources

It upholds tenets of public participation, equity, the precautionary principle, subsidiarity, and addressing climate change

The broad nature of NEP is such that it does not address SLM very strongly, albeit it mentions involving communities in soil conservation.

National Policy for the Sustainable Development of Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands (ASAL Policy) 2012

The ASAL Policy reinforces other positive policy options articulated in Kenya Vision 2030, the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and the National Land Policy. T

The Policy seeks to strengthen the resilience of ASAL communities to drought and other climate related disasters.

Interventions target drought management and climate change, land and natural resource management, livestock production and marketing, dryland farming, livelihood diversification, and poverty and inequality.

Although the ASAL policy has promised actions such as dryland farming to boost food security, policy implementation under the devolved system of government is unclear.

The ASAL policy recommended the formation of the National Drought and Disaster Contingency Fund (NDDCF), which has yet to be implemented

Poorly instituted linkages between ASAL with other communities to enable cross-learning on SLM best practices

National Land Policy (2009)

On SLM, the Policy supports sustainable land use practices and restoring the environmental integrity of land by facilitating sustainable management of land based resources,

It also proposes ecosystem protection and management principles and urban environmental management principles

It postulates benefit-sharing from land – based natural resources

The policy is silent on guiding the exploitation of fragile lands and those at risk of degradation e.g. very steep slopes


Policy document Strengths/ Opportunity Weaknesses/ Threat

National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) 2010

On SLM, the NCCRS is quite prescriptive. It lists addressing land degradation by building soil and stone bunds, creating grass strips and contour levelling as well as incorporating trees or hedgerows and promoting Conservation Agriculture.

It also proposes protecting and conserving water catchment areas, riverbanks, and water bodies from degradation and contamination e.g., by imposing a water levy to generate funds for investment in conservation of water catchment area

The implementation plan does not accommodate ne changes such as devolution. Hence the roles for national and County Governments are not well delineated.

The Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan (GESIP) Draft of 2015

The Plan focuses on key priority areas which include strengthening natural resource governance institutions; ensure fair and transparent taxation and sharing of natural resources rents; improving natural capital accounting through resource mapping; supporting standards and certification of natural resource products; and promoting sustainable land and water resource management practices.

The Green Economy Plan is expected to yield results in the long term, at least 7 to 10 years’ time. This means in the meantime, other strategies are needed to make SLM bear benefits for communities and ecosystems

Flood Mitigation Strategy (2009)

The Strategy is focused on reducing vulnerability of people to floods through improved livelihoods

Integrated approach to water resources development and flood management

Structural measures e.g. dykes Flood preparedness/ flood forecasting Institutional arrangement and

promoting community participation

The Strategy sees floods from a hydrological point of view, and positive components (e.g. replenishing water resources and filling dams) is ignored

National Agricultural Sector Extension Policy (NASEP) 2012

NASEP has a sector-wide approach to providing extension services (crops,, livestock, fisheries ) which also encompasses elements of SLM

it recognizes the role of the private sector in pluralistic extension, and extension service providers (ESPs)

the government promises to provide agricultural extension services either directly (using existing government institutions) or indirectly (e.g. contracting private sector service providers and universities / colleges) with special attention to ASALs and vulnerable groups

Challenges in implementation of NASEP include poor financial allocation for public extension

Lack of private sector input Uncoordinated pluralistic

extension service delivery Poor access to information. The extension System is meant

to be demand-driven with clientele participation, but that is difficult to achieve a self-financing, supply and demand services sector for extension


5. INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKS FOR SLM IMPLEMENTATION

Several institutions are at the forefront of working to combat land degradation and promote sustainable land management (SLM) in Kenya. They range from national government ministries, County Government Departments, Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs/parastatals), non-state actors (NSAs/NGOs) community based organizations (CBOs), non-governmental organizations, universities and research institutions, international development partners and the private sector. Majority of these institutions falls under the public sector and are directly or indirectly working with the Government. 5.1 National Government Ministries Several Ministries have responsibilities that include improving the environment, water and land resources management, biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, climate change, human and economic development, all of which have bearing on land degradation and SLM. Some of the national and County Government institutions bearing responsibility for prevention of land degradation and facilitation of various aspects of SLM include:

i. Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MENR) ii. Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MoALF) iii. Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) iv. Ministry of Devolution and Planning v. Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development vi. Ministry of Tourism vii. The National Treasury viii. Ministry of Mining ix. Ministry of Energy and Petroleum x. Senate committee on Land and Natural Resources xi. National Assembly committee on Agriculture, and xii. County Governments (Council of Governors, Specific Technical committees).

Among these Government institutions, three of them carry a bigger mandate for addressing land degradation and SLM. These are the MENR, MoALF, and MWI.

i. The Ministry of Environment Water and Natural Resources, (MENWR) caries the overall mandate for natural resources management and conservation including forests, wildlife, the environment and pollution control. Furthermore the MENR hosts the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) which is responsible for ensuring environmental standards are adhered to and protection of the environment.

ii. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MoALF) has responsibility over the agricultural components, and thus ensuring sustainable land management in cultivated areas, grazing lands and through all aspects of the agricultural value chains. The MoALF also has direct links with the main land


users, farmers who are decision makers affecting land use and its management. As such it offers an entry point for most of the interventions that promote SLM especially in the rural areas. Further Kenya has also numerous research institutions, institutions of higher learning, parastatals and programs that handle different or even the same aspects of agriculture related SLM, and which work closely with the MoALF.

iii. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation is responsible for water services provision as well as the protection and preservation of water resources. Under these mandates is the protection of water catchment areas, as well as carrying the mandates or irrigation. MWI hosts WRMA (Water Resources Management Authority), the National Irrigation Board and other SAGAs, which carry mandates for land and water resources management and conservation.

5.2 County Governments There are 47 County Governments in Kenya as mandated by the constitution (2010), and each is responsible for agriculture, environment and SLM implementation. The Council of Governors (CoG) is the body that coordinates all matters for the County Governments. It comprises of all the 47 governors with a secretariat in Nairobi. The COG identifies priority issues and deals collectively with matters of public policy and governance at the County and the National levels. COG has constituted subcommittees under different thematic areas with membership of the governors. Currently SLM is covered under the sub-committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the sub-committee on Agriculture. The two committees deal directly with the implementation of various issues majorly related to SLM. The Agricultural Committee deals with all matters relating to sustainable agricultural practices, poverty eradication by utilization of high value inputs and equipment, value addition for farmers, food security and drought management, production and marketing, fisheries development and adoption of technological advancements in agriculture. The Natural Resource Management (wildlife, forestry, mining, tourism and water) committee deals in all matters relating to sustainable land and water management, mining, climate change, forestry, natural resources, pollution, waste management, environment management and conservation. The COG has appointed various Governors to chair this Sub-committees who work through technical committees comprising of the County Executive Committee Members (CECs). The subcommittees have come up with other organs that help them to link with the National Government. The Agriculture Committee has developed an intergovernmental framework of engagement with the National Government. On matter of Agriculture, they work through the intergovernmental technical working group. Most of the work for these committees has mainly been on the assessment of various policies that have emerged especially after devolution. They have also been involved in the assessment of the various legislations policies and bills that cut across the two sectors. Most of the SLM issues are captured on matters that are cross-cutting in the


two levels of Governments. These includes; Farm input subsidies (Fertilizers), Soil sampling and analysis, Mechanization, Irrigation and Water harvesting. SLM issues are supposed to be factored in County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs). CIDPs are developed by all the Counties and are supposed to be in line with Vision 2030, Medium Term Planning Framework and the sectoral plans of related Ministries. They may also have emphasis on the Governors manifestos. Guidelines for the development of the CIDPs are issued by the Ministry of Devolution and Planning. However, few of these CIDPs have been implemented.

