Ministry of Environment, Climate Change & Forestry

07/09/2026

The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Deborah Mlongo Barasa, EGH, is leading efforts to strengthen the response to the ongoing forest fire in the Mount Kenya Forest Ecosystem in Meru County, with a strong focus on protecting forests, wildlife, communities and Kenya’s natural heritage.

As of 7 September 2026, the main fire had been contained by 80%, with firefighting teams continuing to tackle the remaining hotspots in Mucheene and Ruthumbi. The response brings together the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Defence Forces, Mount Kenya Trust, Rhino Ark, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Community Forest Associations, with communities actively supporting firefighting efforts.

The forest fire command centre has played a critical role in early detection, enabling KFS officers and response teams to act immediately. At the same time, community sensitisation is ongoing, equipping residents with knowledge on fire prevention, early reporting and safe practices to help prevent future forest fires.

Ground and aerial teams have been supported with helicopters, fire engines, troop carriers, vehicles, bulldozers and graders, strengthening firefighting, access and monitoring operations.
The Ministry is strengthening forest roads, strategic firebreaks, surveillance, multi-agency coordination, equipment and continuous training for professional and community firefighting teams.

As part of Mazingira Day, Dr. Barasa has emphasised the importance of forest restoration, planting more indigenous trees and promoting aerial seedling initiatives as part of building healthier and more resilient ecosystems.

The CS was accompanied by Patrick Ithinji, Head of Forest Fire and Disaster Operations; Jennifer Wachisa, Regional Conservator, Eastern Region; the OCS Meru County; and other representatives.

07/09/2026

United Nations Development Programme - UNDP William Samoei Ruto Kenya Defence Forces Ministry of Interior and National Administration

06/09/2026

05/09/2026

‎The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry through the State Department for Environment and Climate Change under the leadership and deep consultations with the Principal Secretary Dr. Eng. Festus K Ng’eno, MIEK, CBS, has successfully coordinated a multi agency technical team in a week long assessment of elements at risk in both Lakes Baringo and Bogoria as the country moves closer to the anticipated El Niño rains.
‎
‎The exercise, which covered nine high-risk locations, including Loruk, Kampi ya Samaki, Loboi and Salabani, established significant impacts from rising lake levels affecting households, schools, health facilities, roads, businesses, farmlands and other critical infrastructure. In Loboi and Kampi ya Samaki, for instance, several tourism establishments and public facilities have been submerged, while in Loruk and Salabani, communities continue to face displacement and loss of livelihoods emerging not only from the rising water levels, but also flash floods from the flowing rivers.
‎
‎The assessment highlighted the progress in the Government’s response in previous incidents, with several affected institutions and health facilities already relocated to safer ground or operating from alternative facilities. Schools, dispensaries and other essential services have in various cases been moved as water levels continue to rise, helping maintain access to critical services for affected communities.
‎
‎The assessment provides an important bridge from understanding the risks to implementing practical solutions, ensuring that Government interventions are guided by evidence and the needs of affected communities and that they are addressed before they escalate into a wider disaster.
‎
‎The communities visited have urgent needs including compensation or support for lost land and livelihoods, access to safer land for relocation, cash or in-kind assistance and support to relocate and restore affected schools, churches and other essential facilities. They also called for restoration of damaged roads and other critical infrastructure and strengthened protection against human-wildlife conflict which has been rampant in almost all the locations the team visited.

‎The technical team has now retreated to formulate a report which will be presented to the multi-sectoral committee next week, who will then consolidate the technical team’s findings into a comprehensive report for submission to the National Security Council (NSC), thus drawing a clear map of the transitional path from assessment and planning, to now the implementation stage. Kithure Kindiki NTV Kenya BBC News BBC Swahili KBC Channel 1 TV Citizen TV Kenya TV 47 Kenya

04/09/2026

Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Dr. Deborah Mlongo Barasa, EGH, held a meeting with officials from United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Kenya led by UNICEF Global Wash Director Mr. Evariste Komlan to deliberate on the Ministry’s endorsement of the Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action.

