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Kenya Landscapes Actors Platform (KenLAP) Inaugural Conference: A Call for Unified Action in Environmental Conservation

          November 6 2024, Nairobi, Kenya

 In a powerful address at the Kenya Landscapes Actors Platform (KenLAP) inaugural conference, David Kuria, the County Executive Committee (CEC) for Environment, Kiambu County, underscored the urgent need for collaborative action to combat environmental degradation. The event, which brought together diverse stakeholders in conservation, highlighted the mounting threats to Kenya’s landscapes and emphasized the role of KenLAP in fostering coordinated solutions.

“Today, we gather with a shared commitment to address some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time,” Kuria stated, acknowledging that Kenya’s landscapes face a crisis driven by the annual loss of 12,000 hectares of forest. He outlined how agricultural expansion, settlement, and charcoal production contribute to this degradation, not only reducing biodiversity but also endangering food security, water resources, and ecosystem resilience.

Kuria highlighted that KenLAP’s mission rests on six thematic pillars:

1. Institutional Coordination and Governance: This area focuses on uniting stakeholders from grassroots to national levels, promoting transparent governance, effective resource allocation, and accountability in managing Kenya’s natural resources.

2. Landscape Finance and Innovation: Recognizing that many landscape actors lack financial resources, KenLAP advocates for innovative, sustainable financing. Kuria called on local and national authorities to support climate funding and reduce donor dependence.

3. Policy and Enabling Frameworks: Effective policies are essential, and KenLAP intends to review existing regulations and integrate emerging environmental issues, facilitating sustainable agricultural and conservation practices across Kenya.

4. Co-creation, Knowledge Sharing, and Information Management: Kuria emphasized the value of engaging communities directly, creating data hubs, and promoting participatory approaches to leverage local knowledge in landscape management.

5. Social Inclusion and Safeguards: KenLAP champions the inclusion of marginalized groups—indigenous communities, people with disabilities, and youth—in conservation efforts, and promotes sustainable livelihood programs, such as beekeeping and responsible grazing.

6. Landscape Monitoring: The importance of monitoring for transparency and accountability was emphasized, with Kuria advocating for simplified tools and citizen science to engage communities in data collection.

Kuria concluded with a stirring call to action: “The call to action we declare today is not only for government agencies and NGOs but for each of us. Together, let’s build an alliance that transcends individual efforts, leveraging our shared knowledge, resources, and commitment to a sustainable future for Kenya.”

The event marked a significant step for environmental stakeholders, with KenLAP emerging as a key platform to drive sustainability efforts across the country.

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