Beekeepers harvest honey from an ABL hive in the Tana Delta, Kenya. Credit: Chemtai Kirui/IPS

By Chemtai Kirui
GOLBANTI, Kenya, Apr 23 2026 (IPS)

Lydia Hagodana stands next to a bee yard (apiary) in Golbanti, Tana Delta, where she lives. The air carries a low, steady hum as bees move in and out in a constant stream. She lifts the back of one hive slightly, gauging its weight.

“This hive is mine,” she says. “I have two.”

Hagodana is one of 25 members of the Golbanti women’s group, which manages about 50 hives shared between them. Each member keeps a pair, harvesting honey a few times a year. Some of the income is kept individually, while a portion is pooled into group savings to support a small communal vegetable farm.

The apiaries sit along the southern banks of the Tana River, where it begins to split into the channels that form the lower delta. In the rainy season, the land opens into floodplains, drawing migratory birds and supporting wildlife, including hippos, crocodiles and the rare Tana River topi.

Lydia Hagodana in the area where she keeps one of her beehives in the Tana Delta, Kenya. Credit: Chemtai Kirui/IPS

Patches of gallery forest along the riverbanks are home to two critically endangered primates – the Tana River red colobus and the crested mangabey.

In recent years, beekeeping has offered an alternative source of income in a place where livelihoods have long depended on farming, fishing and livestock. For women in particular, managing hives marks a shift from more physically demanding work and from roles traditionally dominated by men.

Before the bees, these same floodplains were at the centre of proposals for large-scale biofuel plantations – plans that raised concerns about converting wetlands into industrial agriculture.

“This was linked to the European Union policy to blend biofuels with fossil fuels,” said Dr Paul Matiku, executive director of Nature Kenya. “Africa was seen as a place with ‘idle’ land that could be converted to these crops, including jatropha and sugarcane.”

At the time, the Kenyan government framed the projects as part of vision 2030 – a way to bring development and jobs to what officials described as an “empty” region.

Land clearing had begun. In some places, fields were ploughed before indigenous families had gathered their belongings. A wildlife corridor used by elephants and other species was carved into plantation blocks.

Tensions Rose

By 2012, violent clashes had erupted, turning the delta into what investors began calling a “red zone”.

“We woke up to a challenge about where the Tana Delta was going,” said Matiku, who helped lead the legal fight to stop the expansion. “You cannot convert wildlife land and food-producing land into fuel for cars. We had to unleash every bit of machinery we had to stop it.”

A coalition of conservation groups and local communities took the government to court.

In February 2013, Lady Justice Mumbi Ngugi halted the proposed large-scale developments in the delta, ruling that the state had failed to account for the rights of local people.

“The court said no one could move forward without a land-use plan developed with the people,” Matiku said.

Over the next two years, communities, county officials and conservation groups worked together to map the delta – dividing the landscape into zones for grazing, farming and conservation under what became the Tana Delta Land Use Plan (LUP).

For the first time, the delta had a formal set of rules.

But another question followed: could conservation pay?

A group of community members gather outside an African Beekeepers Limited facility in Kenya’s Tana Delta to discuss the business of beekeeping. Credit: Chemtai Kirui/IPS

From Idle Land to Natural Economy

With support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), researchers began calculating the economic value of the delta’s ecosystems – reframing them from “idle land” into a functioning natural economy.

The partners approached the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the world’s largest multilateral fund for the environment. In 2018, after a technical review process, the fund approved a USD 3.3m grant for restoration in the Tana Delta under the Restoration Initiative.

The funding aimed to stabilise a landscape long marked by land disputes and failed biofuel schemes. Working with UNEP and Nature Kenya, the program supported consultations, legal drafting, and the work needed to turn the land-use plan into law.

Between 2019 and 2024, the county enacted 29 policies and legislative instruments aimed at regulating land use, conservation and climate action.

“We have moved from loosely coordinated conservation projects to a law-driven governance framework that integrates land use, climate change and community engagement,” said Mathew Babwoya Buya, Tana River county’s environment executive.

Tana River county has set aside at least 2% of its development budget for climate resilience and ecosystem restoration.

For the 2024/25 fiscal year, the county’s total budget is about KSh 8.87 billion (USD 68.76 million). Of that, roughly KSh 3 billion (USD 23 million) is development spending, implying annual allocations of about KSh 60 million (USD 460,000) for restoration programmes.

The commitment helped secure new funding from the GEF, which approved a grant of about USD 3.35 million for the Tana Delta under its Restoration Initiative.

Project documents show the program mobilised roughly USD 36.8 million in co-financing, about eleven dollars for every dollar of GEF funding, a commonly cited measure of leverage in conservation finance.

“The Tana Delta project shows what is possible when country ownership is strong and priorities are clearly aligned. This level of leverage reflects deep national commitment, strong engagement from a wide range of stakeholders, and clear links to value chains and local business opportunities. The project’s integrated, landscape-based approach allows it to address multiple challenges at once, making it an attractive platform for partners to invest alongside GEF,” said Ulrich Apel, a senior environmental specialist at the GEF.

The composition of that financing shows that the bulk originates from public agencies and development partners, including multilateral programmes and philanthropic funding. Only about USD 341,000 – less than 1 per cent of the total – is attributable to direct private-sector investment.

Apel explained the figures do not necessarily capture the full extent of commercial activity.

“It is important to understand how co-finance is defined and recorded,” Apel said. “Only capital explicitly committed to a project through formal letters is captured. There can be private sector flows into these value chains that do not show up in the co-financing numbers.”

UNEP officials say the structure is intended to use public funding to reduce land-use risk and attract investment over time.

“The GEF grant was designed to play a catalytic role,” said Nancy Soi, a UNEP official involved in the project.

By funding land-use planning, cooperative structures, and governance systems, she said, the program has helped “derisk” the delta for commercial activity in sectors such as honey, chilli, and aquaculture.

In parallel, other partners are beginning to test that approach in specific value chains.

In aquaculture, the Mastercard Foundation, working with TechnoServe, is supporting a program aimed at about 650 young entrepreneurs in Tana River County.

How that model translates into sustained commercial investment is still being tested on the ground.

In Golbanti, where Hagodana’s hives sit along the riverbanks, one of the emerging value chains is honey production. The work is being developed through a partnership with African Beekeepers Limited (ABL).

Under the model, the company supplies modern hives and technical expertise, manages production, and buys the honey at a fixed price – removing one of the biggest risks in rural markets: price volatility.

Nature Kenya says it has deliberately avoided locking farmers into long-term contracts at this stage, allowing time to assess whether production volumes and pricing can prove viable.

“We managed to pay 76 farmers about KSh700,000 (USD 5,400) from honey harvested in the delta,” said Ernest Simeoni, director of ABL, referring to the project’s first production cycle.

Numbered beehives in a conservation area of Kenya’s Tana Delta. Credit: Chemtai Kirui/IPS

Not Just Beekeeping, It’s the Business of Beekeeping

Simeoni said the approach differs from many donor-led initiatives, which typically focus on training farmers to manage hives independently.

“There are hundreds of modern hives across Kenya, but they don’t produce honey,” he said. “The missing link is expertise.”

Instead, ABL keeps production under the company’s control, deploying its teams to monitor colonies, harvest honey, and oversee processing.

“We’re not training farmers how to do beekeeping,” he said. “What we’re doing is business – showing how to make money from honey.”

Community groups provide land and security for the hives, while the company manages harvesting and processing. Simeoni said that structure helps maintain consistent production volumes.

Even so, he cautioned that the model remains fragile. Access to affordable finance is limited, and much of the sector still depends on donor-backed projects to absorb early risk.

“If donor funding disappears tomorrow, most of these projects stop,” he said.

Looking beyond small-scale value chains, the county is also trying to attract larger investments through a proposed development plan known as the “Green Heart”.

A 60-hectare site in Minjila has been earmarked for an industrial hub intended to support agroprocessing, logistics and green manufacturing, according to Mwanajuma Hiribae, the Tana River county secretary.

“We are working to establish an investment unit to coordinate engagement with private firms,” she said. Funds have also been allocated to develop a masterplan for the site.

But the project remains at an early stage. The land has yet to be formally transferred to the county’s investment authority, and proposals from potential investors are still under review.

Officials say any future development will need to align with the delta’s land-use plan and environmental safeguards.

For now, however, the flow of private capital to the delta remains limited.

Experiences elsewhere in Kenya suggest the model, while technically replicable, depends heavily on political will, security conditions and sustained public financing – factors that vary widely between regions.

In western Kenya, a similar land-use planning approach has been introduced in Yala Swamp, with mixed results. While Busia county has formally adopted the framework, neighbouring Siaya has yet to approve it, with local officials citing competing political and commercial interests around large-scale agriculture.

“The science is replicable,” said Matiku. “But political interests can slow or block implementation.”

In Golbanti, the idea of a restoration economy is beginning to take shape in small ways.

Beekeepers at the African Beekeepers Limited facility in Kenya’s Tana Delta. Credit: Chemtai Kirui/IPS

Welcome Income

Income from honey, though modest and still irregular, is starting to filter into daily life.

For Hagodana, it helps pay school fees for her six children, supports a small farm, and contributes to a shared fund used to grow vegetables. Some of the money is spent, some saved, and some reinvested.

She has been keeping bees for two years. Before that, she says, life was harder. Now there is at least something to rely on.

She does not plan to stop. Whether or not outside support continues, she says she will keep the hives and hopes eventually to learn how to process honey into other products.

Back in the apiary, the bees move in and out of the hives in a steady rhythm.

Note: The Eighth Global Environment Facility Assembly will be held from May 30 to June 6, 2026 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

This feature is published with the support of the GEF. IPS is solely responsible for the editorial content, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of the GEF.

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Luther Bois Anukur, Regional Director of IUCN ESARO, interviewed at the IUCN Regional Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IP

By Isaiah Esipisu
NAIROBI, Mar 3 2026 (IPS)

As the global community marks 2026 World Wildlife Day today (March 3), this year’s focus is on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods. However, beneath these celebrations, a difficult question emerges: who will bear the cost of conservation when traditional donor funding becomes uncertain and in the face of climate change?

With geopolitical shifts causing traditional funders to tighten their budgets, conservation across Africa has reached a critical juncture.

In an exclusive interview with Luther Bois Anukur, the Regional Director for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Eastern and Southern Africa, we explore how governments must now go further by creating space for community-led biodiversity conservation initiatives to evolve into sustainable enterprises. We discuss why protecting biodiversity matters as much as maintaining roads or power grids and why national budgets should consider it a priority.

IPS: With conservation donors tightening their budget, how serious is this funding shift for Africa, and what risks does it create for biodiversity protection?

Anukur: Overall, there has been a shrinking of financing for biodiversity conservation, especially with the closing of USAID, which was a big financier for biodiversity work in Africa. This came as a shock and certainly slowed down the work of biodiversity conservation in Africa because some organisations have gone under, and some projects have closed altogether.

However, having said that, there is a huge opportunity for Africa to relook at biodiversity financing models. Indeed, relying on donor funding is not the right way to finance biodiversity conservation. Biodiversity is not a charitable cause. It is actually part of the sovereign natural assets, and so we need to look at ways in which countries can link their economies to biodiversity conservation.

For example, you’ll find that what underpins our economies in Africa is fresh water, agriculture, tourism, and energy, and all these form the backbone of biodiversity conservation.

IPS: African communities often live with wildlife and bear the costs of conservation. How possibly can this be turned into community-led initiatives that can evolve into sustainable enterprises?

Anukur: First and foremost, people in Africa have lived alongside wildlife for many years. However, the cost of living with wildlife has been very high, because you find there’s crop loss, there’s loss of livestock, and even loss of lives. Yet, we have not seen benefits go to communities in a proportional manner.

To change this, there is certainly a need to rethink and redesign our conservation efforts so that communities can be right at the centre. We need to see benefits going to communities in an equitable manner that is commensurate to the services and the sacrifices they provide by living alongside wildlife.

We need to stop seeing communities as beneficiaries but as leaders of conservation efforts. And when we do that, then we will go a long way in conserving wildlife.

IPS: Why should finance ministries in Africa treat conservation as a core national investment rather than an environmental afterthought

Anukur: In many cases, ministers of finance look at risks, they look at assets, and they look at returns. That is what they usually understand. But very clearly, nature is Africa’s largest asset. And so investing in our environment basically means that we are supporting our water systems, our agriculture, our fisheries, and our ecosystems. That basically means that we are strengthening our economies.

The reverse is true. If we do not support that, we will face disasters. We are going to have a higher impact from climate change, and we are going to get into food imports. When you balance the books, investing in conservation makes sense, as it will ultimately affect national economies. So investing in natural assets will greatly support the GDPs of our countries and the livelihoods of our people.

IPS: Can you share examples of models that governments should be using to support protection of biodiversity as well as community-led conservation initiatives?

Anukur: There have been good examples in Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, among other countries, which have been able to demonstrate that community-led conservation can generate not only ecological recoveries but also economic returns.

But the key thing with these models is that you need to secure the land rights, make sure that there is accountable governance, and that revenue flows directly to communities. There is also a need to have partnerships with multi-stakeholders, especially the ethical private sector.

IPS: Tools like the IUCN Red List and Green List provide data on species and protected areas. How can governments better use these frameworks to move beyond reactive conservation decisions toward long-term, evidence-based policies?

Anukur: IUCN has got quite a number of tools; we have the red list of species, which basically looks at extinction risk, but we also have the green list, which looks at how effectively we manage our ecosystems. Governments have extensively used these tools as reference documents.

However, we would want to see these tools being used to build evidence for planning. This is because when you plan well, then you are able to avert risks. For instance, you need these tools to plan roads, infrastructure, agriculture, and mining.