5.3 Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs) Semi-autonomous Government Agencies (SAGAs) formerly known as parastatals and Government Owned Enterprises (GoE) institutions, comprise important institutions that fund, implement and support SLM activities in the country, either directly or indirectly. Some of the major ones include:

i. Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA) ii. National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) iii. The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) iv. Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Authority (AFFA) v. Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA), vi. Agricultural Information Resource Centre (AIRC) vii. Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) viii. National Irrigation Board (NIB) ix. Kenya Meteorological Service (KMS) x. Kenya Forest Service (KFS) xi. Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) xii. Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) xiii. Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute xiv. National Land Commission xv. Regional Development Authorities (Tana and Athi River Development Authority,

Lake Basin, Kerio Valley, Ewaso Ng’iro North, Ewaso Ng’iro South) xvi. Universities, e.g. University of Nairobi, Moi University, Kenyatta University,

Egerton University, Maseno University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), University of Eldoret, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, South Eastern Kenya University, Karatina University, Meru University of Science and Technology, Mount Kenya University (MKU) and University of Eastern Africa, Baraton.

The mandates of some of the more prominent SAGAs associated with SLM are briefly described:

The National Environment Management Agency (NEMA) was established in 2002 under the EMCA Act of 1999. The Authority is a Semi Autonomous Government Agency (SAGA) in the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and has been in operation since 1st July 2002. NEMA is the main agency for the implementation of all


policies related to the environment. NEMA has a number of core functions, the main one being coordination of environmental management activities of all other agencies. Other main responsibilities include environmental education and public awareness, advice and technical support to other agencies, and preparation of annual reports on the State of the Environment in Kenya. Since its establishment, NEMA has implemented three strategic plans and has been on performance contracting as required by the State Corporation (performance contracting) Regulations, 2004 legal notice No. 93. NEMA works closely with lead agencies and development partners, active on environmental protection and management in the country. The Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA), was established in 2003 following the enactment of Water Act 2002, as part of the water sector reforms. The water resources management system was changed from a centralized administrative basis to catchment management basis. The overall mandate of WRMA is to work as the lead agency in the management of water resources in the whole country. Water resources under Water Act 2002 are listed as; lakes, ponds, swamps, streams, marshes, watercourses or any other body of flowing or standing water both below and above the ground. The functions of the WRMA include planning, management, protection and conservation of water resources. WRMA, which under the MWI, is also authorized to receive and determine applications for water permits and monitor their compliance. WRMA is also expected to implement policies and strategies relating to the management of water resources; these include the National Water Resources Management Strategy, as well as to develop and implement catchment management strategies of all the river basins in Kenya. This means that SLM is a major function which features WRMA’s mandates. The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), is the current hub of all research on agriculture in Kenya. KALRO, which is under the MoALF, was formed in line with the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (2010-2020) and the second medium term plan (MTP-II) of the Kenya Government, by reforming the former Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) through expanded mandates. Its formation was aimed at restructuring agricultural and livestock research into a dynamic, innovative, responsive and well-coordinated system driven by a common vision and goal. KALRO is a corporate body created under the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Act of 2013, to establish suitable legal and institutional framework for coordination of agricultural research in Kenya. KALRO is premised to (i) Promote, streamline, co-ordinate and regulate research in crops, livestock, genetic resources and biotechnology in Kenya, and (ii) Expedite equitable access to research information, resources and technology and promote the application of research findings and technology in the field of agriculture. The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) is a State Corporation established in February 2007 under the Forest Act, 2005 to conserve develop and sustainably manage forest resources for Kenya’s social economic development. KFS, which under the MENR, is responsible for the approximately 1.7 million hectares that are gazetted as forests,


including montane forests (e.g., Mt. Kenya and the Aberdares), tropical rainforest (Kakamega), dryland forests (e.g., Matthews Range), and coastal forests (e.g., Arabuko-Sokoke). The Forests Act provided for the development of tourism as a way of adding value to the forests and supporting forest conservation. The KFS management structure comprises 10 conservancies that are ecologically demarcated, 76 zonal forest offices, 150 forest stations, and 250 divisional forest extension offices located countrywide, and critical in forest management and surveillance. KFS is also extensively supported by the work of the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), which was established in 1986 under the Science and Technology Act (CAP 250). KEFRI is an autonomous state corporation responsible for forest research. The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) is a statutory body established under the State Corporations Act (Cap 446) of the Laws of Kenya by Legal Notice Number 171 of November 24, 2011. The Legal Notice gives the NDMA the mandate to establish mechanisms which ensure that drought does not result in emergencies and that the impacts of climate change are sufficiently mitigated. Formed as a follow up of the former Arid Lands Resources Management Programme (ALRMP), NDMA is responsible for drought management systems covering 23 counties. NDMA implements project-based interventions directly affecting household food security and livelihoods of more than ten million people. The NDMA is a specialized and permanent institution with a legal basis. It provides a platform for long-term planning and action, as well as a mechanism for solid coordination across Government and with all other stakeholders. The NDMA disburses resources based on a strong evidence base, built up from its institutional memory of drought management. Many of NDMA’s interventions are on SLM I the dray areas. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority (AFFA) is a State Corporation established through an Act of Parliament specifically, under section 3 of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority Act of 2013. It is a successor to eight former regulatory institutions in the agriculture sector, which now operate as Directorates under the Authority. The Mission of AFFA is to “regulate, develop and promote crops for socio-economic empowerment and development”. The functions of AFFA include to; (i) Administer the Crops Act, and the Fisheries Act in accordance with the provisions of these Acts, (ii) to promote best practices in, and regulate, the production, processing, marketing, grading, storage, collection, transportation and warehousing of agricultural and aquatic products, (iii) to collect and collate data, maintain a database on agricultural and aquatic products, and to (iv) advise the national government and the county governments on agricultural and aquatic levies for purposes of planning, enhancing harmony and equity in the sector. The mandate crops of AFFA include; coffee, fibre crops, food crops, horticultural crops, nuts and oil crops, pyrethrum and other industrial crops, sugar, tea and fisheries The Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) is a regulatory body established under the State Corporations Act (Cap. 446) pursuant to Legal Notice No. 305 of 18th October, 1996. The Corporation commenced operations in 1997. KEPHIS,


which under the MoALF, administers the Seed and Plant Variety Act, Cap. 326 of the Laws of Kenya which provides for protection of plant breeders’ rights. The subject matter for protection is the propagating material which is usually seeds, suckers, tubers, crafting material and other propagating materials. In addition, KEPHIS administers the Plant Protection Act (Cap. 324) and The Agricultural Produce (Export) Act (Cap. 319). The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is the designated national authority for a number of environmental conventions and protocols to which Kenya is a signatory. KWS, which under the MENR, is appropriately, the national focal point for the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and Bonn Convention on Migratory Species of Animals as it is mandated with conserving Kenya’s terrestrial and aquatic natural resources in the gazetted protected areas. In addition, KWS is the lead agency for the management of the country’s wetlands and by 2010; five wetlands had been listed as Ramsar Sites. KWS is also empowered to license, control, and regulate all wildlife conservation and management outside of protected areas. In this regard, KWS shares responsibility with other stakeholders in the management and protection of critical water catchments areas (e.g., Mt. Kenya, the Aberdares, Mt. Elgon, Chyulu, and Marsabit), including the restoration of the Mau Forest Complex. Outside gazetted forest reserves, KWS has the responsibility for conserving biodiversity.

