GAZETTE NOTICE NO. 15071

PURSUANT to regulation 42 and 43 of Environmental (Impact Assessment and Audit) Regulations, the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) has received DRAFT Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Report from the Act! on Natural Resource Management Programme funded from the Government of Sweden and the Department for international development. The SEA findings are also expected to influence policy development in Natural Resource Management in Kenya. The four (4) year programme has the following key objectives: 1. To ensure the programme interventions are compatible with sustainable environmental planning and management in Kenya. 2. To inform and influence the process of implementing the Kenya Constitution with a focus on agriculture, land and water and with natural resources management and climate change as cross cutting themes. 3. To identify the reform gaps in the management of natural resources that are not being addressed by the existing legislation and institutions where the Non State Actors could contribute through advocacy, citizen’s engagement, awareness and education. 4. To proactively inform the governance and management of natural resources in the devolved system of government including the county level. 5. To identify and make recommendations on the increasing role, rights, decision making and capacity required by citizens at the local level on the environment and natural resource sectors, including land, agriculture and water. The key findings of the detailed SEA are summarized below. The SEA established that the Changieni Rasili Mali (CRM) programme Facility is relevant in the implementation of the current PPPs in environment and natural resources management. However, the programme can be strengthened in order to enhance the positive impacts to the environment and livelihoods. The following policy gaps and weaknesses were identified as areas in which the programme could contribute through lobbying, advocacy and capacity building by NSAs: • Accelerating the approval of pending environment and natural resources policy and legal frameworks such Draft Environment Policy, Draft Wetlands Policy, Draft ASALs policy. • Formulation and implementation of important policies which are non-existent especially the following: o National Land Use Policy. o National Charcoal Policy. o National Groundwater Policy. o National Green Energy Policy. o Advocacy for the establishment of a climate mitigation fund. o Advocacy for the development of county climate mitigation strategies. In addition, a number of gaps were identified in other on-going programmes The SEA recommends that the Changieni Rasili Mali (CRM) Facility should get involved in these areas in order to improve the ENRM sector in Kenya. They include the following; • Sustainable land management. • Management of invasive species. • Sustainable forestry including dry land forestry. • Integrated water resources management. • Sustainable agriculture development. • Domestication of MEAs. • Promotion of CDM projects. The SEA also identified some areas that the Changieni Rasili Mali (CRM) Facility can engage as stipulated in the current national plans and strategies especially Vision 2030 under the Land Sector; Water Sector; Agriculture and Rural Development; and Environment and Climate Change. The full DRAFT SEA report on the implementation of the Changieni Rasili Mali (CRM) programme is available for inspection during working hours at: (a) Director-General, NEMA, Popo Road, off Mombasa Road, P.O. Box 67839–00200, Nairobi. (b) Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, NHIF Building, Community, P.O. Box 30521, Nairobi. The National Environment Management Authority invites members of the public to submit oral or written comments within thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this notice to the Director-General, NEMA, to assist the Authority in the decision making process regarding the SEA comments can also be e-mailed to dgnema@nema.g.ke. ZEPHANIA OUMA, for Director-General, MR//0518858 National Environment Management Authority.