IPS: Many African governments face pressure to expand infrastructure, agriculture, and extractive industries. What strategies can realistically balance economic development with ecosystem protection, especially for communities living closest to nature?

Anukur: There has been a big debate for a very long time about whether Africa should prioritise development or whether it should be conservation. But that debate is now very old. What we are focusing on is moving from extractive growth to generative growth. We also need to balance everything. For example, you can do agriculture but ensure that you have healthy soils. You can do energy transition in a manner that is not degrading to the environment. Or even create infrastructure that avoids critical ecosystems.

The most important thing is that there should be cross-sectoral collaboration. We have seen environmental and conservation issues treated as an afterthought. We would want the environment to be right at the centre of budget projections, as well; communities should also be brought to the centre for people to benefit from natural assets.

IPS: As we celebrate World Wildlife Day, what message would you give to African governments regarding the conservation of biodiversity?

Anukur: This time is an opportune moment when the world is changing. At the moment we have a lot of geopolitical change. We also do have a lot of geo-economic change. If Africa is to look at itself, the biggest asset is already what we have. The continent is viewed as poor, but the truth is that Africa is not poor. All we need is to connect with our natural assets and use them for development.

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New report finds that current international financial flows remain billions of dollars short of what is required to protect and conserve at least 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030. Photo: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Dec 10 2025 (IPS)

A new study and interactive dashboard released today in Nairobi at the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) finds that current international financial flows remain billions of dollars short of what is required to achieve the global biodiversity target of protecting and conserving at least 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030 (30×30).

A global commitment known as ’30×30′  was formalized under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). In brief, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is an ambitious pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050 through four goals to be reached by 2050, and 23 targets to be reached by 2030.

Target 3 is often referred to as 30×30. This new report is the first comprehensive overview of the international finance flows since world leaders adopted the GBF in December 2022 with damning results. Michael Owen, study author, Indufor North America LLC, said that to date, “there has been limited public analysis of international funding flows for protected and conserved areas.”

Michael Owen (left), study author, Indufor North America LLC, said that to date, there has been limited public analysis of international funding flows for protected and conserved areas. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

He stressed that transparency is uneven among donors and that the data needed to understand 30×30 funding are fragmented across various sources, often lacking the resolution required to track real progress.

“Our goal for the 30×30 Funding Dashboard is to centralize these data, enable users to view funding at the project level, and provide a clear view of top-line trends in the accompanying report. We hope this analysis encourages more donors to strengthen transparency and accountability as we move toward the deadline for target 3,” he said.

The new assessment by Indufor, funded by Campaign for Nature, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and Rainforest Foundation Norway, finds that, though international funding designed to help developing countries fund nature protection has risen by 150 percent over the past decade, reaching just over USD 1 billion in 2024, it also concludes developed nations are USD 4 billion short of meeting funding targets intended to make 30×30 possible.

Brian O’Donnell, director of the Campaign for Nature, said the analysis shows more funding is needed.

“Despite some recent progress, funding is projected to fall billions short of what is needed to meet the 30×30 target. There is a clear need to ramp up marine conservation finance, especially to Small Island Developing States, which receive only a small fraction of the funding dedicated to other regions,” he said.

He emphasized that meeting the 30×30 target is essential to prevent extinctions, achieve climate goals, and ensure the services that nature provides endure, including storm protection and clean air and water. Meanwhile, funding needs are such that, for nations to protect at least 30 percent of the planet’s land and ocean by 2030, expanding and managing protected areas alone likely requires USD 103 billion to 178 billion per year globally, far above the USD 24 billion currently spent.

Anders Haug Larsen, advocacy director at Rainforest Foundation Norway, called for increased international support, saying, “We are currently far off track, both in mobilizing resources and protecting nature.”

“We now have a short window of opportunity, where governments, donors, and actors on the ground, including Indigenous Peoples and local communities, need to work together to enhance finance and actions for rights-based nature protection.”   

During the launch, delegates at UNEA, the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment with universal membership of all 193 UN Members States, heard that since 2014, international funding for protected and conserved areas in developing countries has risen by 150 percent, growing from around USD 396 million to over USD 1.1 billion in 2024.

Furthermore, funding totals have grown particularly quickly since the signing of the GBF as the average annual totals increased 61 percent from 2022 through 2024 compared to the previous three-year period.

However, despite recent growth, funding for international protected and conserved areas remains significantly below the financial requirements outlined in GBF target 19. Target 19 is about increasing financial resources for biodiversity and seeks to mobilize USD 200 billion per year from all sources, including USD 30 billion through international finance.

The world’s unprotected, most biodiverse areas are located in countries with constrained public budgets and competing development needs, making these funds essential, as international finance will be pivotal to delivering 30×30 fairly and effectively.

The funds will pay for activities such as establishing new protected areas, providing capacity to rangers who protect existing protected and conserved areas, and supporting Indigenous groups and local communities who live on or near protected areas.

In this regard, existing global costing studies suggest that protected areas will require an estimated 20 percent of total biodiversity financing by 2030. Roughly USD 4 billion per year is needed by 2025 and USD 6 billion per year is needed by 2030, for Target 3 alone, in line with Target 19a.

Against this backdrop, the report finds that to realize the 2030 GBF vision from today’s base, “international protected and conserved areas funding would need to grow at about 33 percent per year—more than three times the 11 percent annual growth observed from 2020 to 2024.”

Between 2022 and 2024, average annual funding increased by 70 percent compared to the previous four-year period, while the philanthropic sector raised funding by 89 percent; however, if the current trajectory continues, international funding specifically for protected and conserved areas will fall short of the implied 2030 need by approximately USD 4 billion.

Only five bilateral donors and multilateral mechanisms, including Germany, The World Bank, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the European Union, and the United States, have provided 54 percent of all tracked protected and conserved areas disbursements for 30×30 since 2022. The downside is that this small donor pool makes funding vulnerable to political shifts and changing priorities among key actors.

Lower-income countries receive funding, but international flows severely underfund small island developing states and other oceanic regions. Overall, international protected and conserved areas’ funding has grown fastest in Africa, which by 2024 will receive nearly half, or 48 percent, of all tracked flows.

Meanwhile, small island developing states overall receive just USD 48 million or just 4.5 percent per year, in international 30×30 funding, despite being explicitly prioritized in the GBF under target 19a. Overall, the majority of international funding, 82 percent, is going towards strengthening existing protected areas and relatively little is going to the expansion of protected areas.

Marine ecosystems received just 14 percent of international funding despite representing 71 percent of the planet. In all, much of the funding goes to conventional protected areas—versus those, for example, under the stewardship of Indigenous Peoples or other local communities.

Overall, the report aims to demonstrate the urgency for deeper commitments from all stakeholders—governments, philanthropies, multilateral institutions, and the private sector—to dramatically scale up investments before 2030 to protect people, their biodiversity, and economies.

The new dashboard helps translate financial commitments into the strategic actions needed to reach the regions and activities where they’re most needed to achieve progress toward the 30×30 target.

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Caroline Awuor tends to tree seedlings on her farm in Siaya County, Western Kenya. She is a beneficiary of the My Farm Trees Project. Credit: Jackson Okata/IPS

By Jackson Okata
SIAYA, Kenya , Dec 8 2025 (IPS)

For years, Morris Onyango had been trying to reforest his degraded land on the shores of River Nzoia, in Siaya county, 430 kilometers from Kenya’s Capital, Nairobi. But every time he planted trees on his farm, his efforts bore little fruit, as floodwaters would not only wash away his tree seedlings but also fertile topsoil on his land.

“The land became unproductive and bare. I tried reclaiming the land through reforestation, but the trees’ survival rate was too low,” Onyango said.

Siaya County has a 5.23 percent forest cover and is ranked 44^th out of Kenya’s 47 counties. Judy Ogeche, a scientist from the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), says that the compromised forest and tree cover in the county and the lack of any gazetted forests have discouraged the integration of tree and crop farming.

“Communities here do not see tree growing as a lucrative venture. Some myths and beliefs discourage tree growing. For example, some people believe that growing the Terminalia mentalis (often known as the Panga Uzazi) tree attracts death,” says Ogeche.

According to Ogeche, another challenge is gender inequality in land ownership, with men owning most available land and making decisions on what should be planted.

“We have many women interested in restoring tree cover, but their husbands would not allow it,” Ogeche said.

Across Africa, reforestation projects struggle to survive beyond the seedling stage. However, in parts of Kenya, a groundbreaking digital innovation is transforming the landscape by empowering rural farmers to earn a living while restoring degraded lands with native trees.

Tech and Reforestation

In a bid to restore lost biodiversity and enhance tree cover in Kenya, Alliance Bioversity International and CIAT, in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), launched the My Farm Trees project, a blockchain-based platform that offers guidance to subsistence farmers on seed selection, planting, and post-plant care, ensuring that seedlings survive and thrive in harsh conditions.

Implemented in the counties of Siaya, Turkana and Laikipia, MFT emphasizes genetically robust native species that support biodiversity, improve soil health, and provide long-term ecological and economic benefits.

Ogeche observes that the My Farm Trees project has motivated communities in Siaya to grow trees.

“They are given free seedlings and taught how to plant and take care of them, and when the trees grow, they are paid,” she said.

To provide the right seedlings, the project is partnering with the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), the Kenya Forest Services (KFS) and private tree nursery operators in the respective counties.

For farmers like Onyango, the My Farm Trees Project gave them the much-needed solution to their degraded lands and soils

“The project gifted me 175 seedlings of various trees, which I planted along the riverbank. The trees have helped me reclaim my land, prevent erosion and get paid for taking care of my own trees,” Onyango says.

How it Works

In the My Farm Trees project, participating farmers are registered on the MyGeo Farm App, which allows them to monitor seedlings from planting to growing. Through the app, farmers can track and report progress.

Francis Oduor, the National Project Coordinator, says since its rollout, the project has seen over 1,300 farmers registered on the MyGeo Tree App, and over 100,000 seedlings have been planted across the three counties.

“The project is especially interested in using indigenous trees for landscape restoration, which are native to specific areas, and to enhance genetic diversity,” says Oduor.

Oduor explains that My Farm Trees uses monitoring, verification, and incentives to empower local communities to become leaders and stewards of tree-planting projects that provide immediate short-term benefits.

“The project does not just focus on payment to farmers but the long-term benefits of restored landscapes for improved agricultural productivity, water regulation, and climate resilience,” said Oduor.

To ensure the use of native varieties and guarantee the production of quality tree seedlings, the project team collaborates with KEFRI to provide technical assistance to local tree nursery operators.

Lawrence Ogoda, a tree nursery operator, is among the project beneficiaries. He has been trained on seed collection, raising seedlings and record keeping.

“Through the MyGeo Tree and MyGeo Nursery Apps, I can collect data and track progress on seed collection, propagation and development at the nurseries.”

Before joining the My Farm Trees project, Caroline Awuor had not given much attention to growing trees. She received 110 seedlings, 104 of which have successfully survived and are earning her cash incentives.

“Most of them are fruit trees, including mangoes, avocado and jackfruit, while there are also some timber trees. In addition to the incentives from the project, I also earn money by selling the fruit,” she says.

Caroline intends to plant an additional 1,000 tree seedlings on her land, strategically located near the River Nzoia.

According to Joshua Schneck, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Portfolio Manager for Global Programs at IUCN, My Farm Trees is an innovative project driven towards sustainable transformation.

The Impact

In Kenya, My Farm Tree has supported 3,404 farmers, 56 percent of whom are women. A total of 210,520 trees have been planted, with a survival rate of over 60 percent beyond the first year, with 1,250 hectares of land being restored across Siaya, Turkana, and Laikipia counties.

The program has released KES 26 million (approximately USD 200,000) in digital payments, directly benefiting 1,517 farmers. Additionally, 13 local nurseries have been strengthened in partnership with the Kenya Forestry Research Institute.

Also implemented in Cameroon, the project has seen the restoration of 1,403 hectares of forest land with over 145,000 seedlings being planted and 2,200 farmers registered on the platform. The project has also seen the restoration of 423 community lands and 315 sacred forests, with USD 130,000 in incentives distributed to farmers.

Oduor noted that the My Farm Trees project offers a scalable blueprint for  forest restoration by combining science and Blockchain technology in tree selection, post-planting support, and farmer incentives, which gives it  global relevance.

“MFT is a scalable model that aligns with climate action, poverty reduction, and ecosystem recovery. This approach supports the goals of the Paris Agreement, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration,” Oduor said.
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A session titled Youth Movements and Democratic Futures in South Asia at International Civil Society Week, held at Bangkok’s Thammasat University. Credit: Zofeen Ebrahim/IPS

By Zofeen Ebrahim
BANGKOK, Nov 5 2025 (IPS)

The message is clear: today’s youth are not “wishy-washy.” They are not just the future—they are the present, full partners in shaping it, and “power-sharing” is the new mantra. The veterans of activism are being reminded not merely to listen but to hear and to leave their egos at the door.

These were among the many resonant takeaways from the five-day International Civil Society Week, held at Bangkok’s Thammasat University.

Yet beneath the optimistic rhetoric, a different mood lingered. Many young participants seemed despondent, feeling short-changed by their elders—empowered in words, but excluded in practice.

At a session titled “Youth Movements and Democratic Futures in South Asia,” young voices from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, and Nepal shared their frustrations and fears for the future.

Student activist Ammad Talpur at the Youth Movements and Democratic Futures in South Asia session at International Civil Society Week, held at Bangkok’s Thammasat University. Credit: Zofeen Ebrahim/IPS

In Pakistan, said student activist Ammad Talpur, nepotism runs deep, inequality is horrific and brutal, and the powerful break laws with impunity. “We long for change, but fear silences us, as those in power will not brook dissent.”