5.4 Non-State Actors (NSAs) and CBOs engaged in SLM conservation Kenya has many Non-State Actors (NSAs) formerly known as Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs) and community based organizations (CBOs) engaged in advocacy and conservation of water and land resources. They include, but are not limited to: Kenya Forests Working Group, Environmental Liaison Center International (ELCI), Friends of Lake Victoria (Osienala), Green Africa Foundation (GAF), Kenya Institute of Organic Farming (KIOF), Kenya Rainwater Association, the Intermediate Technology Development Group–Kenya (ITDG-Kenya) and the Northern Rangelands Trust., The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is perhaps the most highly acclaimed NGO, which was started by the Nobel Laureate, the late Prof. Wangari Maathai in 1977, as a women's group seeking human rights and democratic reform through planting trees to protect the environment. Their work has focused on Mt. Kenya, the Aberdares, and the Mau Forest complex, with plans to expand into the other water towers. The are also Policy and Farmer support institutions, which include the Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development and Kenya National Farmers Federation. The CBOs are very many, such as the Community Forest Associations (CFAs), Water Resource Users Associations (WRUAs), Catchment Committees, various faith based groups and women’s groups.

5.5 International institutions Many international organizations, including INGOs, bilateral and multilateral agencies are based in Kenya, supporting development and implementation of projects and programmes on water, agriculture, environment, biodiversity and natural resources


management. These include among others the: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and UN-Habitat, both of which have their headquarters based in Kenya. Almost all UN agencies have offices in Nairobi, of which notable ones engaged in water, agriculture and SLM include: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World Food Programme (WFP) among others. Bilateral organizations include European Union (EU), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD), Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), UK-AID, DANIDA and CIDA. Other international organizations include: the World Bank, the African Development Bank (ADB), Global Environmental Facility (GEF), the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Ford Foundation, CARE-Kenya, World Vision, Plan International and Vi Agroforestry (Vi-skogen) among others. International research institutes are also based in Kenya. Nairobi is the headquarters for three International Agricultural Research Centre’s (IARCs), i.e. ICRAF, ILRI and ICIPE. The IARCs all have programmes tying conservation efforts into their agricultural development goals. The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) conducts research in agroforestry and has databases on agro-diversity. The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) focuses on livestock research,, including feeds and fodders, and thus has directly links with ecosystems and rangeland ecologies. The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) conducts research on insects and microorganisms. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi- Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the International Maize and Wheat Research Centre (CIMMYT), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the International Potato Centre (CIP) all conduct research on agriculture for niche crops and zones, bearing impacts on agricultural productivity and agro-biodiversity. The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) has offices in Kenya and conducts research on PGR.

5.6 Private Sector Institutions Private Sector actors also support sustainable land and water management, the majority being farmers who invest in their lands. Other private sector actors include businesses which utilize their corporate social responsibility fund to support conservation activities. Examples include Coca-Cola company which supports tree planting in schools. The Total Company also supports tree planting, among others. Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) have been instrumental in spurring development in Kenya over the past two decades. These arrangements are now supported by law104 and range from small to large projects including infrastructure development, and SLM related activities.

104 GoK, 2013. Public Private Partnerships Act No. 15 of 2013. Government of the Republic Kenya.


6. CASE STUDIES OF SOME SLM PROGRAMMES IN KENYA

6.1 Types of SLM Programme Activities Over the years, many programmes, projects and activities have been implemented in Kenya with SLM on their agendas. It is not possible to enumerate all of them, even the on-going ones. These are numerous programmes, projects and activities in Kenya, implemented by the Government, NGOs, CBOs, private sector, bilateral and multilateral agencies, which have one or more components on conservation of water, land and/or biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and the environment. As it is not possible to name all these initiatives, some are listed here to include: Soil and water conservation Agricultural intensification Rainwater harvesting infrastructure development & capacity building Emergency early warning systems in weather Humanitarian assistance (food for work programmes for conservation works) Livestock emergency watering and rehabilitation of watering points Risk and Disaster Management Irrigation development and rehabilitation Environment and Climate Change Adaptation Water, Sanitation and Health (WASH) Tree nurseries and Tree planting and afforestation programmes Revegetation of riverbanks & protection of riparian land from pollution Ecosystems management and protection Biodiversity preservation and enhancement Capacity building activities (training land users) on NRM Infrastructure development for water supplies, irrigation, conservation works Social inclusion in environmental management Participatory research, training and outreach Awareness through learning based on project experiences among policy makers Building capacity on NRM through indigenous knowledge Gender mainstreaming in catchment management Creating WRUAs and building their capacity/empowering WRUAs Provision of seeds for drought resistant crops Reseeding denuded grazing lands Improve benefits from agricultural value chains Building capacity in advocacy for ecosystems, water and the environment Sustainable agriculture initiatives – e.g. composting, manuring Combating land degradation Agroforestry programmes Development of water supply systems e.g. wells, spring protection, boreholes Research on water resources, hydrology, irrigation.

A few case studies us SLM relevant programmes are therefore presented here which could offer lesson for guiding the formulation of the KSIF for SLM They include:


6.2 Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Sustainable Land Management Project (KAPSLMP)

The Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Sustainable Land Management Project (KAPSLMP) is a five year GEF-financed and World Bank-supported project implemented by the government of Kenya through the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MoALF) and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MENR). Other partners include the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI) in collaboration with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Kenya Forest Service and the Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA). The project aims to promote the sustainable use of natural resources to achieve higher productivity and incomes for the rural populations of Kenya and the maintenance of critical ecosystem functions in fragile areas. The project is implemented in three catchment areas; Taita-Taveta, Kikuyu Kinale and Cherangani Hills which together encompass 9 Counties and 109 micro-catchments. The overall goal of the SLM project is to institute ‘Sustainable Land Management’ that provides the basis for economic development, food security and sustainable livelihoods while restoring ecological integrity in the ASALs. The project objective is to provide knowledge and skills to land users and managers; financial incentives; enabling policy environment, and institutional capacity for effective adoption of SLM in four pilot districts (now called sub-counties) of Mbeere North, Kyuso, Narok North and Dadaab in Kenya. The project objective is to be achieved through the following outcomes: (i) Knowledge based land use planning forms the basis for improving dry lands sustainable economic development, (ii) Viability of the agro pastoralism production system is increased through diversification and access to finances for SLM, (iii) Policy and institutional frameworks are supportive of mainstreaming SLM in agro pastoral production system and ASALs, and (iv) Project is managed effectively and lessons learnt are used to upscale SLM in the ASAL districts (now counties). The development objective of KAPSLMP is “to facilitate agricultural producers and other natural resource users to adopt environmentally-sound land management practices without reducing their incomes.” KAPSLMP is implemented through four components, which include:

(a) Building capacity for SLM: This component recognizes the critical need for capacity at multiple levels for realizing the objectives of KAPSLMP, and addresses these gaps. It targets communities and service providers for training and capacity enhancement, and helps build a broader awareness of the potential and impact of SLM.

(b) Investments in community SLM micro-projects: This component supports community micro-projects. The micro-projects to be supported are identified within the micro-catchments plans developed by communities to address land degradation and implemented using a Community Driven Development (CDD) approach. The micro-project investments in SLM is linked to and blended DD projects in health,


infrastructure and other service delivery, value addition, commercialization and market access, rehabilitation of gazetted forests et

(c) Strengthening the enabling policy and institutional environment for SLM: This component is meant to strengthen the enabling environment necessary for

mainstreaming SLM approaches through the policy and institutional landscape. It addresses gaps in the policy framework, and provides support to institutional capacity for cross-sectoral integrated planning of and monitoring SLM interventions. It also supports improved coordination between agencies through the establishment of an SLM secretariat and cross-sectoral institutional mechanisms for SLM planning and implementation coordination. Importantly, in the short term, it facilitates the evolution towards a national SLM program by developing a programmatic approach based on a number of analytical activities.

