Stakeholder Consultative Forum Launched: Reviewing Kenya’s National Environment Policy for a Climate-Resilient Future

Nairobi Kenya 

In Summary

Kenya has embarked on a critical rethinking of its environmental governance framework through a national stakeholder consultative forum reviewing the National Environment Policy (2013). Convened by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, the process aims to realign the policy with emerging realities such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, circular economy opportunities, carbon markets, and digital innovations, while ensuring constitutional and international obligations are fully integrated. The review signals a strategic shift toward a more responsive, inclusive, and action-oriented environmental policy that supports sustainable development, economic resilience, and intergenerational equity.

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Kenya has formally initiated a comprehensive review of the National Environment Policy (2013), marking a pivotal moment in the country’s environmental and climate governance journey. The stakeholder consultative forum, convened by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry in Nairobi, brings together government institutions, development partners, civil society, the private sector, academia, and non-state actors to re-examine one of the nation’s most foundational policy instruments.

Opening the engagement, the Principal Secretary for Environment and Climate Change, Dr. Eng. Festus K. Ng’eno, underscored that the review goes beyond routine policy updating.

“This is a strategic repositioning of our country,” he said, “because the environmental landscape has changed significantly. Climate impacts are intensifying, biodiversity loss and pollution are accelerating, and new thematic areas now demand deliberate and coordinated policy attention.”

The National Environment Policy has, for over a decade, provided the overarching framework guiding environmental protection, sustainable natural resource management, and the integration of environmental considerations into national and county development planning. However, since its adoption in 2013, Kenya’s governance context has evolved, shaped by constitutional implementation, devolution, and growing global environmental pressures.

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According to the Ministry, the review is necessitated by emerging and complex challenges often described as the triple planetary crisis—climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. At the same time, the process seeks to harness new opportunities presented by the circular economy, carbon markets, green financing, big data, and artificial intelligence.

Dr. Ng’eno emphasized that the updated policy must speak to both risk and opportunity.

“Environmental sustainability today is inseparable from economic planning, social wellbeing, and innovation. Our task is to ensure the policy remains relevant, practical, and capable of guiding decisions at all levels of government,” he noted.

The consultative forum has drawn strong participation from a wide spectrum of stakeholders, reflecting the shared recognition that environmental governance is a collective responsibility. Representatives from county governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and international partners provided input on institutional coordination, implementation gaps, and the need for clearer alignment between national policy and county-level action.

The forum also highlighted Kenya’s obligations under various Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). As a State Party, Kenya is constitutionally bound to domesticate and implement these commitments, reinforcing the need for a policy framework that is consistent with both national law and international environmental standards.

Speaking during the session, partners stressed that the revised policy should be forward-looking and delivery-focused. Joseph Murabula, Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC), called for a policy that recognizes innovation as a core pillar of environmental solutions.

“We must design a policy that sees climate and environmental challenges not only as risks, but also as spaces for enterprise, innovation, and green jobs,” he said.

Development partners echoed the importance of coherence and inclusivity, noting that effective environmental policy must bridge sectors such as finance, planning, security, and social development. The presence of institutions including UNDP, UNODC, the National Environment Trust, the National Environment Complaints Committee, and the National Treasury signaled a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to the review.

Beyond addressing emerging issues like waste management, blue economy governance, and land degradation, the review aims to strengthen institutional clarity and implementation effectiveness. Stakeholders emphasized the need for a policy that supports counties in translating national commitments into local outcomes that protect ecosystems while sustaining livelihoods.

As the consultative process continues, the Ministry has committed to an inclusive yet results-oriented approach, ensuring that stakeholder contributions directly inform the final policy direction. The ultimate goal, officials noted, is to secure the constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment while safeguarding Kenya’s natural capital for future generations.

The stakeholder consultative forum on the review of the National Environment Policy thus marks not just a policy exercise, but a defining step in shaping Kenya’s environmental response to a rapidly changing world—one that places sustainability, resilience, and innovation at the heart of national development.

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