A similar sense of frustration echoes beyond Pakistan.

“Though sometimes its exercise may come at a cost, youth in India are free to say anything and freedom of speech does exist,” Adrian D’ruz, another panelist, told IPS after the session. And journalists, academics, students, and comedians who questioned those in power, he said, reportedly faced legal action, online harassment, or institutional pressure.

To curb dissent, legal provisions are misapplied, resulting in people “leaning towards self-censorship rather than risking consequences,” said D’Cruz, a member of a network of NGOs in India called Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, which promotes governance accountability and inclusion of marginalized communities.

While Pakistan and India illustrate the pressures youth face under entrenched power, in Nepal the response has taken a more visible, street-level form, riding a wave of unrest that began in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

In Kathmandu, “rising unemployment, corruption, nepotism, and broken promises” fueled the unrest, said Tikashwari Rai, a young Nepali mother of two daughters, worried for their future.

Tikashwari Rai, a Nepali mother of two daughters, at the Youth Movements and Democratic Futures in South Asia session at International Civil Society Week, held at Bangkok’s Thammasat University. Credit: Zofeen Ebrahim/IPS

“We don’t want to work as domestic help in the Middle East; we want opportunities here, in our own country. But because there are none, many young people are forced to leave,” she explained.

Yet, she admitted, the protests came at a heavy cost—lives lost and infrastructure destroyed. “Our youth need guidance and stronger organization to lead social movements effectively,” she added.

Beyond the immediate triggers of street protests, some activists argue that deeper systemic issues fuel youth disenchantment.

Melani Gunathilaka, a climate and political activist from Sri Lanka, at the Youth Movements and Democratic Futures in South Asia session at International Civil Society Week, held at Bangkok’s Thammasat University. Credit: Zofeen Ebrahim/IPS

Melani Gunathilaka, a young climate and political activist from Sri Lanka, who was also on the panel, believed the roots of disenchantment ran deeper. “While these protests are often labeled as anti-government, at their core, they demand systemic change and true accountability from those in power.”

The immediate triggers seem to spread across corruption, authoritarian governments, repression, lack of access to basic needs and more,” she said.

A closer look at the situation in countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Kenya, however, exposed economic hardship, debt burdens, and deepening inequalities. And this trend is also observed globally, she pointed out.

Despite these frustrations, the conference also explored how young and older activists can work together, not just to protest, but to reshape movements constructively.

“Across civil society, there is growing recognition that youth must be meaningfully included in development and nation-building. While progress varies from group to group, the direction of change is unmistakably forward,” said D’cruz.

Talpur further fine-tuned D’Cruz’s sentiment. “It’s not about taking over; it’s about working together through collaboration.” He also found it “unfair for the boomers to create a mess and leave it to the millennials and Gen Z to fix it.”

Interestingly, the sentiment found an echo among the older generation itself. Founder of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, Debbie Stothard, said it was unfair to leave the mess her generation had created to the young and then expect them to “fix it.”

Speaking at the closing plenary titled “Futures We’re Building: Youth, Climate and Intergenerational Justice, she noted that she had been talking about “intergenerational equity” for 40 years, yet many in her generation of activists still fail to “walk the talk” in how they live and lead. Still, she added, it is not too late: “We can still make space.”

That space, she explained, begins with a change in mindset. “It’s not our job to empower the youth; it’s recognizing that they have power,” she said—a reminder that true equity lies not in giving power away, but in acknowledging it already exists.

This shift in perspective is already reshaping how movements operate. Youth no longer need to “look up to” traditional authority figures for inspiration, said D’cruz. Many within their generation are already leading change.

Mihajlo Matkovic, a member of the Youth Action Team at CIVICUS, from Serbia, also at the closing, demonstrated how real change required innovation and persistence. “Because our generation did not have any great example of what a direct democracy looks like,” he said, adding, “We had to basically reinvent it.”

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Abortion is illegal in Uganda. Girls who get pregnant resort to deadly backstreet abortion providers. However, it is also criminal to provide safe abortion services. Credit: Wambi Michael/IPS

By Wambi Michael
KAMPALA, Aug 18 2025 (IPS)

Sarah Namukisa nearly missed her final year exams earlier this year. She was subjected to a mandatory pregnancy test—the 25-year-old student at the Medical Laboratory Training School in Jinja was then expelled because she was pregnant.

While Namukisa’s case sparked public criticism, activists say it was by no means an isolated incident.

Across Uganda and other East African countries, pregnant students continue to face expulsion, forced school dropout, and stigma in both public and private educational institutions.

Labila Sumaya Musoke, from the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), told IPS that the widespread practice reflects deep-seated systemic discrimination and patriarchal control over young women’s bodies and futures

She said the expulsion mirrors systemic and institutional discrimination that international and regional human rights bodies have explicitly deemed unlawful and incompatible with human rights standards.

Namukisa was lucky that her case attracted the attention of the civil society and Uganda’s Equal Opportunities Commission. The commission ordered her school to rescind the expulsion. Many young women resort to deadly “backstreet” abortions in an effort to find ways to return to school or higher learning institutes. Abortion is still outlawed in Uganda and its neighbors—Kenya and Tanzania.

The most recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) datasets of the 12 East African countries found that the overall prevalence of adolescent pregnancy in East Africa was 54.6 percent. The survey concluded that it is vital to design public health interventions targeting higher-risk adolescent girls, particularly those from the poorest households, by enhancing maternal education and empowerment to reduce adolescent pregnancy and its complications.

Teenage pregnancy and motherhood rate in Kenya stands at 18 percent. This implies that about one in every five teenage girls between the ages of 15-19 years has either had a live birth or is pregnant with their first child.

The rate of teenage pregnancy has stagnated for over a decade in Uganda; it stood at 25 percent in 2006, at 24 percent in 2011 and now shows trends of rising at 25 percent. Teenage pregnancy in Tanzania is a significant public health issue, with 22 percent of women aged 15-19 having been pregnant, according to a 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey.

Rosemary Kirui, the Legal Advisor at the Center for Reproductive Rights—which works in seven countries, including Uganda—said the enjoyment of the Sexual Reproductive Health rights has been limited by barriers related to the legal and policy framework.

“We have a legal environment that has restrictive laws that criminalize some SHRH services. Most of the laws were adopted or inherited from the colonialists. And most of the countries have not changed the laws. So you will find that the penal code is similar, giving a blanket criminalization of abortion. So you will find this is being interpreted narrowly in many African countries,” said Kirui.

She told IPS that the other aspect of restrictive laws is the age of consent, where there is a mandatory third-party requirement for adolescents seeking information and sexual reproduction health services.

Primer Kwagala, a Ugandan Lawyer whose organization, Women Pro Bono Initiative (WPI), has been litigating for access to SHR services, told IPS that the country maintains restrictions on abortion.

“We are saying that 16 women are dying each day due to lack of services in public health facilities. And there are those who are dying in communities due to unsafe abortion. We have on our law books outdated colonial policies preventing health workers from providing life-saving services.”

Uganda’s constitution says that no one can take the life of an unborn child except in exceptional circumstances.

“For many women to exercise autonomy over their bodies and to say, ‘I cannot carry this pregnancy; I need an abortion,’ they cannot go ahead and have that discussion. The first thing the health worker will say is, ‘I don’t want to go to prison,’” said Kwagala.

The Ministry of Health in Uganda has issued guidelines allowing safe abortions in cases of defilement, rape, and incest. But the guidelines, according to Kwagala, are more on paper than in practice.

In 2020, a ruling by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) against the Republic of Tanzania found that Tanzania’s policy of expelling pregnant schoolgirls constituted a violation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, particularly the rights to education, health, dignity, and non-discrimination.

Six girls who were pregnant were expelled from the school. The committee urged Tanzania to reform its education policies.

Dr. Godfrey Kangaude, an expert on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights based in Malawi, said there is a tussle between the gatekeepers who think the SHR issues are for the civil society to handle.

“But I think this is closest to us. Sex and reproduction are relevant to everyone,” said Kangaude while speaking to the East Africa Law Society on litigating for sexual health rights.

He said sexual and reproductive justice is closely interrelated with finance and labor justice and generally the overall well-being of humans.

Kagaunde explained that in Malawi and other countries in the region, there are anomalies when it comes to the age of consent.

“In Malawi, the law says an adult cannot have sex with a child. Okay, we want to protect children. Isn’t it? But the line has been so rigid that an 18-year-old boy can’t have sex with a 17-year-old girl, because a 17-year-old is a minor and an 18-year-old is an adult. We understand that we want to protect people from harmful sexual conduct, especially children, but the law shouldn’t just be arbitrary. It should take into account that the 17-year-old and 18-year-old are peers.”

Criminalization of Consensual Sex 

Kangaunde and others argue that rights-based reform is needed. Laws should be gender-neutral, orientation-neutral, and distinguish exploitative adult–child sex from non-exploitative peer sex. Kangaude points to alternatives like multi-stage consent and close-in-age (“Romeo & Juliet”) exemptions.

Kangaunde and others have been criticized over their stance on the age of consent to sex and access for individuals younger than 18 to access contraceptives and safe abortion services.

“But look, there is a 19-year-old boy who is being charged with the offense of having sex with a girlfriend of 17. I mean, for him, life just went crazy. He is at school, and he had to stop schooling,” said Kangaude, the director at Nyale Institute. His institute provides legal support and engages in strategic litigation to protect and promote sexual and reproductive health rights.

Activists have since 2017 been pushing for a regional Sexual Reproductive Health Rights law. They contend that across East Africa, sexual and reproductive health rights have been narrowly defined as standalone rights.

If enacted, it would require the EAC member states to harmonize provisions on sexual and reproductive health services and information.

The bill has, however, faced significant resistance based especially on social and cultural barriers. The resistance has focused on aspects of comprehensive sex education for teenagers and provisions regarding legal abortion.

Dr. Tom Mulisa, a human rights and constitutional law researcher based at the University of Rwanda, told IPS that sexual and reproductive health rights are broad.

“Constitutions have those rights, and national health laws and policies have those rights, we are talking about the right to health, which most constitutions have, and we are talking about the right to privacy, the right to information, and sexual and reproductive health rights,” he said.

The partner states have ratified the Maputo protocol, which allows for the termination of pregnancy. The protocol is the main regional instrument that advances women’s rights especially sexual and reproductive health rights. The protocol also provides for elimination of discrimination and prohibition of harmful practices, such as female genital cutting.

Within the region, some countries have ratified the protocol, others have not and others have ratified it with reservations. Enforcement of the protocol has been split, making it difficult for all to enjoy the broader rights therein.

Kenya made reservations about Article (14), which provides for safe and legal abortion. Kenya’s constitution, on the other hand, provides for a right to legal and safe abortion when the life of the mother or fetus is at threat.

Learning From Advances in Rwanda

Rwanda has made significant progress in improving the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) of its population, especially young individuals. Like many countries in the region, it had post-colonial laws. It embarked on reform since 2009. The reforms laid the groundwork for what many describe as a flexible system.

Earlier this month, Rwanda’s Parliament passed a new law granting adolescent girls the right to access Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services—particularly family planning—without requiring parental consent. It lowered the legal age to access contraceptives from 18-15.

Mulisa stated that the country modified its new penal code by eliminating the court’s requirement for an abortion. The penal code also included sexual reproductive health rights.

“Previously, the government held the right to health, while individuals were obligated to comply with it. But now the constitution has an explicit right to health,” revealed Mulisa, the founder of the Great Lakes Initiative For Human Rights and Development, which does public interest litigation in Rwanda.

It is now a crime under the penal code in Rwanda if a woman is denied access to contraceptives. And there are fewer restrictions on safe abortion following the removal of the court order requirement.

Rwanda’s ministerial order on abortion defines the right to health more broadly, incorporating the scope outlined by the WHO.

According to the WHO, the right to health includes four essential, interrelated elements: availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality.

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Lionel Ngukusenge (18), a Burundian refugee in Kenya staying at Kakuma refugee camp, has planted 70 trees at his homestead. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS

By Jeffrey Moyo
KAKUMA, Kenya, Aug 11 2025 (IPS)

For 18-year-old Lionel Ngukusenge, a refugee from Burundi, where he was forced into hiding because of a repressive regime, he has found another foe to contend with at the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya: climate change.

Against all odds, Lionel, a Grade 9 student at Future Primary School, has planted 70 trees at his homestead in the refugee camp, which accommodates 300,000 refugees and has over 7,200 learners.

There are only 23 teachers at Lionel’s school, where each class has 209 learners, after 48 teachers were retrenched this year following the US government aid cuts to the organizations assisting refugees in this East African nation.

In the arid Kakuma refugee camp, 800 kilometers northwest of Nairobi, Lionel’s school also has students from South Sudan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia and Afghanistan.

“I’ve planted 70 trees at home because I learned the importance of trees. While doing my homework, I sit under the trees I planted. The oxygen is fantastic. I feel proud,” Lionel told IPS.

He (Lionel) is one of the refugees ‘weaponizing’ tree-planting to contend with climate change.

A difficult task, according to Kenya’s Department of Refugee Services in the Office of the President, because the trees have to be watered using the scarce precious water.

This, said the camp manager, Edwin Chabari, is rationed at 18 liters per head daily.

Nema John Zechariah (22), who eight years ago arrived in Kenya fleeing from conflict in Sudan, said tree planting is not new to her, as she started it in Sudan, planting fruit trees and fending off hunger amidst a raging war, as there was hardly enough to eat. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS.

Kakuma is a Kenyan town in northwestern Turkana County, an arid region experiencing extreme temperatures as high as 40 degrees.