Piloting and capacity building for application of PES: This component has supported piloting of the implementation of Payments for Environmental Services (PES) mechanism in watersheds of the rivers that supply water to the Sasumua Water Treatment Plant operated by the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company. The main outputs of this component include: (i) a functioning PES program in the catchments serving the Sasumua Reservoir in the Kinale operational area, with payments and recurring costs financed by the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company; and (ii) lessons for the implementation of PES programs in Kenya and other African countries, and a specific replication strategy for Kenya.

(d) Project Coordination and Monitoring: The implementation period for KAPSLMP was designed for six years, but has been extended by one year. This component supports project coordination and implementation at the national, district and grassroots levels, both through existing/new institutional structures supported/created under the KAPP, NRM and WKCDD, and adapted under the project as necessary. This component also coordinates activities related to project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and impact assessment. Project Rationale The Government of Kenya has made significant commitments toward sustaining natural resources through various agreements (UNCCD, UNFCCC, CBD), but does not have an adequate framework to implement and scale up the NAP’s ambitious agenda. KAPSLMP addresses four strategic priorities which include (i) fostering system-wide change through the removal of policy, institutional, technical, capacity and financial barriers to SLM at country level; (ii) demonstrating and scaling up successful SLM practices for controlling and preventing desertification and deforestation; (iii) generating and disseminating knowledge addressing current and emergent issues in SLM; and (iv) cross-focal area synergies and integrated ecosystem approaches to SLM. Whereas the Project precedes the GEF Strategic Investment Program (SIP) for SLM in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is closely linked to TerrAfrica’s initiative and the New Partnership for Africa Development’s (NEPAD) CAADP process, and facilitates them through development of the KSIF. The delay in Project preparation was partly a result of efforts to address the emerging need for a programmatic approach and the resulting


institutional adjustments. The KSIF will present such a framework to identify SLM priorities, and current and planned investments that would come together in the medium term to form a national program on SLM. Programmatic approaches at the country level are expected to increase efficiency of incremental investments. Project implementation - KAPSLMP is implemented by the MENR, the MoALF) and the Ministry of Water and Irrigation (MWI). The other key institutions inc lude ; KARI, KFS and NEMA. The project’s institutional and implementation arrangements are linked to the existing arrangement for KAPAP. The KAPSLMP secretariat is based at the MENR and is also the focal Point for Terrafrica. It is headed by a SLM Component Manager in charge of overall coordination and oversight of the policy/institutional component of the project. The project shares the services of the Environmental and Social and Gender Specialist in KAPAP. Other staffs include ICT Expert, an Accountant, an M&E Officer and Procurement Assistant. Support staff comprising messengers, drivers, and secretaries. The project Steering Committee (SC) reports to the sector Inter-ministerial coordination committee (ICC), which consists of the sector Permanent Secretaries. The ICC is already established as a sector committee for implementation of the SRA/ASDS. There are three catchment area coordinators (CACs) in charge of Project activities in the three operational areas. These CACs, with environment and natural resource management expertise, situated at the existing KAPAP Regional Service Units (RSUs) in Trans-Nzoia district (for Cherangani hills), Taita (for Taita hills), and in the KS national office for the Kinale-Kikuyu catchment. The CACs report to the RSU coordinator and are supported by the already existing KAPAP RSU staff (regional coordinators, M&E specialist, accountants, and support staff). They monitor activities, identify barriers, and are a conduit for information, resources and technical assistance and capacity building, foster community development of micro-watershed plans, design, and implementation of micro-projects (including monitoring and safeguards), and link with provincial and County development and environment committees and officers in implementation of broader program activities. The CACs work closely with the Forest Officers in the KFS to implement activities that involve community afforestation and agroforestry.

6.3 Mainstreaming Sustainable Land Management in Agro-pastoral Production Systems The “Mainstreaming Sustainable Land Management in Agro-pastoral Production Systems of Kenya” (SLM) is a five year project a GEF-financed and UNDP-supported project implemented by the government of Kenya through the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MoALF), through the State Department of Livestock. The project was initially scheduled to close in 2015 but the delayed start has necessitated a one year no cost extension to 2016. The SLM Agro-Pastoral extends the successful Farmer Field School approach by applying it to address land degradation problems in the Arid and Semi-arid Lands of Kenya in order to link sustainable land management (SLM) to increased agricultural productivity in agro-pastoral and pastoral landscapes.


Project implementation - The SLM project is implemented through the Project Management Team (PMT), which is composed of the District Management Team (DMT), the Project Management Unit (PMU) and the Project Steering Committee (PSC). Project Management Unit (PMU) is responsible for project management, administration and direct execution of the project. The PMU based within the State Department of Livestock, in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MoALF), which oversees the day to day operations of the project. The PMU is headed by a National Project Manager, Project Assistant and Finance Assistant and a Communications Officer. The Project Management Team is responsible for the overall execution of the Sustainable Land Management (SLM) Agro-Pastoral Project. The PSC was established as the project board with the exclusive role of providing strategic policy guidance to the PMU to allow for optimal implementation of the SLM Project. It is composed of the following representatives from various government ministries, which include; Principal Secretary - State Department of Livestock, Team Leader - UNDP EECCU, Director State Department of Livestock Production – MOALF, Principal Accounts Controller – MOALF, Chief Finance Officer – MOALF, a Director of Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and a representative of The National Treasury (External Resources Division). The District Management Teams (DMT) are responsible for implementation and delivery of the project outputs and are accountable for the resources provided in accordance with the donor rules and procedures. The district team include seconded staff from relevant ministries and play an integral role in implementation of project activities. They include Agriculture, National Drought Management Authority, Kenya Forest Service and Kenya Wildlife Services. Partnerships - The project has initiated discussions with a number of organizations/institutions with an aim of building partnership for SLM. In addition to the on-going discussions regarding partnership with GEF/SGP programme, the project is the processing of formalizing partnerships with KARI and KEFRI. NPM has also initiated discussions with ALLPRO, Community Development Trust Fund (CDTF) and Kenya Livestock Marketing Council (KLMC) on the same. Dadaab office is collaborating with International Organization for Migration-Dadaab, Relief Reconstruction Development and District Livestock Marketing Council-Garissa

6.4 Initiatives to Increase Forest Cover The target Kenya in its Vision 2030 proposes to increase the forest cover from 2% in 2010 to 10% coverage in the country under a protected area system (this target is not time bound). This should facilitate watershed conservation to enable forest recovery areas through forestation of water source forests for conservation of water resources in catchment areas. The National Water Master Plan-2030 proposes the forestation of the Five Water Towers that had suffered deforested areas between 1990 and 2010. This aims at increasing significant amount of forestation area, and also including


afforestation of the other degraded areas and isolated smaller forests. The proposed target area for forestation for each major Catchment Area is presented in the table 6.1.

Figure 8.1 Proposed Target forestation area by catchment area in Kenya

Catchment Area

Area (km2)

Forest Area in 2010 (ha)

Coverage in 2010

Forestation Area (ha)

Forest Area in 2030 (ha)

Coverage in 2030

LVNCA 18,374 107,000 5.8% 234,000 341,000 18.5%

LVSCA 31,734 159,000 5.0% 412,000 571,000 18.0%

RVCA 130,452 261,000 2.0% 1,006,000 1,267,000 9.7%

ACA 58,639 120,000 2.0% 868,000 988,000 16.8%

TCA 126,026 446,000 3.5% 1,366,000 1,812,000 14.4%

ENNCA 210,226 184,000 0.9% 592,000 776,000 3.7%

National Total 575,451 1,277,000 2.2% 4,478,000 5,755,000 10.0%

Source: National Water Master Plan 2030. There is also general focus to increase the coverage of different biomes under protected areas in Kenya to include spots not currently covered, including farmlands, heritage sites, national parks, game reserves, marine parks and reserves. Several marine parks and reserves have also been established. Other programmes such as rural forestry, miti mingi mashambani and agroforestry programmes to increase tree cover.