The declaration, which was launched at COP25 in 2019 focuses on child and youth-responsive climate policy financing and action while addressing their critical role as agents of change and the need to bring the youth and children onboard in matters environmental conservation and climate action.

Discussions focused on aligning synergies between UNICEF and the ministry in advocating for global fulfilment of children’s right to a healthy environment, while recognizing their vulnerabilities to adverse climatic occurrences as well as their status as key stakeholders and implementers in national climate adaptation and mitigation measures.

Furthermore, the team emphasized on the need to scale up investment in child-and youth-responsive adaptation and disaster risk mitigation measures to equip and strengthen their capacity to protect themselves and contribute to a safe and sustainable future, especially the marginalized children and youth.

The Cabinet Secretary reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment in enhancing meaningful participation of children and youth in climate change by scaling up mechanisms at the national level to ensure their effective participation in decision making on climate change. She commended UNICEF for supporting Kenya in environmental matters, while calling for continued collaborations in climate financing and technical innovations in climate change. UNICEF United Nations Deborah Mlongo Barasa

03/09/2026

03/09/2026

03/09/2026

The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Dr. Deborah Mlongo Barasa, EGH, attended a session with the Departmental Committee on Lands, chaired by Hon. Joash Nyamoko, MP for North Mogirango, to engage on matters concerning land management, environmental conservation and the sustainable use of Kenya’s natural resources.

The engagement provided an important opportunity to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to responsible land governance, protection of public forests and meaningful community participation in conservation and forest management.

Dr. Barasa reaffirmed that Kenya’s forests are vital ecosystems that support livelihoods, water security, biodiversity and climate resilience. She emphasised the important role of communities as partners and custodians in protecting and sustainably managing the country’s natural resources.

The Ministry continues to strengthen community participation through established mechanisms, including Community Forest Associations, creating opportunities for sustainable activities such as ecotourism, beekeeping, forest-based enterprises, grazing and other approved forest user rights.

The discussions further underscored the importance of ensuring that land-use decisions are guided by the Constitution, environmental laws and the Forest Conservation and Management Act, while safeguarding critical ecosystems for present and future generations.

The Cabinet Secretary was accompanied by PS, State Department for Environment and Climate Change , Dr. Eng. Festus K Ng’eno, MIEK, CBS ; Director General Mamo B. Mamo; Dr. Clement Ng’oriareng, Principal Senior Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests – Forest Conservation and Management; and Mr. Evans Kegode among other leaders.

The Cabinet Secretary reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to strengthening collaboration among national institutions, communities and stakeholders to advance sustainable land management, environmental restoration and climate resilience. Nema Kenya Kenya Forest Service Environment and Climate Change

03/09/2026

𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘆𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗮 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 – 𝗖𝗦 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗮

Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Deborah Barasa has called for a coordinated whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to the implementation of Mazingira Week 2026, saying the national campaign should position Kenya as a global leader in landscape and ecosystem restoration while delivering measurable economic, social and environmental benefits.

The CS said Mazingira Week should move beyond tree planting to become a national platform for telling Kenya’s restoration story, demonstrating the economic value of healthy ecosystems and mobilizing citizens and institutions to take ownership of environmental conservation.

Addressing the Mazingira Week 2026 Planning Committee, Dr. Barasa emphasized that landscape restoration is not only an environmental imperative but also an investment in Kenya’s economy, supporting livelihoods, agriculture, tourism, biodiversity, climate resilience and other productive sectors. “We must tell our story and position ourselves as ambassadors and leaders of restoration,” she said.

Mazingira Week will run from October 5 to 10, 2026, culminating in the National Mazingira Day celebrations in Trans Nzoia County. The campaign is designed to accelerate implementation of the 15 Billion Tree Growing Programme, which seeks to raise Kenya’s national tree cover to 30 per cent by 2032.