Despite these challenges, refugees like Lionel are managing to survive.

They are planting the Neem tree, an exotic tree known to thrive in arid regions.

Kakuma, a Turkana name, means “out of nowhere,” owing to the remote conditions of the place. Now, despite the hostile climate and environment, it has been home to fleeing refugees since 1992.

Non-governmental organizations like the Girl Child Network and the Education Above All Foundation, based in Qatar, support the learners’ tree-planting efforts.

Kenya’s Girl Child Network deputy director, Dennis Mutiso, said, “They (the youths) are a resource that can be used to reverse the current trends of environmental degradation. We are making deliberate efforts to make sure that they start passing the knowledge from the school to communities so that the project can be sustained.”

In schools and in homes, tree planting has balanced deforestation and desertification fueled by hundreds of refugees dependent on firewood at the Kenyan refugee camp, the biggest in Africa.

However, the latest aid cuts in Kenya have not spared tree planting, according to government officials.

Chabari said that some NGOs and partners who were helping with climate action have not been funded, and that the effects of climate change will be felt by all.

“The support from Girl Child Network came in at the right time. We have been trying to train our learners to plant as many trees as possible. The trees are not only being planted in schools but also at home,” Joseph Ochura, Kenya’s Turkana West Teachers’ Services Commission director, told IPS.

According to Ochura, the heat is abnormally high in Kakuma, forcing learners to start school at 6am because by midday, it would be extremely hot.

That has not deterred learners.

In this war against the heat, 17-year-old Baballa Samir, a Sudanese national who came to Kenya in 2020 fleeing from conflict and is now doing Grade 8 at Arid Zone Primary school in Kakuma, said in the five years he has lived in Kenya, he has planted 35 trees.

Tareeq Al Bakri, Program Specialist at the Education Above All Foundation, said, “Although Kakuma remains a very arid and challenging environment, learners’ involvement in tree planting has led to increased awareness and ownership of environmental stewardship among youths.”

Founded to cater for pastoralists, Arid Zone Primary is one of the oldest schools in Kenya’s Turkana West. It opened its doors to learners in 1986 with 300 learners.

Decades later, the school has 2,500 learners, with just 20 teachers.

An aspiring medical doctor and a climate change warrior from way back in Sudan, where he planted over 50 trees before fleeing, Baballa has planted more trees in this part of Kenya.

His message to the world is clear.

“I urge other young people to conserve the environment by planting trees because trees are important for air purification, and they are also sources of medicine,” he said.

Edukon Joseph, the principal at Arid Zone School, says, “The beneficiaries of tree planting are definitely the learners.”

“Learners take the knowledge to their parents, spreading tree planting outside this institution,” said Joseph.

Attending the same school with Baballa is Patrice Namwar, a 15-year-old Kenyan boy in Grade 9.

Namwar said he has planted 30 trees and 10 more at his homestead.

“We were taught by our teachers that one tree alone absorbs 25 kilograms of carbon and I asked myself, what if I plant 100 trees at home? Global warming will be reduced, because let’s say 25 kilograms multiplied by those 10 trees I have planted in my home—that means 250 kilograms of carbon would be reduced. When we plant more trees, this place will be a place to live in,” Namwar said.

Like Baballa, 16-year-old Grade 9 learner Sharon Ayanae at the Arid Zone School said since 2023 she has planted 35 trees at school, with six more at her homestead.

“When we plant trees, we reduce the temperatures caused by the sun here in Turkana and some trees help us with food,” Ayanae, who is Kenyan, said. In total, 900 trees have been planted at Arid Zone School alone.

At the boarding school, firewood is used for cooking for the learners; however, the tree planting has helped balance the losses.

That has had a growing impact on Kakuma’s arid conditions, according to Virginia Wanjiku, a teacher at Arid Zone school.

“Nowadays in Turkana, we have rains because of the tree-planting initiative. Tree planting has really helped us,” said Wanjiku.

Girl Child Network’s Mutiso said that currently in the Kakuma region, “We have managed to plant 645,352 trees, and we hope to have planted about 850,215 by the end of this year.”

Some deeply traumatized learners, who have been affected by raging wars in their countries, say that tree planting serves as therapy.

Najila Luka Ibrahim, 16, hails from Sudan and is currently in Form 3 at Blue State Secondary school in Kakuma.

She does not know whether or not her parents are alive after she fled from the conflict.

“Before, I just kept to myself, but when I joined the environmental club at school, I interacted with many people I didn’t know before. Tree planting changed me,” said Najila.

Attending the same school with Najila is also 22-year-old Nema John Zechariah, who eight years ago arrived in Kenya fleeing from conflict in Sudan.

For Nema, tree planting is not new to her, as she started it in Sudan, planting fruit trees and fending off hunger amidst a raging war, as there was hardly enough to eat.

“What drove me to plant trees was the hunger caused by war. There was no food. The trees provided fruits, which I sold at the market. Here in Kenya, I started planting trees in 2022,” said Nema.

Refugee learners like 25-year-old Augustino Kuot Bol, a South Sudanese national, said they want peace to plant trees.

A Form 3 learner at Blue State secondary school, Augustino has planted 20 trees at the Kenyan school since arriving in 2022.

“We want peace in the world. Without peace, we cannot have time to plant trees,” Augustino said.

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Tera workers inspect plots where biochar-blended fertilizer is applied to boost soil health and trap carbon. Credit: Chemtai Kirui/IPS

By Chemtai Kirui
KISUMU, Kenya, Jul 22 2025 (IPS)

In June 2025, Kenyan climate-tech firm Tera became the first African project developer to have its carbon removal initiative independently validated and registered under Riverse, a European standard for engineered climate solutions.

The validation confirms that Tera’s project design and digital monitoring framework meet Riverse’s strict scientific criteria—making it eligible to issue carbon credits once verified.

The project is now listed on Riverse’s public-facing Rainbow Registry, which provides transparent documentation of validated projects and will track credits through issuance and retirement.

Tera collects bagasse—the dry, fibrous material left after sugarcane is crushed—from mills around Kisumu, Kenya’s third-largest city in the Lake Victoria basin, known for its sugarcane farms and factories.

At its pilot facility, the sugarcane waste is fed into a pyrolysis unit, a specialized machine that heats the material in the absence of oxygen to produce biochar, a porous, carbon-rich substance.

When applied to soil, biochar helps the ground retain water and nutrients, boosting crop health while locking carbon in place so it cannot escape back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO₂), according to Dr. Eng. Erick Kiplangat Ronoh, a biosystems and environmental engineering expert at Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

“Unlike ordinary plant waste that decomposes and releases carbon, biochar stabilizes it in a form that can remain in soils for extended periods,” Ronoh said.

It is often described as turning agricultural residues into a ‘sponge’ that improves water retention, soil fertility, and long-term carbon storage.

Tera blends biochar into organic fertilizer sold to farmers across the region, aiming to improve harvests and restore degraded soils while creating the basis for carbon credit generation.

“We are bringing the soil back to life,” said Rob Palmer, Tera’s CEO. “Biochar improves yields, reduces dependence on inorganic fertilizers, and boosts drought resilience. But for us to scale up, we needed to prove the science—which is what validation under Riverse provides.”

Palmer described the validation as “a crucial step,” enabled by Tera’s tracking system, which monitors every stage from bagasse collection to biochar application.

Tera did not work alone. To ensure carbon savings are measurable and verifiable, it partnered with another Kenyan company, CYNK—a technology firm that builds digital systems for environmental data tracking—to design a custom Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system that tracks and documents carbon removal data at every stage.

CYNK’s system uses internet-of-things (IoT) sensors and real-time dashboards to create an auditable, tamper-resistant record of the entire process—from weighing biomass to monitoring pyrolysis temperatures and mapping where biochar is applied.

“That level of detail is essential for full traceability,” said Kelvin Gitahi, CYNK’s head of technology.

Gitahi said traditional carbon credit systems often relied on paperwork and spreadsheets to prove the credits they claimed, making auditing difficult.

“Registries typically want evidence of what you produced and where it was applied,” he said. “Historically, it meant assembling files manually. That lack of automation made trust hard to build.”

By contrast, CYNK’s automated system converts sensor readings and spatial data into quantifiable carbon removal estimates, minimizing human error and enabling independent audits.

“It’s designed to be tamper-proof,” Gitahi said. “From the weighbridge measuring truckloads of bagasse to the exact kilos of biochar applied, everything is logged automatically.”

It’s evidence-based and traceable—“so there’s no cooking the books,” as he put it.

Such rigorous monitoring is essential under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which requires transparent, robust MRV to prevent double-counting in international carbon markets.

Riverse, one of 13 global standards endorsed by ICROA, the voluntary carbon market’s main accreditation body, said Tera is the first project it has certified that can scientifically demonstrate its biochar will keep carbon stable for many years.

“Tera had to meet twelve criteria,” said Samara Vantil, Riverse’s certification operations lead. “That included demonstrating full traceability, using only waste biomass, and proving the project was financially additional.”

Each year, more than 20 data points are reviewed to confirm ongoing compliance.

Validation under Riverse generally takes two to three months, with projects subject to annual audits for at least five years and periodic reassessment to remain listed.

Riverse also operates a public platform disclosing project-level data—from feedstock sourcing to credit issuance—in an effort to address transparency concerns in the voluntary carbon market (VCM), where companies and organizations purchase credits to offset emissions outside regulated compliance schemes.

Such scrutiny is seen as vital as Europe looks to source more carbon removals from Africa

A recent European Union proposal includes possible allowances for member states to use “high-quality international credits” to offset hard-to-abate emissions starting in the mid-2030s. If adopted, it could significantly boost demand for rigorously verified projects like Tera’s, which remain rare on the continent.

“Kenya is an emerging hotspot for carbon removal in Africa,” said Ludovic Chatoux, co-founder and CEO of Riverse. “Its renewable electricity mix, reliable feedstock supply, and supportive policies make it attractive for engineered carbon removal.”

That policy environment includes Kenya’s Carbon Credit Trading and Benefit Sharing Bill, which establishes a body to manage carbon trading and benefit-sharing, and the Climate Change Act, which provides a legal framework for carbon markets.

The Climate Change (Carbon Markets) Regulations, 2024, further detail the mechanics of registration, certification, and the creation of a National Carbon Registry.

Diagram showing how the DMRV system developed by Kenyan firm CYNK tracks Tera’s biochar production from bagasse to farm application.

Chatoux said Riverse is also assessing projects in Nigeria and Ghana, reflecting what he called a “bullish outlook” for the region.

He added that Riverse’s goal is to channel financing into projects that demonstrably remove or avoid CO₂, arguing that greater transparency is needed to counter greenwashing in the voluntary market.

Globally, engineered carbon removal credits—such as biochar or direct air capture—command significantly higher prices than most nature-based offsets.

Data from tracking platforms CDR.fyi and Puro.earth show that in 2024, engineered removals averaged around USD 320 per tonne, with biochar trading at roughly USD 140 by mid-2025.

By contrast, even high-quality forestry credits typically fetched USD 8 to USD 15.

This price gap reflects the greater durability and auditability of engineered removals,” said Dr. Ronoh.

Unlike trees, which can lose stored carbon to fires, pests, or logging, biochar locks carbon in soils and is designed to keep it stable for hundreds to thousands of years.

Still, he cautioned that although biochar is widely regarded as a promising climate solution, its benefits depend on strict quality controls and sustainable production.

“If the biomass is contaminated, it can introduce heavy metals or toxins into the soil,” Dr. Ronoh said. “And if it’s applied in excess or made without standardized methods, biochar can harm soil structure and nutrient uptake.”

Despite global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, atmospheric concentrations continue to rise—especially carbon dioxide, the primary driver of human-induced climate change.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, CO₂ levels are now more than 50% above pre-industrial concentrations, setting yet another record high. This has heightened calls for permanent carbon removal to complement emissions cuts.

Agricultural carbon removal strategies, once considered marginal in climate policy, are gaining recognition as essential complements to emissions reductions, especially in sectors that are hard to decarbonize.

This shift is underscored in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 Working Group III report (2022) and analysis by Carbon Direct, which emphasize that achieving the 1.5°C target will require not only deep emissions cuts but also large-scale deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR), including land-based approaches like biochar.

In Kenya and the wider region, there is growing momentum to help farmers both adapt to climate change through climate-smart practices and mitigate it through carbon farming techniques.

Peter Wachira, regional advisor for carbon projects at Vi Agroforestry—a nonprofit that promotes sustainable land use through initiatives like the Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project (KACP)—said these approaches offer significant climate and economic benefits.

“By adopting sustainable techniques such as composting, agroforestry, and agricultural waste recycling, farmers can sequester carbon, improve food security, and raise household incomes,” Wachira said.

But he cautioned that carbon credit schemes must be designed to serve those doing the work.

“The carbon market must first and foremost improve farmers’ livelihoods,” he said. “And we cannot forget—emissions reductions must remain the responsibility of the Global North. Communities here are paying the price for a crisis they didn’t create.”

Kenya’s carbon market debates have also evolved—from initial resistance over fears of enabling continued pollution to ongoing discussions about ensuring transparency, robust credit verification, and equitable benefit-sharing with local communities.

Gitahi said Kenya has demonstrated it can deliver the kind of credible, transparent systems the world is demanding.

“Kenya is offering what the global market needs. It’s proof that projects here can be validated to global standards,” he said. “Our digital transparency shows the strength of local technological capacity, the local expertise, and how communities are willing to engage and give feedback.”

He added that it is rare to see all these players—from governments creating policies to communities shaping projects and investors showing trust—working together.

“It just shows Kenya is now ready for this,” he said.

For Tera, the challenge is now building on that readiness and scaling its model across the continent.