6.5 Conservation Programmes bearing Financial Incentives Climate Change and its expected impacts have been addressed in Kenya including developing an Action Plan and a national Strategy105. Kenya has chosen to undertake adaptation and mitigation projects, especially in the sectors covering energy, transport, agriculture, manufacturing, water and environment among others. These projects can gain monetarily from ‘carbon markets’ that allow them to sell Certified Emission Reduction (CER) credits to developed countries to help the latter mitigate against climate change cost-effectively. Certified Emission Reductions are traded through regulated compliance markets under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Carbon markets also comprise of the buying of ‘carbon offsets’ as Verified Emission Reductions (VER) by individuals and organizations who wish to voluntarily offset their GHG emissions, i.e. under the Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCM), including the Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) mechanism. This is expected to be achieved through establishing and strengthening partnerships between the public and private sectors in order to mobilize the necessary finance and accelerate REDD actions. In lieu of these, several programmes and projects have emerged in Kenya, bearing components of “Financial Rewards” for

105 Republic of Kenya (2010). National Climate Change Response Strategy. Executive Brief. Government of Kenya.


smallholder farmers whose activities either offset Carbon stocks and/or improve the “greening of the environment”, through activities such as tree planting, soil and water conservation and/or sustainable agriculture. Examples include: 6.5.1 Payment for Environmental Services (PES) A payment for environmental services (PES) scheme has been defined106 as “a voluntary transaction in which well-defined environmental service (ES), or a form of land use likely to secure that service is bought by at least one ES buyer from a minimum of one ES provider if and only if the provider continues to supply that service (conditionality).” Alternatively, PES is defined107 as “the payments to land managers and others to undertake actions that increase the quantity and quality of desired ecosystem services, which benefit specific or general users, often remotely”. In essence, a PES scheme is a voluntary agreement between sellers and buyers to deliver actions that increase or enhance ecosystem service delivery. There are many types of PES markets, such as Public payment schemes for private land owners to maintain or enhance ecosystem services or Self-organized private deals in which individual beneficiaries of ecosystem services contract directly with providers of those services. There are several types of PES schemes operation in Kenya. In Kenya, PES has been piloted in Sasumua dam in Nyandarua, Malewa river in Naivasha, Kapingazi in Embu and in Nyando and Yala river basins. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources through KAPSLMP project have an activity for piloting PES in Sasumua dam. The KAPSLMP project was designed to pilot the application of PES by developing a PES mechanism in the watershed supplying the Sasumua Water Treatment Plant. Other institutions that have spearheaded the research include the World Agroforestry center working closely with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), WWF working closely with CARE Kenya and the former Mount Kenya East Pilot Project (MKEPP) of NRM funded by IFAD and the ongoing Upper Tana Natural Resource Management Project (UTaNRMP) also funded by IFAD which builds on the work of MKEPP on PES issues. 6.5.2 Agricultural Carbon Credits Climate-smart agriculture has been defined by FAO (2010), as agriculture that sustainably increases productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes greenhouse gases (mitigation), and enhances achievement of national food security and development goals. Kenya was the first country in the world to introduce Agricultural Carbon Credits. Pioneered in 2010, the western Kenya Smallholder Agricultural Carbon Finance Project (KACP)108, which was funded by the World Bank and implemented by the Swedish NGO Vi Agroforestry. The project was designed

106 UNEP, 2008. Payments for Ecosystem Services: Getting Started: A Primer. Forest Trends, The Katoomba Group, and UNEP. 107 DEFRA, 2010. Payments for ecosystem services: A short introduction.www.defra.gov.uk 108 Seebauer, M. Tennigkeit, T. Zanchi,G. and Bird, N. 2011. Activity baseline and monitoring survey guideline for sustainable

agricultural land management practices (SALM). Technical guidelines. The World Bank.


as a climate-smart agriculture intervention, as part of fulfilling Kenya’s National Appropriate Mitigation Mechanisms (NAMAs). The KACP catered for over 60,000 farmers on 45,000 hectares of land, with SLM knowledge to support farming that is more productive, sustainable and climate-friendly. Focusing on soil organic matter (SOC), the KACP promoted the adoption of sustainable agricultural land management (SALM) among smallholder poor farmers in western Kenya. The quantification of carbon stocks utilized three carbon accounting approaches; (i) direct measurement of soil carbon stock changes over time based on micro-plot sampling design, (ii) activity-or practice-based estimation of SOC sequestration using regional or country-specific default values, and (iii) combined activity monitoring with soil carbon modeling to derive local applicable default values. A carbon credit (often called a carbon offset)109 is a financial instrument that represents a ton of CO2 (carbon dioxide) or CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent gases) removed or reduced from the atmosphere from an emission reduction project, which can be used, by governments, industry or private individuals to offset damaging carbon emissions that they are generating. Carbon credits are associated with either removing existing CO2 or CO2e emissions from the atmosphere in the case of carbon sequestration from forests and planting of trees or the reduction of future CO2 or CO2e emissions from renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that displace fossil fuel power generation production or industrial processes. Afforestation and reforestation activities are a key means by which existing emissions can be removed from the atmosphere and carbon credits created while construction of a wind farm rather than a coal-fired power station may create carbon credits through reducing future emissions. The compliance market comprised several legally-binding mandatory emission-trading schemes largely established under the Kyoto Protocol linked to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They also included some regional compliance markets in the USA and Australia. The Voluntary Carbon Offset Market functions outside of the compliance market and enables companies and individuals to purchase carbon credits on a voluntary basis to satisfy personal or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives. KACP issued its first carbon credits under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) in January 2014, for sequestering soil carbon in, thanks to changed agricultural land management practices. The credits represented a reduction of 24,788 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to emissions from 5,164 vehicles in a year. The project thus demonstrated synergies between climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies in agriculture. Carbon credits are creating a revenue stream that enhances the extension services provided to farmers, which are critical to the adoption of these practices and also adds to farmers’ income beyond their increased crop yields.

109 Introduction to carbon credits; http://www.carbonplanet.com/introduction_to_carbon_credits


6.5.3 Green Water Credits (GWC) Green Water Credits (GCW)110 is “a mechanism to pay rural people for specified land and soil management activities that determine all fresh water resources at source”. GWC is based on the premise that Green water resources can be much increased and downstream delivery of fresh water better regulated by two fundamental improvements in rain-fed farming: increasing the infiltration of rainwater, thereby cutting runoff; and reducing unproductive evaporation. More infiltration means banking water in soils and aquifers, and better river base flow; less runoff means, less erosion, less flooding and less siltation. Low-cost soil and water management packages can significantly increase available water resources. The interventions considered under GWC include:

Agronomy - Crop rotation, Hybrid maize, Cover crop (Lablab beans) , mosaic resistance cassava, ground nuts, tissue culture banana, intercropping (maize-beans, maize-groundnuts, maize-potatoes), fodder banks (nappier grass, calliandra, sesbania), integrated pest management

Nutrient management - mulch (weed) management (cow pea, beans, sweet potato), improved fallow, manure, compost management, replacing inorganic with organic fertilizer, targeted application of fertilizer