The CS called for restoration interventions to be implemented at scale and in a synchronized manner, with national and county governments, communities, development partners, the private sector and other stakeholders working collectively towards clearly defined restoration outcomes.

Dr. Barasa said the scale, coordination and timing of the initiative would be critical to its success, urging stakeholders to take advantage of the short-rains season to accelerate tree growing and broader ecosystem restoration. “Mazingira is about restoration at scale. We must leverage the on availability of rains, work as a team and take restoration seriously,” she said.

The CS emphasized that Mazingira Week should reflect a comprehensive restoration agenda encompassing forest restoration, agroforestry, mangrove restoration, assisted natural regeneration, fencing and other ecosystem-based interventions.

Technology and innovation will play a central role in strengthening restoration, monitoring and accountability. The upgraded JazaMiti App and new USSD platform which will be unveiled will support registration, geospatial monitoring, reporting and tracking of tree survival, including enabling participation by citizens using basic mobile phones.

The week will also feature innovative restoration interventions, including aerial seeding of degraded landscapes. The Kenya Defence Forces will lead operational implementation across nine priority landscapes, in collaboration with the Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Forestry Research Institute and Kenya Airways’ Fahari Aviation.

The aerial restoration operation targets approximately 150,360 hectares of degraded landscapes, underscoring the Government’s commitment to moving restoration from isolated interventions to coordinated action at landscape scale.

Dr. Barasa said the restoration agenda must be deliberately linked to economic opportunities, job creation and improved livelihoods, particularly for young people and communities. She cited the JazaMiti initiative as an opportunity to engage citizens and youth in tree growing while strengthening national systems for monitoring and accountability.

Experiences from countries such as Ethiopia and India, she noted, demonstrate the importance of political leadership, national mobilization and coordinated action in advancing large-scale restoration.

She emphasized that Kenya is well positioned to build on its own experience and leadership under His Excellency President William Ruto, a champion of environmental restoration and climate action, whose commitment to the restoration of degraded landscapes and expansion of tree cover has placed environmental conservation at the centre of the national development agenda.

The CS said Kenya should leverage this political leadership to develop and showcase a distinctive restoration model suited to the country’s diverse landscapes and ecosystems, while positioning Kenya as a global leader in restoration and climate action. Kenya, she said, must develop a restoration model that responds to its diverse landscapes and ecosystems while positioning the country as a leading voice and practitioner in global restoration efforts.

“Mazingira Week is an opportunity to tell our story a story of landscapes restored, livelihoods improved and a country taking leadership in conservation,” the CS said.

The Mazingira Week programme will feature a series of sector-led national activities, including National Schools Tree Growing Day, National Agroforestry Day, National Highway Greening Day and National Clean Up Day, before culminating in National Mazingira Day on October 10.

The CS called on all institutions participating in the campaign to ensure that every activity contributes directly to the broader national restoration agenda and produces tangible, measurable outcomes.

She further emphasized the importance of strategic communication in documenting and showcasing Kenya’s restoration achievements through mainstream and digital media, ensuring that the national narrative on restoration reaches citizens, partners and the international community.

The meeting, chaired by Dr. Jesse Owino, brought together members of the Mazingira Week 2026 Planning Committee drawn from Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including Mr. Philip Lemarasia (SDECC), Mr. Felix Kisalu and Ms. Susan Boit (15B Secretariat) to review preparations and strengthen coordination ahead of the national campaign.

The CS urged the committee and all participating institutions to maintain a strong focus on delivery, accountability and measurable impact, saying Mazingira Week should lay the foundation for a lasting national culture of environmental stewardship.

The campaign is expected to accelerate implementation of the 15 Billion Tree Growing Programme, increase public participation in tree growing and ecosystem restoration, advance innovative restoration at scale, strengthen national and county delivery capacity, enhance public ownership and improve monitoring and accountability of restoration efforts.