“There’s not a rulebook for America and a different rulebook for Africa,” said Palmer. “What we have proven is that an African carbon project can meet the same global standards. Now that we have a way to prove our model works—that it’s not limited by feedstock, site, or demand—we just need the capital to scale it.”

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Refugees gather to give their input on the Shirika plan during a stakeholders’ meeting in Nakuru City, west of Nairobi, earlier in February 2025. Credit: By Jackson Okata/IPS

By Jackson Okata
NAIROBI, Jul 7 2025 (IPS)

When Jean Baremba arrived in Kenya in 2018, he looked forward to rebuilding a life shattered by war in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The 42-year-old father of four says he escaped DR Congo to save his children after the death of their mother in a 2017 dawn attack by rebel fighters on their village.

“The rebels were forcibly recruiting men to fight for their army. Those resisting were killed and their property torched. I managed to escape; unfortunately, my wife lost her life,” Baremba told IPS.

A skilled carpenter, Baremba and his four children found their way into the Kakuma refugee camp, 497 miles northwest of Kenya’s Capital, Nairobi.

“Despite all the challenges, Kakuma gave me a second life and renewed hope.”

A Growing Challenge

Kenya hosts approximately 836,907 refugees and asylum seekers, with 51 percent of this population residing in Dadaab Refugee Camp, 36 percent in Kakuma Refugee Camp, and 13 percent in urban areas. The numbers comprise 73 percent refugees and 27 percent asylum-seekers.

Over the years, the ever-rising number of people seeking refuge in Kenya, especially from the Great Lakes region, has continued to exert pressure on the East African nation amid reduced global donor and humanitarian aid and support.

Kenya’s Department of Refugee Services has 220,000 pending refugee and asylum seeker applications.

Initially, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) was in charge of refugee seekers’ management, but the Kenyan government took over in 2021 following the passage of the Refugee Act.

To solve the refugee crisis, the Kenyan government launched a plan to transform all refugees and asylum seekers into the Kenyan community by transitioning the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps into integrated settlements.

The five-year transition plan, dubbed the Shirika Plan, aims to transform the refugee camps into integrated settlements for both refugees and host communities to make refugees economically self-reliant.

Shirika is a Swahili word for “coming together” or “partnering.”

The plan will allow refugees to access education, health, government identity cards, business permits, and banking services.

Additionally, refugees will be issued government tax numbers to enable them to open bank accounts and register and operate businesses.

At the same time, the plan will allow refugees to travel and live in any part of Kenya without a special movement permit.

The plan will see refugee students receive government education scholarships to enable them to pursue college and university education.

To enhance access to health services for refugees, the plan allows them to be listed on the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), a government-managed public health fund.

Self-Reliance

For people like Baremba, being allowed to live like other Kenyans will grant refugees the much-needed economic independence.

“Integration will allow me to put my carpentry skills to work, and the Kenyan community will form part of my market,” Baremba said.

He added, “With a source of income, I will no longer rely on support from UNHCR.”

Mary Ajok, a South Sudanese refugee, hopes that the implementation of the Shirika plan will provide a permanent solution to crowded shelters, limited food rations and lack of proper healthcare services plaguing refugees in the camps.

“Raising children in a refugee camp can be challenging. Integration provides a peaceful and friendly environment for children,” Ajok told IPS.

Ajok hopes to establish a catering business to serve both refugees and the host community of Kakuma.

“Majority of refugees have various skills that can be put to use and contribute to the growth of Kenya’s economy,” she said.

Funding

During the official launch of the Shirika Plan at State House, Nairobi, President William Ruto said, “The plan will upgrade refugee management, shifting from humanitarian dependency to a more inclusive and progressive development model centered on human rights.”

US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Marc Dillard, who also doubles as the chair of the Refugee Donor Group, describes the Shirika plan as a milestone for advancing socio-economic conditions and human rights for refugees in Kenya.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) will work with the Kenyan government to implement the Shirika Plan.

The plan’s implementation budget is estimated to be USD 943 million. Kenya’s Minister for National Administration, Kipchumba Murkomen, has been meeting refugee donor groups appealing for funding to implement the plan.

The World Bank, UNHCR, International Finance Corporation and the Kenya Commercial Bank Group have pledged to fund the plan’s implementation.

Global and Regional Goals

The Shirika Plan contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) and the AU Agenda 2063 and aligns with global commitments such as the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) of 2018, the 1969 OAU convention, the 1951 UN convention, and the 1967 UN convention

Inclusivity and non-discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, gender, or any other grounds are key guiding principles for the plan.

For refugees not keen on being integrated, the plan provides pathways for voluntary repatriation to stable home countries and third-country resettlement for deserving, vulnerable refugees.

Opposing Voices

The refugee integration plan is, however, facing resistance from a section of political leaders from Northern Kenya, citing inadequate consultations.

Farah Maalim and Daniel Epuyo, Members of Parliament representing Dadaab and Turkana West constituencies, have accused the government of Kenya and UNHCR of hurriedly rolling out the plan.

The two legislators are instead pushing for the repatriation of refugees back to their home countries.

“We cannot talk of integrating refugees when locals have pressing needs that are yet to be met,” Epuyo said.

Maalim said, “The Hosting Communities of Refugees are not ready for integration. Most refugees would opt for voluntary repatriation with generous assistance to enable them to reintegrate back in Somalia.”

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Opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye and co-accused Obeid Lutale before a civilian court in Kampala. They have been in jail since they were abducted from Kenya by Uganda's security forces. Credit: Wambi Michael/IPS

By Wambi Michael
KAMPALA, Jun 19 2025 (IPS)

In East Africa’s Tanzania and Uganda, political tensions are rising as they prepare for the next elections. Tanzania goes to the polls in October 2025, while Uganda’s presidential and general elections will take place early in 2026.

In both countries, the leading political leaders, Tundu Lissu of the Chadema party in Tanzania and Dr. Kizza Besigye, a former leader of the once largest opposition party, are under detention facing treason charges.

Political and civil actors in the two countries and their neighbor Kenya say a wave of repression is sweeping across the region and that democracy and civil liberties are dying across East Africa.

Civil actors have reported numerous cases of torture, abductions, and general human rights abuses that have shrunk civic spaces.

On 10 April 2025, Lissu was charged with treason, along with three offenses of publication of false information under cybercrime laws. The charges are connected to his nationwide campaign pushing for electoral reform under the slogan “No Reforms, No Election.” He appeared in court this week (June 16) and was granted permission to represent himself because, he argued, he was denied access to private consultations with his lawyers.

Shortly after Lissu’s arrest, Chadema was disqualified from the October 2025 presidential and parliamentary elections, based on the party’s refusal to sign an electoral code of conduct.

Lissu narrowly survived an assassination attempt in 2017 and was forced into exile, only to face renewed persecution upon his return to Tanzania.

In the run-up to the November 2024 local elections, Tanzania’s government has impeded opposition meetings, arbitrarily arrested hundreds of opposition supporters, imposed restrictions on social media access and banned independent media.

Four government critics were forcibly disappeared and one Chadema official was abducted and brutally killed.

Forced Deportations, Allegations of Torture

On May 19, when Lissu was returning to the court, authorities in Tanzania ordered the deportation of Kenya’s former Justice Minister, Martha Karua, and Dr. Willy Mutunga, the former Chief Justice of Kenya, together with a couple of journalists from Kenya.

They had traveled to Tanzania under the invitation of the East Africa Law Society. Further, a Kenyan human rights activist, Boniface Mwangi, and a Ugandan activist, Agather Atuhaire, were arrested and held incommunicado for five days despite protests. The two activists said they were badly tortured by Tanzanian police and security operatives.

Atuhaire told IPS that she was blindfolded and sexually molested by her captors, who had driven her and Mwangi out of the Central Police Station in Tanzania.

“They took off all my clothes and threw me down and handcuffed my feet and hands and turned my feet upside down. They put a board between my feet and hands. One was hitting my feet and the other was attacking my private parts,” said Athuaire, a mother of two.

Atuhaire, awardee of the US State Department’s International Women of Courage Awards (IWOC) and winner of the 2023 EU Human Rights Defenders’ Award in Uganda said she has seen impunity in Uganda but what she went through and experienced in Tanzania was at a higher level.

“I faced a policeman who seemed very angry. He threatened us. I think with Boniface, he said they will circumcise him the second time. With me, he said they will teach me, so I have a good story for Uganda when I come back,” Atuhaire recounted.

“He also asked me if I had a child. And I said, ‘What do my children have to do with this?’ I told him that I have two children. Then you will get a third one. When we got out, I told Boniface that I think that is a rape threat,” she said.

Mwangi was found on the border with Tanzania near the coast following widespread condemnation by Kenyans. He was carried to the car because he could hardly walk following the torture.

“My body is broken in so many ways that you will never know but my spirit is very strong. They did very horrible things to us. And those things were recorded. And they told us that if we get back home and share what happened, they will share the videos with everyone,” said Mwangi.

“The situation in Tanzania is very bad. I think what happened to us is what happens to all Tanzanian activists,” he said.

He wondered why a country that belongs to the East African Community could torture citizens from the other member states the way it did to them.

“I had just gone there to attend a court case. I didn’t have any ulterior motive. I was treated worse than a criminal and yet I had not committed any offense,” he said.

Foreign Activists Warned

Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu, in a televised address, warned foreign activists to stay away from her country.

“Let’s not give them space. They already ruined their own countries. They have already caused chaos. The only country that has not been ruined, where people have security, peace, and stability, is ours. There have been attempts and I strongly urge our security and defense forces, as well as you who manage our foreign policy, not to allow undisciplined individuals from other countries here,” said Suluhu.

Tigere Chagutah, Regional Director, Amnesty International, East and Southern Africa, condemned the torture and inhumane treatment of the two activists.

“For four days, these two human rights defenders were subjected to unimaginable cruelty. Their ordeal highlights the dangers faced by human rights defenders in Tanzania and there must be accountability and justice,” he noted.

Chagutah raised concern about Suluh’s call for a crackdown on human rights defenders, labeling them “foreign agents.”

“Such statements provide state authorities with an unlawful and spurious pretext to impose restrictions flouting international human rights obligations. Trial observation is central to the transparency of court processes and guarantees of fair trials and is not a threat to security,” said Tigere Chagutah.

Social Justice Campaigner, Khalid Hussein in response to Samia Suluhu, said, “You cannot hold foreign nationals, torture them, and then pretend they are meddling and so they deserve what they got.”

Before the arrest of the two activists, Tanzania had deported Kenya’s former Justice Minister, Martha Karua, and Willy Mutunga, the former Chief Justice of Kenya. The two were in Tanzania for a trial observation too.

Karua denied that she was in Tanzania to meddle in its internal affairs, as alleged by Suluhu.

“I was in Tanzania to watch a political trial. In Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, criminal trials are public. One is entitled to a trial before an impartial court, a trial that is public,” said Karua.

Karua suspected that the authorities in Tanzania were disturbed by her addressing a press conference in April on the need to observe the rule of law, when Tundu Lissu was due to appear in court.

“So as a citizen of the Jumuhiya (East African Community), I went to observe a trial. Nothing wrong with that. We feel as citizens of East Africa we have a duty to stand in solidarity with one another to ensure that we push back on autocratic tendencies and the violation of rights,” said Karua.

Professor Peter Kagwanja, a Kenyan intellectual, advisor, and policy strategist, told IPS that what is happening in Tanzania and its neighbors is regrettable.

“If they are chasing Martha Karua and Dr. Willy Mutunga like that. Can you begin to imagine what is happening to the Tanzanians themselves? Who are Dr. Kabudi and others who want to defend Tundu Lisu?” asked Kagwanja, the President and Chief Executive at the Africa Policy Institute (API).

Lack of Tolerance for Opposition

Kagwanja said what is happening in Tanzania is a sheer lack of tolerance for the opposition, yet the countries claim to be operating under a multiparty democracy.

“And that attitude is what we are seeing in Zimbabwe. It is the same attitude you find in Botswana. That you can push the leader of the opposition to exile. You want to constrain the opposition and their leadership. Rather than talk to them and defeat them politically, you want to defeat them at a battle of violence,” he explained.

“It appears that in Uganda and Tanzania, your ambition to be President is not legitimate. You will either be shot at or languish in jail. And no people from outside should help you out,” Kagwanja added.

While in Uganda for Besigye’s trial, Karua told IPS that it appears like the leaders in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania are collaborating in oppressing citizens.

“We feel as citizens of East Africa that we have a duty to stand in solidarity to ensure that we push back against autocratic tendencies and the violation of rights,” said Karua.

Besigye was abducted in Nairobi on 16 November 2024. He was arraigned in a military court in Uganda. He was charged with offenses relating to security and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.

While the Kenyan government has denied involvement, it has been accused by human rights activists of supporting and facilitating an extraordinary rendition.

In August 2024, 36 leaders of Uganda’s FDC were abducted from Kisumu city in Kenya. They were charged with terrorism in Ugandan courts and remanded.

Uganda’s Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, refuted claims of kidnap, saying that the suspects were lawfully arrested.

“Even the manner in which people are collected, if at all, from a neighboring country or another country is prescribed by law and we are saying that these people were charged,” he said

Karua and Besigye’s lawyers insist that the abduction was the result of collusion between Kenyan and Ugandan authorities.

“I’m stressing rendition because Kenya has an extradition Act which demands that anybody being removed from Kenya to another country for trial must be due process. Due process was not followed. Nor were they documented at the border when being transported into Uganda,” Karua told IPS.

Besigye and the co-accused, Obeid Lutale, were arraigned before the military court.  The Supreme Court in Uganda at the end of January ruled that civilians should not be tried in a military court. After the ruling of the Supreme Court, Besigye was taken to the civilian court with a new charge of treason. The charge before the military court was treachery.