Tillage/ residue management -Minimum soil disturbance (spot preparation, sub-soilers, jab planters), Maize residue management in trash lines, drainage channels, contour lines, ridging

Water management - Water harvesting for agriculture (small dams, ponds, half moons), double dug beds, terracing, erosion control, tie-ridges

Agroforestry – Including hedges (contour planting, boundary planting, Jatropha), Woodlots (fruit orchid, firewood trees, timber trees), Trees in agricultural systems (fruit trees, firewood trees, timber trees)

Restoration of degraded agricultural lands, through area enclosure, riverbank tree planting, gully control, fallows (grass planting)

The GWC project is implemented in Kenya was coordinated by ISRIC and funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Government Ministries were partners, especially the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Ministry of Agriculture; Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA), Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) and the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen). Commencing in 2007, it concerned payments for water management services to farmers in upstream areas of the Tana basin. It involves small cash transfers from downstream water users (Companies based in Nairobi) to enable farmers to adopt sustainable management of land and water; at the same time they combat rural poverty by diversifying income. In reality, the GWC did not pay actual money to farmers. Instead, the project supported community based activities such as tree nurseries and planting, water harvesting for schools. The expectations earlier raised by the project were difficult to fulfill and thus, no cash transfers were made.

110 Geertsma R, LI Wilschut and S Kauffman, 2010. Review for the Green Water Credits Pilot Operation in Kenya. Green Water

Credits Report 8 / ISRIC Report 2010/02, ISRIC -World Soil Information, Wageningen


6.5.4 Equitable Payment for Watershed Services (EPWS) The Equitable Payment for Watershed Services (EPWS), was introduced by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Kenya Country office) in partnership with CARE – Kenya. The project in the Lake Naivasha basin has been in operation in Kenya since 2006 with the implementation phase commencing work in 2008, with 565 pilot farmers111. The goal of EPWS is to improve the livelihoods of Targeted households in the Malewa Catchment area by introducing Payment for Watershed Service. The PES design involves two Water Resource Users Associations (WRUAs) representing sellers located in the Turasha and Wanjohi sub-catchments of the Malewa River at the western foothills of the Aberdare range. The two WRUAs receive financial rewards obtained from Lake Naivasha Water Resources Users Association (LANAWRUA) which represents private sector water users around Lake Naivasha. Farms are verified for structures implemented as agreed in the buyer-seller contract before payments are done through voucher system. After the first payments in 2012, more stakeholders joined the program, including the Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA), UNEP, ICRAF, government line ministries (Water, Agriculture and Livestock), Provincial administration, public schools, buyers and sellers (the two business partners) and the WWF as the main project intermediary. Other than Lake Naivasha Growers Group (LNGG) the main buyer, more potential buyers have joined the scheme including Ranchers and other flower companies. The benefits have included: Reduced soil erosion, Increased farm productivity an indicator of improved soil fertility (food security), Increased income for land owners from different on-farm green enterprises on

conserved farms, Improved quality of water in the rivers/less turbidity Community acquired skills and knowledge on good land management practices to

protect land and water ecosystems for future sustainable agricultural activities. 6.5.5 PRESA The Pro-poor Rewards for Environmental Services in Africa (PRESA), is a programme designed to improve the livelihoods of smallholders living in the highlands of Eastern and Western Africa by enhancing fair and effective environmental service rewards. PRESA is implemented by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in collaboration with the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT). The major source of funding is the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Other funders include the European Commission (EC), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and CGIAR Consortium. PRESA in eastern Kenya was implemented as part of the Upper Tana Catchment, with project site in the Sasumua sub-watershed. This watershed is cultivated by smallholder farmers who grow food crops as well as tea and coffee. The Sasumua reservoir is operated by Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC), which 111 Pro poor Rewards for Environmental Services in Africa. http://presa.worldagroforestry.org/


was expected to be the buyer of the environmental services from farmers. PRESA activities were thus designed in the form of action research and practical experience to engage key stakeholders in active learning on payments or rewards for environmental services. This approach was aimed at catalyzing policy support and private sector participation in environmental service agreements, as illustrated in Figure 6.2.

Figure 6.2 Schematic representation of PRESA scheme in Sasumua (Source: Project website112)

The monitoring of PRESA interventions was done at two levels: (i) the extent to which land use interventions are being implemented, and (ii) the effectiveness of the improvements land uses towards delivering the desired reduction in sediment flow, and consequent increase in dry season river flows. The effectiveness of SWC practices to deliver improved water quality and dry-season water flows were verified through occasional measurement of sediment entering inlets. 6.5.6 Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund (UTNWF) A water fund is a financial mechanism to fund land-conservation measures upstream. A public-private partnership of donors and major water consumers ‘at the tap’ contribute to the endowment. Funds are then used to support water and soil conservation measures ‘at the top’. These measures benefit local farmers through increasing agricultural yields by reducing soil erosion that is so damaging both to crop production and to downstream water quality and supply113. This, water funds are based on the principle that it is cheaper to prevent water problems at the source than it is to address them further downstream. Investments in green infrastructure using natural systems to trap sediment and regulate water often provide a more cost-effective approach than relying solely on grey infrastructure such as reservoirs and treatment systems. Water funds have been successfully implemented various parts of the world to help secure the water quality and supply of major cities such as in Quito, Ecuador and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Officially commencing work in 2015, the Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund is the first in Africa.

112 http://www.fao.org/nr/aboutnr/environmental-services/en/ 113Apse, C. and Bryant, B. 2015. Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund: A Business Case. The Nature Conservancy, Nairobi


The Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund is a financial mechanism to fund land-conservation measures upstream land users. It is a public-private partnership of donors and major water consumers in and around the city of Nairobi ‘at the tap’, who contribute to an endowment fund. Funds are then used to support water and soil and water conservation measures implemented by land users ‘at the top’ in the catchment areas of the Tana and its tributaries (Figure 6.3). These measures benefit local farmers through increasing agricultural yields by reducing soil erosion that is so damaging both to crop production and to downstream water quality and supply. The main partners are Conservancy (TNC), Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC), Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (TARDA), Water Resources Management Agency (WRMA) as well East Africa Breweries, Coca-Cola, Frigoken Horticulture, and the water technology company Pentair.

Figure 6.3 Illustration of how a the Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund works

This Nairobi Water Fund offers a cost-effective solution where the water supply is naturally replenished and filtered, and rural livelihoods are improved. The goal is to harness nature’s ability to capture, filter, to store and deliver clean and reliable water. Three priority sub-watersheds of the Upper Tana River were selected for the study: Sagana-Gura, Maragua, and Thika-Chania rivers. Previous studies highlighted these sub-watersheds as areas critical for improving water quality and quantity in the basin. The analysis focused on the benefits that would arise from a US$10 million investment in these sub-watersheds disbursed over a period of 10 years114. Among the interventions include: vegetation buffer zones along riverbanks, agroforestry, terracing of steep farmlands, re-afforestation, rehabilitation of degraded lands, grass buffer strips, safe disposal of surface runoff, erosion control structures and flood mitigation.

