By Eddah Waithaka
The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry kicked off a major review of the National Environment Policy this week, aiming to replace the 2013 framework with a modern, action-oriented 2025 blueprint.
Cabinet Secretary Dr. Deborah Barasa launched the stakeholder process in Nairobi, declaring the review a critical step for Kenya’s economic resilience and social justice.
“This policy review is about delivery, livelihood, and economic transformation,” she stated to representatives from county governments, civil society, development partners, and the private sector.
Dr. Barasa underscored the direct link between a healthy environment and the nation’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda. “When ecosystems fail, livelihoods collapse. When forests disappear, water security is threatened. These are not just abstract environmental issues, they are bread and butter economic issues,” she asserted.
The ministry cited significant shifts since 2013, including Kenya’s strengthened constitutional framework and new global challenges, as the primary drivers for the update.
The revised policy must confront the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution while harnessing opportunities in the circular economy, carbon markets, and data-driven innovations like artificial intelligence.
“We are not interested in elegant language that cannot be operationalized,” Dr. Tuya emphasized, outlining the demand for a policy that guides tangible decisions, resolves institutional overlaps, and supports county governments in delivering local environmental and economic outcomes.
Joseph Murabula, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC), which sponsored the forum, urged participants to view the exercise as strategic foresight.
“The ground beneath our feet has already shifted,” he said. He called for a new policy that recognizes climate entrepreneurs as key drivers, embraces the circular economy, and unlocks innovative green financing.
The review process aligns Kenya with its international obligations under various Multilateral Environmental Agreements, which form part of national law.
The ministry pledged an inclusive but results-oriented consultative process, aiming to produce a final policy that secures the constitutional right to a clean environment and protects Kenya’s natural heritage for future generations.