The Ugandan Parliament hastily debated and passed the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Amendment Bill 2025 on 20 May. President Yoweri  has assented to the law, which, among others, broadens the jurisdiction of military courts, authorizing them to try a wide range of offenses against civilians.

Trying Civilians in Military Courts Contravene Human Rights Obligations

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk in May 2025 expressed concern at the passing in Uganda’s Parliament of proposed legislation to allow for civilians to be tried in military courts.

“I am concerned that rather than encouraging efforts to implement the Supreme Court’s crystal-clear decision of January this year, Uganda’s legislators have voted to reinstate and broaden military courts’ jurisdiction to try civilians, which would contravene international human rights law obligations,” said Türk.

As Uganda heads to the polls, diplomats from the European Union have raised concern over the torture of the opposition leaders and their supporters. The diplomats particularly expressed concern about the conduct of the Chief of Defence Forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, President Yoweri Museveni’s son.

Early May, Uganda’s Chief of Defence Forces Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is Museveni’s eldest child, said he had detained Eddie Mutwe, the chief bodyguard for opposition leader Bobi Wine.

He wrote on X that he had captured Mutwe “like a grasshopper” and was “using him as a punching bag.” The tortured Mutwe was presented in court and slapped with robbery charges.

Uganda’s Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Norbert Mao, said, “Bringing illegally detained, brutalized, and tortured suspects before the courts of law is an abuse of judicial processes.”

Meanwhile, Kainerugaba has promised a showdown on Presidential aspirant, Wine and his supporters.

“I want to remind you to advise your children to stay away from NUP gangs. Intelligence reports indicate that NUP is not merely a political party but is also involved in activities that raise concerns related to terrorism. The leaders of NUP are recruiting young people for activities that could be harmful to our beautiful country,” he warned.

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Magdalene Ngimoe and Char Tito, learners at Kakuma Arid Zone Secondary School, making chairs from mathenge wood. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS

By Farai Shawn Matiashe
KAKUMA, Kenya, Jun 6 2025 (IPS)

Char Tito is hammering nails into wood at Kakuma Arid Zone Secondary School in Turkana County, northern Kenya. The 16-year-old is making a traditional chair under the scorching sun outside one of the classroom blocks.

The wood she is using is from an unpopular source in this community. It is from a species of mesquite named Prosopis juliflora, which is native to Central and South America and is known in Kenya as mathenge.

Many locals hate mathenge in Turkana County due to its invasiveness and its thorns that are harsh to humans and can cause injuries to livestock. Locals say rivers and dams dry fast in areas with mathenge, and it dominates other plants.

Over the years, the residents have found it an easy source of firewood and charcoal, fuel for many in this community.

But youths, including girls, are now repurposing the mathenge tree to make furniture, particularly chairs.

Char Tito, a learner at Kakuma Arid Zone Secondary School in Kakuma, is seated on a chair made from mathenge wood. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS

“Plastic chairs are expensive. This is why I started making chairs from mathenge earlier this month,” says Tito, who fled the war in South Sudan to seek refuge in Kakuma Refugee Camp in 2017.

“I was taught here at school. Mathenge is abundant. We have been using it for firewood for years. I did not know that it could be used to make chairs.”

Income-Generating Scheme

The land in Kakuma is barren with sparse vegetation and the soils are so poor that they do not support agriculture. Turkana County receives little or no rain and can go for five years without experiencing a single drop of rain.

Acacia trees and mathenge, which are always green despite the high temperatures and water scarcity, make up most of the trees in this community.

Government statistics indicate that the mathenge trees spread at a rate of 15 percent yearly and have so far colonized a million acres of land in Kenya.

Some use mathenge to fence their homes and to make livestock shelters.

Locals survive on livestock production and trading charcoal and firewood.

Dennis Mutiso, a deputy director at Girl Child Network (GCN), a grassroots non-governmental organization supporting Tito and hundreds of other refugees, says the project is equipping learners with green skills.

Magdalene Ngimoe, a learner at Kakuma Arid Zone Secondary School, is making chairs from mathenge wood in Kakuma. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS

“It is contributing to national climate plans. It aligns with the school curriculum,” he says.

Mutiso says those youths who have been trained in making chairs partner with those untrained to pass the knowledge to the community.

Tito, who lives with her mother and her three siblings, is so far making chairs for household use but is planning to make some for sale to her neighbors.

“This is a skill that I can use for my entire life. I am looking forward to earning a living out of carpentry,” she says, smiling.

Mathenge was introduced in the 1970s in the East African country to restore degraded dry lands. It is drought resistant, with its deep roots making it ideal for afforestation in areas like Turkana. The mathenge restored the area and blocked wind erosion in some areas, but at a cost to the locals.

Invasive mathenge tree in Kakuma, northern Kenya. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS

Despite the massive cutting down of this tree for firewood and charcoal, the mathenge regenerates fast, unlike other trees like Acacia.

Lewis Obam, a conservator at the Forestry Commission under Turkana County, says there was a negative perception of the mathenge in the community.

“Communities lost their goats after consuming the tree. Its thorns were affecting the community,” he says.

Obam says mathenge is a colonizer and spreads so fast.

“It was meant to counter desertification. The intention was good,” he says.

Obam says its hardwood is ideal for making chairs.

“It has more opportunities than we knew. It has the second hardest wood in this area. We need maximum use of the mathenge.”

Protecting Environment 

To restore other trees in this semi-arid land, Tito and other girls are planting trees at school and in their homes. She has planted five trees at home and many at school, but water is a challenge amid temperatures that can go as high as 47 degrees Celsius.

Magdalene Ngimoe, a learner at Kakuma Arid Zone Secondary School in Kakuma, planting a tree. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS

“I am proud that I am contributing to measures that reduce the effects of climate change,” she says.

Sometimes, the girls bring water from home to school to ensure that the trees survive.

Trees help mitigate climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Kenya is targeting to plant at least 15 billion trees by 2032 through its National Tree Growing Restoration campaign launched in December 2022.

Magdalene Ngimoe, another learner at Kakuma Arid Zone Secondary School, says she has so far planted two trees at her home in Kiwandege village in Kakuma.

“I hate mathenge. It makes our lives difficult. But I am happy that I am using it to make chairs. I am also planting trees at school, which will provide shade to other students,” says the 16-year-old Kenyan Ngimoe, the firstborn in a family of seven.

Her family survives on selling meat and she hopes she will earn some money from her newly acquired craft.

Edwin Chabari, a manager at Kakuma Refugee Camp under the Department of Refugee Services, says Mathenge has been a menace not only within the camp but also in the area.

“The local youths can get cash from a tree that we thought was a menace,” he says.

GCN, with funding from Education Above All, a global education foundation based in Qatar, has so far planted 896,000 trees in Kakuma and Dadaab and is targeting 2.4 million trees by next year.

Ngimoe’s favorite subject is science and she wants to be a lawyer representing vulnerable children.

Established in 1992, Kakuma Refugee Camp is home to 304,000 people from more than 10 countries, like South Sudan, Burundi, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Joseph Ochura, sub-county director in Turkana County under the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), says the tree-planting initiative has enhanced the learning environment.

“When you visit most of the schools that have been supported, you will see big shades of trees. Whenever there is a break time, learners sit there, including the teachers. Sometimes, some lessons are even carried out under that shade,” Ochura says.

He says that of the 15 billion trees set by the government, TSC was allocated 200 million trees.

Some schools also have their tree nurseries.

When ready, they plant the seedlings at the school and supply others to the community.

“Some of the girls are at the forefront in tree planting. That is a plus. That is what we are telling the girls—outside school, you can still do this in the community,” Ochura says.

Tito, whose favorite subject is English and who wants to be a doctor, is happy to be part of the green jobs being created in Kakuma.

“As a girl, I am proud of myself. I am contributing to environmental protection,” she says.
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High-rise buildings under construction in Lagos, Nigeria. Most accommodation is unaffordable for young Nigerians. Credit: Promise Eze/IPS

By Promise Eze
ABUJA, May 15 2025 (IPS)

After graduating in 2019, Jeremiah Achimugu left Sokoto State in northwestern Nigeria for Abuja, the nation’s capital, in search of better opportunities. But life in the city brought unexpected challenges, especially the high cost of housing.

At first, Achimugu stayed with his uncle and worked as a marketer, earning 120,000 naira (USD 73) a month. However, his salary barely covered his basic needs.

“The cost of living in Nigeria’s rapidly developing capital soon ate deep into my salary,” he said. “By the end of the month, I was always broke. Transportation, food, and other expenses were just too much.”

When he began searching for a place of his own, he was shocked by the prices. Even a small one-room apartment in a remote area costs about 500,000 naira (USD 307) a year.

“There was no way I could afford that kind of rent even though the apartment was nothing to write home about,” he said.

Few months later, Achimugu resigned from his job and returned to Sokoto. His dream of building a life in the city was cut short by the soaring cost of living.

“The cost of living and rent in Nigerian cities is too high for young people,” he said. “But these are the places where the opportunities are. Some landlords are taking advantage of young people coming into the cities by raising the rent.”

A Continental Rental Crisis

Achimugu’s experience reflects a larger problem faced by young people across Nigeria. About 63 percent of the country’s population is under the age of 24, and cities are growing rapidly. The United Nations has warned that Nigeria’s urban population is increasing almost twice as fast as the national average. However, housing hasn’t kept up with this growth. As a result, the few available homes are now overpriced. The World Bank estimates the country has a housing shortage of over 17 million homes.

In major cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, rent prices can range from around 400,000 naira (USD 246) to as much as 25 million naira (USD 16,000) per annum, depending on the location and kind of apartment.

With a monthly minimum wage of 70,000 naira (USD 43), which is often unpaid or delayed, and high unemployment, many young people cannot afford decent housing. This makes it harder for them to settle down, build strong social connections, or feel financially secure.

Nigeria is not alone. Across Africa, young people are being priced out of the rental market. Rapid urbanization, population growth, and economic hardship have made affordable housing a growing concern. In interviews with young people in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria, IPS confirmed that the same challenges exist across the continent.

Formal housing remains beyond the reach of most Africans, with only the top 5 to 10 percent of the population able to afford it. The majority are left to live in informal settlements, many of which lack essential services such as clean water, electricity, and proper sanitation. Experts have warned that without increased investment in affordable housing, a growing number of young people will struggle to find a place to live.

Kwantami Kwame in Kumasi, Ghana, blames capitalism and the greed of real estate owners for the high cost of rent. He told IPS that the rush for quick profits in the cities is affecting the welfare of young people, most of whom are low-income earners.

“A few weeks ago, I was looking for a one-bedroom apartment in Accra, the capital of Ghana, and I was asked to pay an upfront two-year rent fee of 38,275 Ghanaian Cedis (USD 2,500). The apartment wasn’t even up to standard. The fee didn’t cover water, electricity, or waste bills. It’s really unfair,” said Kwame, who noted that in a country where the monthly minimum wage is just 539.19 Ghanaian cedis (USD 45), there should be provisions for young people to access affordable housing in cities where opportunities exist.

Kwame believes governments should regulate rents and check the excesses of landlords. But Olaitan Olaoye, a Lagos-based real estate expert, sees it differently. He points to limited land availability as a major factor driving up rent and argues that price controls won’t solve the problem.

“Governments in Africa shouldn’t be setting rent prices when they’re not doing enough to tackle inflation, which keeps pushing up the cost of building materials,” he said.

“For instance, in a country like Nigeria, the removal of the fuel subsidy caused prices to skyrocket. This had a ripple effect on everything else, including construction. It led to an increase in the cost of building materials. The government then has no moral right to instruct landlords to reduce their rent,” Olaoye argued.

While he does not excuse the greed of some landlords and estate developers, Olaoye worries that if young people already struggle to rent homes, the dream of owning one may become increasingly unrealistic.

“In the past, it was easier for people to build homes. Prices of building materials were affordable and life was more stable. Back then, when people finished school and got a job, they could start saving right away. They could afford to buy a car, build a house, and live comfortably. But things have changed,” he said.

Inadequate Social Housing Programs

Olaoye’s concerns are echoed by Phoebe Atieno Ochieng in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. After securing a teaching job in the capital, she left her family home in the countryside of Busia. However, with a monthly salary of only 18,000 Kenya Shillings (USD 140), renting a place in the city was out of her reach.

“I had no choice but to live in a small space provided by the school management within the school premises,” she told IPS. “The houses here are not affordable. A basic one-bedroom apartment costs 120,000 Kenyan shillings per month. I can’t balance my income because I still have to pay taxes, buy food, and take care of other daily needs. Unless I get a better-paying job, I can’t manage.”

Ochieng criticizes the Kenyan government for its failure to provide adequate social housing and ensure access to affordable mortgages.

While the Kenyan government has launched a social housing scheme like the Affordable Housing Programme to help low- and middle-income earners secure decent homes, the initiative has faced growing criticism. Many argue that the houses being built are still unaffordable, and there are widespread concerns about the potential mismanagement of the scheme. Also, the introduction of a mandatory housing tax has sparked outrage, with many questioning why they are being compelled to fund homes they may never qualify for or benefit from.

Similarly, the Nigerian government has made several attempts to address the housing crisis through various national housing programs designed to provide affordable homes in cities. However, these programs have often failed due to poor implementation, inadequate funding, and corruption. Many housing projects have been abandoned, leaving the promise of affordable housing unfulfilled for the majority of Nigerians.

South Africa’s housing crisis is worsening due to rapid urbanization, economic challenges, and the legacy of apartheid. Cities like Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban are seeing an increasing number of people move from rural areas in search of better job opportunities, putting pressure on housing infrastructure.