114Apse, C. and Bryant, B. 2015. Upper Tana-Nairobi Water Fund: A Business Case. The Nature Conservancy, Nairobi


7. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

7.1 Conclusions This study reviewed some 89 documents covering the national laws, policies, strategies, institutional frameworks, development plans and statutes relevant to SLM in the public sector in Kenya were reviewed (see Appendices). Also reviewed alongside these, were other documents, reports and literature that provided the background on Kenya, technical and socio-economic perspectives and other important information on land degradation and SLM. The study found that a large body of laws, policies, strategies, development plans and Institutional frameworks exist each having reference to land degradation and SLM. But the actual number of laws governing SLM in Kenya are still difficult to quantify due to the dynamism of policy making, whereby at any one time, many laws are bills while polices re in draft form. Luckily, due to the ICT penetration in Kenya, a majority of these documents can be obtained from the internet. Laws and Policies exist touching on SLM across many sectors. The policies generally place greater emphasis on water and sanitation than water for agriculture. There is no specific policy document that covers SLM tacitly. The policies and legal instruments are sector-based with little regard to cross-sectoral interactions or customary laws. The scatter of laws and polices has resulted in unavoidable overlapping of policies & jurisdictions, duplication, inefficient resources use and unclear ownership of SLM issues. For instance whereas there are statements in support of water conservation/water harvesting, few Government Departments have put resources to its implementation, and the few that do, implement mostly large infrastructure developments, e.g. dams, as stipulated by MTP-II. Small-scale water harvesting and conservation efforts have received little/isolated funding, yet these are more cost effective in achieving SLM. At the national level, a number of laws and policies are undergoing review to be aligned with the new Constitution, while at County level, each of the 47 counties is in the process of formulating laws some of which has bearing on SLM. In addition, there are several by-laws enacted by the numerous CBOs e.g. each WRUA/catchment committee establishes its by-laws which are sometimes more adhered to than the national laws. As a result, there is a plethora of laws governing SLM some of which are not related to existing national laws. There are gaps in terms of addressing sustainable land management in agricultural systems. For instance, although the MoALF is the focal Ministry linking farmers to SLM, it does not host a single SAGA/parastatal dedicated to SLM issues (e.g. comparable to NEMA which is under MENR). Despite so many Laws, Policies, Strategies and Action Plans, gaps still exist in how the SLM interventions are addressed. Since 2013, Kenya adopted the devolved system of Government, yet a large number of laws and policies have not been harmonized with the new Constitution (2010) and Vision 2030. Other emerging issues such as invasive


species, biopiracy and insecurity are not adequately captured in current policy, legislation and institutional frameworks. This is mirrored by the escalating insecurity situation in Kenya’s northern and coastal areas, posing constraints in policy implementation. Another dimension is that most of the policies do not mention or link with customary laws (with the exception of the ASAL Policy). But Kenya is a country with 42 ethnic communities, meaning that such customary laws are multiple and thus, pose a challenge as to how to mainstream them. But most customary laws were facilitative of natural resources conservation. Examples include; maintaining hilltops as sacred areas, forbidding living next to watercourses, preserving thick forests as sacred groves and reserving certain grazing areas and water points in the dry zones as strategic reserves for drought resilience. Many of these positive traits in customary laws are missing in the national laws and policies meant to protect water and land from degradation. Although a number of laws and legal structures that mention water and land management, there is no specific legal instrument dedicated to land degradation/SLM in such way as to compel land users to implement conservation measures. This is especially so after the repeal of Agriculture Act (CAP318) which had punitive measures for allowing soil erosion. The AFFA, for instance, does not limit cultivable slopes, nor place much emphasis on erosion control. EMCA on its part is more concerned with controlling pollution that rehabilitation of agricultural lands. Policies -There are many policies that have mention of land degradation and/or SLM within them. Policies have also evolved with the politics of the day, and as a result either facilitated SLM on in the case of the SAPs era, retarded progress. It was also observed that the policies do not always clearly state as to who should enforce what. Moreover, equity and issues of gender disparities and youth inclusivity were weak in terms of ownership, control and access to productive assets, financial resources, livestock, land, credit. However, recently formulated policies attempt to introduce climate change and devolution. However, gaps exist in how the SLM interventions are addressed. A large number of institutions are engaged in SLM ranging from implementation of Programmes, providing funding and oversight. These institutions include Government Ministries such as ministries which provide funding and oversight on SLM activities. Other organizations e.g. UN, Bilateral, multilateral organizations provide funding and implementation support. There are recipients of donor funds e.g. NGOs, Ministries, CBOs, WRUAs, Pastoral Organizations, Farmer Unions which implement policy and projects on SLM In recent years, Kenya has undergone some level of democratization, decentralisation and devolution which provides both an opportunity and a challenge for the implementation of SLM Governments should continue supporting and strengthening SLM institutions including development of infrastructure, and the building of human, technical and financial capacity.


Institutions - SLM is addressed variously by the Ministries of MoALF, MENR, MWI and the Ministry of Lands. But at the operational level, each Ministry has its staff implementing interventions relevant to its niche. As a result, SLM is not accorded the multi-stakeholder focus requisite for growth. Granted that much progress has been made over the last 50 years with expansion of soil and water conservation and in recent years, tree planting, but the actors are many and uncoordinated. There has been considerable restructuring of institutional and regulatory frameworks since the mid-1990s. The formulation of laws and policies is a slow process involving the setting up of task forces and cross-sectoral consultations. The institutional and administrative approaches are mostly sectoral and budgetary support for policy implementation is not always evident. There is no one-stop-shop to address targeted investments for SLM for smallholder land users and Kenya. As yet, there is no Country Strategic Investment Framework (CSIF) addressing SLM well. Such a framework will be useful as a tool for policy advocacy, resources mobilization, investment planning, project targeting as well as responding to emerging issues and opportunities. The prospects for a Kenya SLM Investment Framework (KSIF) are viable under KAPSLM given that national policies already support such ventures, and KAPSLMP is embedded in the MENR, whose core business SLM fall under. Based on this, it is recommended that Kenya should develop a KSIF to help address the apparent gaps in investment in the SLM.

7.2 Recommendations There is need to address the gaps and overlaps inherent in laws, policies and

strategies and institutional frameworks having a bearing on SLM in Kenya

It is imperative to develop the Kenya Strategic Investment Framework (KSIF) for SLM that is guided by science and prevailing and future projections of land resources use and management. This will give the SLM agenda the policy push it needs to mobilize resources and carry national focus for investment support.

The Government and other stakeholders in SLM should take advantage of the international interest in climate change adaptation, mitigation/resilience to leverage resources (e.g. Green funds) to support SLM work in Kenya. For instance, enhance international cooperation and regional structures such as NPCA’s TerrAfrica for building on synergies with other countries.

It will be useful to develop a dedicated policy on SLM for Kenya that is multi-sectoral and has multi-stakeholder involvement, which should be sensitive to/address the respective roles under the devolved government system (County and national).

Harmonize the various County laws that touch on SLM to ensure there is no conflict and that they respond to actual needs of communities and ecosystems


Institute an integrated approach to SLM implementation with knowledge management and lessons learning to guide the process

Ensure Public Participation through a coordinated and participatory approach to SLM policy formulation and implementation to ensure that the relevant government agencies, county governments, private sector, civil society and communities are involved in planning, implementation and decision making processes.

Ensure the principle of Subsidiarity, such that the management of the natural resources is through decentralization and devolution of authority and responsibilities to the lowest level possible.

Involve researchers and other scientists in guiding the technical and socio-economic decisions that guide resource allocation and investment in SLM.

Seek and encourage innovations from across the spectrum (from farmer level to universities) to improve on SLM interventions in the country. This could also include a reward system and initiatives to promote SLM.

Develop and implement policy advocacy and sensitization programmes to enable SLM attain a policy voice (political noise) such that the sector is made relevant to decision makers and other who invest in protection of ecosystems, improved productivity and poverty reduction programmes

Encourage innovative mechanisms for private sector investment in SLM (e.g. as exemplified by the PES schemes such as the Upper Tana Nairobi Water Fund)

The overall responsibility of SLM should be mandated to a specific institution with support to the institution through legislation, financing and technical capacity. KAPSLMP could be upgraded to provide these functions.