During apartheid, many Black South Africans were confined to overcrowded townships on the outskirts of cities, areas that still lack proper infrastructure and services. As young people flock to cities for better prospects, they face the challenge of unaffordable rent, which, according to Ntando Mji, a receptionist in Cape Town, is limiting their potential.

Although the government has attempted to provide subsidized housing for those with a limited income, the scale of the problem is overwhelming, and millions are still waiting for homes. “In Cape Town, getting a house is so difficult. The agents require a three-month rent deposit, and they scrutinize your income, but even getting approved for a space is really hard,” Mji lamented.

“Because it is mainly commercial entities that build houses, they are so expensive. This is why the South African government should intervene by providing accommodation at lower prices and engaging the private sector in building lower-cost housing in safer areas,” said Bhufura Majola, who told IPS that he waited a year before he could even get a small apartment in a student area far from where he works.

He added, “The high cost of rental prices in South Africa is a big deterrent to young professionals in particular because it takes away their choices of where to stay, especially near places where employment is guaranteed. This has forced many to abandon their dreams.”

Peace Abiola, who lives in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria, spent all her savings—600,000 naira (USD 369)—on an apartment last year. She works as a freelance content creator for brands, earning an irregular income. Now, with her rent due, she is considering returning to her village because she can no longer afford to keep up.

“I think one solution to this problem is the proper implementation of laws to control the irregular hike in rental prices,” she said, echoing the frustration of many Nigerians who have started protesting and calling on the government to act.

The Nigerian government has repeatedly promised to enforce policies that protect tenants, but none of those pledges have materialized.

“Here, we are just focused on survival or how to pay the next rent or how to get the next meal. This is not how life should be,” Abiola said.

Note: This article is brought to you by IPS Noram in collaboration with INPS Japan and Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.
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Dr. Nicholas Svitek, microbiologist and senior scientist at ILRI’s Health Program and Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health and Dr. Elise Schieck, a senior scientist at ILRI. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Busani Bafana
NAIROBI, Apr 22 2025 (IPS)

Livestock are a lifeline for millions of farmers in Africa as a source of food and wealth. But devastating diseases are threatening the health and productivity of their animals.

Now scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) have unleashed a toolbox of science solutions by outsmarting the parasites and pathogens that cost millions of dollars in livestock losses across Africa. The toolbox includes everything from vaccines that protect livestock from ‘cattle malaria’ to genetics to breed animals tolerant to East Coast fever.

East Coast fever is wiping out cattle herds across Africa, triggering income losses and food insecurity. Transmitted by ticks, East Coast fever (ECF) kills over a million cattle each year, with young calves especially at risk, says Dr. Nicholas Svitek, a microbiologist and senior scientist at ILRI’s Health Program and Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH).

Caused by a parasite called Theileria parva, ECF can be likened to the cattle version of malaria. It is caused by a parasite closely related to the one that affects humans, Plasmodium sp.

“ECF claims the lives of more than one million cattle every year—about one head of cattle every thirty seconds,” said Svitek, adding that the disease causes more than US$500 million in economic losses annually.

Science to the Rescue
Through a strategic partnership between the Roslin Institute, Scotland Rural College, and ILRI, CTLGH is developing genetic solutions to improve livestock-based livelihoods by studying the resistance of African indigenous cattle to ECF.

Svitek said scientists have identified a genetic marker, that is, a specific mutation in a gene called FAF1B associated with resistance to the ECF-causing parasite.

“We are currently studying the mechanism to confirm what the role of this gene is in the resistance to the disease,” said Svitek. “This study is quite a breakthrough not only to understand the biology of the parasite but, most importantly, how we can use this information for breeding programs to select animals that have this genetic marker so we can breed them, so by selecting these animals we can improve the health and overall productivity of the animals.”

ILRI has created experimental vaccines using artificial intelligence and genetically modified viruses to help cattle build immunity against the Theileria parva parasite.

The Institute has also developed experimental vaccines against the bacterial pathogen causing Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP), Mycoplasma capricolum, a highly contagious respiratory disease in goats and the bacterial pathogen causing Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), Mycoplasma mycoides, which affects cattle.

Svitek and Dr. Hussein Abkallo, a molecular biology scientist, have been part of the groundbreaking use of the CRISPR-Cas technology to genetically engineer the African swine fever virus using weakened viruses as a vaccination strategy. CRISPR-Cas is the “genetic scissors” scientists use to edit DNA—the instruction manual inside every living cell—that causes disease.

Healthy Herds, Happy Farmers
ILRI’s science solutions will result in increased animal productivity due to better health and fewer deaths. Besides, scientists are now able to better screen cattle that are more resilient to common infections while reducing the reliance on costly antibiotics in treating sick animals.

Dr. Anna Lacasta, a senior scientist at ILRI focusing on animal health, said they are developing effective vaccines for developing countries. Dr. Svitek and his team have developed the first rapid test prototype using the CRISPR-Cas technology for diagnosing ECF in the field.

Livestock is a lifeline for farmers in Africa. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

“ECF causes malaria but for cattle so it is a tricky disease to develop a vaccine for, as it is for malaria in people,” said Lacasta, who has led the vaccine development research on East Coast fever and African swine fever (ASF)—two important livestock diseases currently endemic in low- and middle-income countries.

ASF is a devastating disease affecting pig production in developing countries; current control methods, such as culling affected animals and using biosecurity in containing the disease, are inadequate.

ILRI has developed live attenuated vaccines (LAV) for ASF genotypes circulating in East Africa with promising results.

Research is ongoing on the Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP), a severe, highly contagious mycoplasmal respiratory disease primarily affecting goats and sheep, as is the Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in cattle.

“Diseases such as CCPP and CBPP are considered neglected because they affect animals in Africa. The diseases were eradicated in Europe, America, and Australia, but we still have the CCPP in Asia and CBPP in Africa,” said Dr. Elise Schieck, a senior scientist at ILRI, noting that the different vaccines were being evaluated for effectiveness.

Despite the development and use of various science solutions to tackling livestock diseases, there are limitations to their success. Access to vaccines and diagnostic tools is a challenge for farmers across Africa, especially where cold storage facilities are needed to keep the vaccines. Besides, limited extension and advisory services have also hindered farmers from taking up the innovations.

With the right partnerships and policies, science-led livestock health innovations can boost agricultural growth in Africa.

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Gilbert Korir, the farm Manager at the Kaptepeswet Farm, displays healthy leaves from tea bushes grown using organic farm inputs. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPS

By Isaiah Esipisu
KERICHO, Kenya, Mar 27 2025 (IPS)

On the outskirts of Kericho town within Kenya’s Rift Valley region, Kaptepeswet tea farm, an organic tea estate sprawling on a 50-acre piece of land, is a testament that organic fertilizers can be used on mature tea bushes and still produce the desired quantity and quality of premium leaves.

“We have always used the NPK fertilizers on our tea estate, but for the past three years, we have started trials with organic fertilizers and soil conditioners deliberately to convert our tea into an organic product to serve the constantly growing global demand for organic tea,” said Gilbert Korir, the farm Manager at the Kaptepeswet Farm.

According to the Data Bridge Market Research, the global organic tea market size was valued at USD 1.70 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 2.83 billion by 2031, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 6.60 percent during the forecast period of 2024 to 2031. This exponential growth is driven by increasing consumer awareness of health and environmental issues related to organic farming.

The NPK is an important synthetic fertilizer that contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, largely used in Kenya on different crops, including tea estates, to replenish nutrients lost through harvesting and sometimes leaching.

However, different studies have shown that the process of manufacturing such synthetic fertilizers emits so much greenhouse gases, and that excessive or long-term use of the same can significantly raise soil acidity levels, create macronutrient saturation, or change it to the point where the soil loses sensitivity and absorbency to various nutrients.

According to Korir, the shift to organic farm inputs is also in line with the global shift towards environmentally safe and economically viable alternatives for good production.

“The only setback is that unlike synthetic fertilizers, which deliver high yields promptly, organic inputs take a longer time for the crop to respond, and the beauty is that they keep the soil nourished for a longer period,” he said.

Dr. George Oduor, a Kenya-based soil health scientist, explains that fertilizers derived from organic sources stimulate important soil microorganisms to provide nutrients for the crop and also improve the structure of the soil.

On the contrary, synthetic fertilizers are water-soluble, and they avail nutrients directly to the plants without necessarily replenishing the soil; hence, the farmer must reapply the fertilizers regularly to keep the crops healthy.

“It may take a longer period to see the results of organic fertilizers, but once the nutrients are available, it will take a longer time in the soil, and the plants will continue benefiting from season to season,” said Oduor.

Moses Oburu, the General Manager at Vermipro Limited, a Uganda-based organic fertilizer-producing company, says that organic fertilizers used on a large scale are made through a process known as vermicomposting, where organic materials from plants, animal manure, and food waste are fed to earthworms, which in turn excrete nutrient-rich castings, which are the main raw material for making different liquid fertilizers and soil conditioners.

The vermi liquid is then cultured in order to isolate particular microbes (bacteria) that are needed for a particular purpose; thereafter, it is taken to the concentration stage where the selected microbes are grown through medium and non-chlorinated water before they are stabilized using non-sulfur molasses to give it a longer shelf life.

Studies have shown that such fertilizers aid in the fixation of soil nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. “In many cases, most of these nutrients are always in the soil, but in forms that cannot make them available for the plant,” said Oburu. “So our final products help regenerate such nutrients and make them available to the plant,” he said.

Besides, there are other non-liquid organic fertilizers that can be used on large-scale farming, including ‘bokashi,’ which is made through fermentation of organic matter, and ‘biochar,’ which is a nutrient-rich soil amendment that improves soil fertility and crop yields. Others include compost manure, farmyard manure, and green manure, among many others.

Oburu says that the demand for organic farm inputs has been on the rise, particularly in Kenya and Uganda. “Last year, we had orders from about 15,000 farmers from Uganda, and we also have several orders from Kenya by farmers who also use the inputs on horticultural crops, legumes, rice, maize, and even Napier grass,” said Oburu.

So far, the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Organisation (KALRO), in collaboration with Ernestea Limited (a private tea processing company in Kericho), are contacting an experiment on the Kaptepeswet farm to assess the impact of organic fertilisers on tea estates through a study titled ‘Evaluation of bio-fertiliser products for optimising productivity of mature tea in Kenya.’

Kenya is rated as the third biggest tea producer in the world, delivering over 430,000 tons of tea leaves to the local and international market.

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Conservationists are preparing tree seedlings to boost reforestation efforts amidst growing concerns that Kenya is losing its forests. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Mar 13 2025 (IPS)

After the controversial lifting of a six-year moratorium or temporary ban on logging activities in public and community forests by the Kenyan government in July 2023, trucks ferrying tree logs are frequently seen on major highways in total disregard of environmental concerns.

With just 12 percent tree cover and 8.8 percent forest cover, Kenya is one of the least forested countries in Africa. Of the country’s 1,100 native tree species, 10 percent are already threatened with extinction.

“Kenya’s government talks big on all matters climate change and even hosted the first-ever Africa Climate Summit in September 2023, just two months after lifting the 2018 moratorium on logging which was put in place to stop the widespread deforestation ongoing at that time,” says Auma Lynn Onyango, an environmentalist and active member of Mbunge La Mwananchi (People’s Parliament), a pro-poor social movement.

The consequences were immediate. The Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) reported that six million eucalyptus trees were cut down in just six months, January to June 2024 for processed timber export to China and India. The loss is equivalent to five Karura forests. Karura Forest is 2,570 acres or 1,041 hectares, a protected urban forest and one of the biggest forests in the world that is entirely within a city.

Kenya’s forest cover is significantly declining, with reports indicating a continuous decrease in forest cover over the years. The East African country has fallen below the target of 10 percent forest cover as a minimum requirement set by the 2010 Kenyan constitution.

Amidst growing fears that the country’s forest wonderlands are vanishing with every load, the situation has worsened as the government’s development plans are destroying forests and their ecosystems, placing the country on a collision course with climate change.

Onyango tells IPS that even as the Kenyan government steps forward to host the second biennial Africa Climate Summit 2025, should no other country be up to the task, Karura Forest in Nairobi County is now one of several key forests in harm’s way as the government prioritises development over environmental protection.

Others are Suam Forest in Trans Nzoia County, Aberdare Forest which straddles four counties including Nyandarua, Nyeri, Murang’a, Kiambu and Laikipia in Kenya’s Aberdare Mountain Range and Oloolua Forest that straddles the border of Nairobi and Kajiado counties.

The government plans to allocate 50 acres of Suam Forest for the construction of a border town and housing project to support a one-stop border post with neighbouring Uganda. In 2020, the Nyandarua County government proposed selling 163 acres of Aberdare Forest to expand a local township and for dairy farming.

The government plans to widen and tarmac a dirt road across the Aberdare Mountain Range, which is currently under consideration for UNESCO World Heritage status for its unique landscape, diverse ecosystems and significant biodiversity, including rare species such as the mountain bongo antelope. The plans are on hold due to a court order. The Conservatory Order was extended to protect Aberdare National Park and Forest.

Further, the government intends to take 51.64 acres of Karura Forest for road expansion. The plan was halted by the Environment and Land Court in December 2024 in a court ruling following the Green Belt Movement’s petition to stop the development.

“But something very sinister and illegal seems to be happening in Karura Forest. When joggers first noticed significant cutting down of trees in the forest and took the issue to social media, the Kenya Forest Service responded and said that they are only removing old trees and that this was also happening in Thogoto Forest next door in Kiambu County to rejuvenate the forest,” Job Kamau, a Nairobi-based activist, tells IPS.