Downscale the implementation of the International MEAs emanating from the newly launched Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into actual programmes at national and County levels.

Extensive awareness creation and sharing of knowledge are required to promote SLM at higher policy levels.


8. REFERENCES

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CBD, 1992.Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992, Nairobi

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GoK, 1999. The Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act (EMCA No.8 of 1999), Government of Kenya

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GoK, 2008. Review and analysis of existing drought risk reduction policies and programmes in Kenya. National Report on Drought Risk Reduction Policies and Programmes. Ministry of State for Special Programmes. Republic of Kenya.

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Planning and Vision 2030 GoK, 2009. Releasing our Full Potential – Draft Sessional Paper on National Policy for the

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of Kenya GoK, 2010. Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (2010–2020.) Government of Kenya, GoK, 2010. The Constitution of Kenya. The Government of the Republic of Kenya GoK, 2010.National Climate Change Response Strategy, Government of Kenya. GoK, 2011. Development Strategy for Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands, Government of

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Kenya GoK, 2014. National Forest Policy, Government of Kenya GoK, 2015. Economic Survey. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Government of Kenya GoK, 2015. Kenya Facts and Figures. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Republic of Kenya GoK. 1969. The Kenya Second Five Year Plan (1970-1974). Republic of Kenya Gow and Parton, 1992.The evolution of Kenyan Agricultural Policy. Paper presented to the

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to Small Scale Women Farmers? Action Aid and Institute of Economic Affairs. Nairobi. IGAD, 2011. The Contribution of Livestock to the Kenyan Economy. ILRI, Milk markets as ‘the great equalizer’ in East Africa?

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Mati, B.M. 2007. 100 Ways to Manage Water for Smallholder Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa. A Compendium of Technologies and Practices. SWMnet Working Paper 13. Nairobi.

MEA, 2005. Watson R. et al. (49 authors). Living beyond our means: Natural assets and human well-being. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) Board.

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9. APPENDCES

Appendix 1: List of Laws and Legal Instruments 1. Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act 1999 (EMCA, 1999) 2. Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority Act No. 13 of 2013 3. Agricultural Act chapter 318 4. Biodiversity Regulation (2006) 5. Environmental Management and Co-ordination (Controlled Substances)

Regulations, 2007 6. Environmental Management and Co-ordination (Noise & Excessive Vibrations)

Regulations, 2009 7. Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act (wetlands, riverbanks, lakeshores) 8. Irrigation Act Chapter 347 (2012) 9. Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Act No. 17 of 2013 (2014) 10. The Agriculture Act (Cap 318) (as amended by Act No. 11 of 1993 and No.2 of 2002) 11. The Constitution of Kenya, 2010 12. The Government Lands Act Chapter 280 13. The Kenya Agricultural Research Act 2013 14. Forest Act, 2005 number 7 of 2005 15. Lakes and Rivers Act Cap 409 16. Land Act No. 6 of 2012 17. Water Act 2002 18. The Water Bill, 2014 19. National Land Commission Act Chapter 5d Revised Edition 2014 [2012] 20. The Wildlife (Conservation and Management) Act Chapter 376 21. Water Resources Management Rules, 2007 22. Agriculture (Basic Land Usage) Rules, 1965 23. Agriculture (Crop Production) Rules, 1957 24. Agriculture (Farm Forestry) Rules, 2009 25. Agriculture (Land Preservation) Rules, 1956 26. Agriculture (Land Utilisation) (Farm Employees) Rules, 1964 27. Sea shore Management) Regulations, 2009 28. The Water Resources Management Rules, 2007 29. Agricultural Ordinance of 1955 30. The Kenya Land Order Council of 1960. Statutory Instruments 1960 No.2202. East

Africa. Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 93, 7th December, 1960. Appendix 2: List of National Policies

1. Kenya Vision 2030 2. National Land Policy (2009), 3. National Policy for the Sustainable Development of Northern Kenya and other Arid

Lands. Sessional Paper No. 8 of 2012 4. National Agricultural Sector Extension Policy (NASEP), 2012 5. African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya, 1965 6. National Water Harvesting and Storage Management Policy (May 2010)


7. National Water Policy (1999) 8. Draft National Irrigation Policy, 2015 9. Draft National Policy for The Sustainable Development Of Arid And Semi Arid

Lands Of Kenya December 2004 10. Fisheries Policy (2008), 11. National Environment Policy (2013) 12. Forest Policy of 2014 13. Integrated Coastal Zone Management Policy (2010). 14. Wildlife Policy (2008) 15. Devolution in Kenya: Opportunities and Challenges for the Water Sector. Water

and Sanitation Program: Policy Note, September 2013 16. National Food and Nutrition Security Policy, 2011 17. National Policy on Disaster Management, 2009 18. Draft Devolution Policy, 2015

Appendix 3: List of Strategies and Action Plans

1. Strategy for Revitalisation of Agriculture, 2004-2014 2. Water resources management strategy 2006-2008: 3. Swynerton Plan, 1955. A plan to intensify the development of African agriculture in

Kenya. Colony and Protectorate of Kenya. 4. Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for the period 2001-2004, Ministry of

Finance and Planning) 5. Revised Kenya National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2010). 6. Strategy for Revitalizing Agriculture (SRA, 2004-2014) 7. The National Water Services Strategy (NWSS) (2007- 2015) 8. Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) 2010-2020 9. Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation 2003-2007 10. Flood Mitigation Strategy (June 2009) 11. National Agribusiness Strategy 12. National Water Services Strategy 2007- 2015 (June2009) 13. National Climate Change Response Strategy 2010 14. Water Resources Management Authority Strategic Plan for 2012-2017 (a bridged

version, June 2013) 15. Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP, June 2001) 16. National Water Master Plan 2030 (of 2013) 17. National Action Programme to combat desertification (NAP, 2002) 18. Kenya Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan 2015 19. National Environment Action Plan (NEAP) of 1994. 20. Millennium Declaration (September 2000) 21. National Poverty Eradication Plan (NPEP, 1999 22. Ninth National Development Plan (NDP, 2002-2008) 23. National Action Programme to combat desertification (NAP, 2002) 24. National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP), 2013 25. Second Medium Term Plan, 2013 – 2017. 26. The Kenya Second Five Year Plan (1970-1974).


Appendix 4: Relevant International Multilateral Environmental Agreements

SNo. Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEA)

Date of Ratification/ Accession

Links

1. African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

12/5/1969 http://www.au.int/

2. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 26/7/ 1994 http://www.cbd.int/

3. Cartagena Protocol on Bio safety to the Convention on Biological Diversity

24/1/2002 http://www.cbd.int/

4. International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

27/5/2003 http://www.fao.org/Legal/treatieshttp://www.planttreaty.org/nfp

5. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

30/8/1994 http://unfccc.int/

6. Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

25/2/2005 http://unfccc.int/

7. Protocol (to the Nairobi Convention) Concerning Protected Areas and Wild Fauna in the Eastern African Region

11/9/1990 http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/

8. International Plant Protection Convention 7/5/1974 http://www.ippc.int/

9. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD)

24/6/1997

http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event-andcampaigns/WDCD/Pages/default.aspx

10. Instrument For The Establishment of The Restructured Global Environment Facility

25/5/1994 http://www.thegef.org

11. Agreement Establishing The World Trade Organization

1/1/1995 http://www.wto.org

12. Convention For The Protection of The World Cultural And Natural Heritage

5/6/1991 http://www.whc.unesco.org

13. Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer

9/11/1988 http://ozone.unep.org

14. Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer

9/11/1988 http://ozone.unep.org

15. Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (RAMSAR Convention)

5/6/1990 http://www.ramsar.org

nepad planning and coordinating agency · are statements in support of water conservation/water...

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