“That was in October 2024. Till now, the exotic trees are being removed and we are yet to see replanting of trees activities in these areas. We are being hoodwinked.”

Kamau says the Oloolua Forest situation exposed the double speak that defines the government’s position on environmental protection, conservation and preservation. An increase in illegal activities was first reported by the Oloolua Community Forest Association inside the forest that has an estimated 926 acres of endemic forest, 269 acres of degraded forest and 385 acres of eucalyptus plantation.

A portion of Oloolua forest land was allegedly grabbed and title deeds were issued to high-ranking government officials and politicians. The Oloolua community protested and raised alarm in April 2024, saying that no less than 66 acres of forest land had been grabbed by high-ranking people in government and parliament.

As a result of a public outcry, the Kenya Forest Service stopped the construction of a perimeter wall in Oloolua Forest. Kamau says, “Relevant government agencies pretended not to know who gave who land titles and permits to allow construction and the investigation we were promised into these illegal activities is yet to produce results seven months down the line. Title deeds and permits for construction are issued by government agencies.”

“In that same 2024, a developer, and again the government is in the dark as to their identity, was mapping and beginning construction of a restaurant and golf club in Ngong Forest, another gazetted forest land in Kajiado County close to Oloolua Forest,” he says.

Kimeli Winston, a resident of Ngong and a community-based conservationist, says high-ranking government officials have demonstrated an unprecedented “big appetite for land. Having grabbed public land in open spaces reserved for public institutions such as schools and other communal facilities such as playgrounds, they have gone back to our forests. We now believe that they kicked out forest communities to create room for themselves.”

Data from Global Forest Watch shows that from 2001 to 2023, Kenya lost 2.32 hectares of tree cover from fires and 384 hectares from all other drivers of loss. The year with the most tree cover loss due to fires during this period was 2022 with 190 hectares lost to fires — 2.9 percent of all tree cover loss for that year.

At this rate and with the lifting of the moratorium on logging and government development plans in forest land, Kenya’s majestic forests will eventually be confined to the annals of history.

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In Somalia, water infrastructure projects are building climate resilience and reducing emissions by using solar panels to provide energy. A new report calls for recognizing and establishing a nexus between the water, energy and food sectors in the Horn of Africa. Credit: UNDP/Tobin Jones

By Naureen Hossain
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 13 2024 (IPS)

The Horn of Africa holds the resources and potential for lasting development and resilience. The countries in the subregion and development partners need to come together to invest in regional cooperation and resource management.

On December 12, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the first-ever Human Development Report on the Horn of Africa subregion, which includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda.

Horn of Africa Human Development Report 2024: Enhancing Prospects for Human Development through regional Integration, explores the key challenges that the eight countries and the subregion are experiencing in

In the Arab states and the African region, low productivity in economic activity will only continue in a “vicious cycle,” one that perpetuates poverty for the population. Abdallah Al Dardari, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for the Arab States, remarked that the countries in the subregion have been taking what he described as a “siloed approach” to state affairs, even as its neighbors are dealing with the same issues. This is evident in how the region engages with the water and food sectors.

The report calls for recognizing and establishing a nexus between the water, energy and food sectors. Over 50 percent of the population across the Horn of Africa experience moderate to severe food insecurity and only 56 percent have access to electricity. Less than 56 percent have access to clean drinking water, yet the report indicates that this is not a consistent experience among the countries, given their geographical locations.

Conflict and disasters have also been persistent factors that have limited development in the Horn of Africa, as over 23.4 million people have been displaced in the wake of major conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, and internal conflicts like in Ethiopia.

The report presents three priorities that will help to accelerate human development and build resilience: build on increasing intra-regional trade, enhance collaboration in the water, energy and food sectors, and promote governance and peace.

The region could see a GDP increase of 3.9 percent by 2030 through liberalizing trade and reducing tariffs. The African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) agreement would also boost trade were it fully implemented; the countries in the ACFTA need to ratify the agreement for them to benefit. Regional integration through collaboration on resource management can help foster sustainable growth and climate resilience, as the report suggests. This could be seen in improved access to electricity and shared food value systems. This could be valuable in a subregion that holds a high share of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydro and yet faces significant energy gaps.

“What we’ve attempted to do with this report is see if we can begin to see a shift in the narrative on this region,” said Ahunna Eziakonwa, the UN Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa. In working towards integration in economic and political relations, she argued, partnerships need to be established within the subregion that is built on finding commonalities and shared purposes. Changing the narrative is key towards achieving sustainable development.

At the report’s launch, Eziakonwa remarked that certain demographics needed to be brought into the fold when discussing development, requiring a re-examination of the narratives associated with them. Young people make up a significant percentage of the population across the region, yet they have been characterized as the problem rather than the solution. Involving young people and recognizing the skills and perspectives they can bring to the table is critical, which will involve expanding socio-economic opportunities for the youth population that are not employed or in education. Investing in women’s participation in the development sector is also needed, for they have been largely left out of decision-making spaces and policy discussions.

Through this report, UNDP is calling on governments and development partners to invest in infrastructure and policy frameworks that build up human development and resilience in the Horn of Africa.

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Submissions from Papua New Guinea laid bear the country's diversity and heightened vulnerability to climate change. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

By Joyce Chimbi
THE HAGUE & NAIROBI, Dec 6 2024 (IPS)

Kenya agrees with many UN member states testifying before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the law of international responsibility should hold countries legally responsible for major damage to the global climate system.

“Responsible states must cease wrongful acts or remedy any omissions harmful to the climate system as well as make reparations for all damage caused by their breach. Such reparation may take the form of compensation for loss and damage. Of course, the court need not definitively pronounce on compensation in the context of historical omissions,” said Phoebe Okowa, a Kenyan lawyer and Professor of Public International Law.

“However, this is a precious opportunity to integrate the corpus juris (body of law) of climate change treaty law and customary international law, including the principle of common but differentiated responsibility, in a way that will assist states in establishing workable frameworks for compensation.”

Okowa was speaking on behalf of Kenya at the ICJ, which is one of 98 countries and 12 organizations participating in ongoing public hearings, contributing to the UN top court’s advisory opinion on the obligation of states to prevent climate change and ensure the protection of the environment for present and future generations.

The ongoing landmark climate change case dates to September 2021, when the Pacific Island of Vanuatu announced its intention to seek an advisory opinion from the ICJ. Vanuatu supported the efforts of a youth group—the Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change—who were concerned about the vulnerability of small island developing states in the region to climate change.

Vanuatu then lobbied other countries to support this initiative and formed the core group of UN member states to take the initiative forward to the General Assembly.

In pursuit of this advisory, Ambassador Halima Mucheke on behalf of Kenya said the court “has had numerous participants stress the existential nature of the threat caused by climate change. In response, this court must bring clarity to the law, informed by the perspectives of developing states, particularly those in Africa, where temperatures are rising the fastest.”

“We believe that a clarification of the existing legal obligations will provide much-needed guidance to states, as well as the impetus for the next phase of political negotiations. Kenya specifically invites the court to draw on equitable principles reflected in climate change treaties, such as the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities,” she said.

Fred Sarufa, Permanent Representative of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea to the UN, said in the country’s nearly 50 years of nationhood, this was their first appearance before ICJ because climate change can no longer be ignored. He then proceeded to illustrate the significant issues at stake.

Prof. Phoebe Okowa invited the court to integrate the corpus juris of climate change treaty law towards a workable framework for compensation. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

“Papua New Guinea is home to and the custodian of a diverse geophysical and geomorphic landscape, including 20,197 kilometres of coastline, 40,000 square kilometres of coral reefs, one of the highest known levels of marine biological diversity in the world, around 10 percent of the world’s biodiversity in less than 1 percent of the world’s total land area, and the world’s third largest expanse of pristine tropical rainforest, covering 77.8 percent of our total land area,” Sarufa told the court.

Stressing that Papua New Guinea’s biodiversity is directly linked to its unsurpassed linguistic diversity, with over 850 spoken languages, the most in the world. Pila Niningi, the Minister for Justice and Attorney General of Papua New Guinea, discussed the numerous ways that climate change is wreaking havoc.

These include “forcing people to abandon their ancestral lands and territories, altered landscapes and seascapes, disrupted livelihoods, and led to civil unrest among traditional landowners, fighting over increasingly limited land and space. It has also endangered food crops, water and security, and the collapse of traditional and cultural practices and indigenous systems of governance,” Niningi said.

Rising seas have forced the islanders from northeast Bougainville and the people of Veraibari in the Gulf province of Papua New Guinea to abandon their ancestral lands because it engulfed their homes and schools and inundated what remains of the arable land.

This led Papua New Guinea to join other Pacific nations in adopting, within the framework of the Pacific Islands Forum, the Boe Declaration on Regional Security, which affirms, among others, that climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security, and well-being of the peoples of the Pacific.

On her part, Kenya invited the court to confirm that significant financial assistance and technology transfer are binding legal obligations and not matters of discretion.

Professor Dr. Makane Moïse Mbengue from the African Union told the Court the matter on hand was about climate justice, as “climate change is a phenomenon that has not been caused by all states equally, and nor will all states suffer its effects equally.”

He emphasized that science serves as the cornerstone of climate justice for states, peoples, and individuals affected by climate change, underscoring the necessity of protecting the climate system and demanding responsibility from states that have caused harm to it. In this context, he said the African Union welcomes the court’s engagement with experts from the IPCC prior to the commencement of the hearings.

“The African Union notes efforts of certain states, albeit a minority, to negate science and trivialize the ordinary meaning of the terms of the request (for an advisory opinion). Their repeated calls for undue caution now, and in their written submissions, are transparent attempts to dilute the very object of the present proceedings. The African Union respectfully urges the court to dismiss these unfounded arguments,” he observed.

Further inviting the court to “reject the flawed argument, which was repeated again this week, that the relevant obligations are reduced solely to the so-called specialists of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. The same arguments were tried, tested, and defeated before they lost. Nonetheless, they should find no fertile ground before the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, whose advisory opinions have consistently contributed to maintaining the systemic coherence of the international legal system.”

Mbengue said that if the court didn’t say who was responsible, it would be the same as a situation of non-liquet, which means there is no law that applies, and states would be free to keep damaging the climate system. Such an outcome could hardly have been the intention of the General Assembly in seeking this advisory opinion.”

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Sheba Ogalo and her husband harvest cassava on their farm in Chemelil. Facing harsh weather conditions, including drought, they have turned to cassava and other drought-resistant crops to sustain their livelihood. Credit: Robert Kibet/IPS

By Robert Kibet
KITUI, Kenya , Oct 17 2024 (IPS)

Kenyan farmers have faced a turbulent year, caught between legislative changes and a devastating scandal. While the country’s Mung Bean Bill, aiming to regulate the lucrative mung bean industry, has moved to mediation, farmers are battling the fallout from the widespread distribution of counterfeit fertilizers that have jeopardized their crop yields and livelihoods.

The Mung Bean Bill is a response to the crop’s rising prominence in Kenya. Known locally as “Ndengu,” mung beans have gained traction due to their drought-resistant nature and high demand in both local and international markets. This legislation seeks to create a framework for stabilizing prices, standardizing quality, and ensuring fair trade practices. However, many farmers fear the bill will add to existing bureaucratic hurdles without addressing core issues such as the recent fertilizer scandal.

Among those affected is Lucy Mutuku, a smallholder farmer from Kibwezi, a semi-arid region in Eastern Kenya. With a weathered face and hands hardened by years of labor, Mutuku stands in her field, explaining her decision to venture into mung bean farming. “It was a diversification strategy,” she says, her voice carrying the resolve of someone who has seen many harvests. “Mung beans are drought-tolerant and using organic manure helps enhance soil fertility. Even with erratic rains, they provide a reliable source of protein for my family and surplus for the market.”

Mutuku’s journey took a dark turn when she became one of the many victims of the government’s subsidized fertilizer program. “Buying synthetic fertilizer has always been expensive,” she recounts, frustration lining her face. “When I heard about the government’s fair-priced option, I bought it quickly. But then I realized it was fake. My crops failed, and it’s disheartening because farming is my only income.”

The scandal’s impact has been widespread, with the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) reporting that counterfeit fertilizers accounted for nearly 20 percent of agricultural inputs this season. This affected various crops, including mung beans, maize, and vegetables, devastating small-scale farmers who are now caught in a cycle of debt and uncertainty.

In Makueni County, Beatrice Mwangi, another farmer, invested heavily in mung beans, hoping for a lucrative harvest. With her eyes reflecting a mixture of hope and despair, she recalls the moment she realized the extent of the damage. “I was expecting a bumper harvest,” she says, “but my crops hardly grew. When the agricultural office confirmed the fertilizer was fake, it was a blow.” Now, like many others, she struggles to repay loans taken to purchase inputs, facing financial strain that threatens her family’s future.

Dominic Mbithi in Kitui, one of Kenya’s semi-arid lands, chose mung beans due to their low water requirements. Mbithi, a wiry man in his forties, employs zai pits, shallow basins that capture and conserve water. “This technique helps me maximize water use,” he says, crouching beside one of his pits, examining the soil. Despite the challenges, he’s managed to increase his yields and even engages in value addition by producing mung bean flour, which he sells to local schools and health centers.

Over in Taita Taveta, Joyce Mwikali transitioned from maize and sorghum to mung beans. A determined woman in her fifties, she walks through her sandy-soiled farm with a pride that belies the struggles she faces.

“Mung beans have a shorter growing season and thrive here,” she explains. Through rotational farming and compost use, Mwikali has managed to reduce her dependency on rain-fed agriculture. She now participates in a cooperative that helps with market access, ensuring better prices for her produce.

Michael Muriuki, farming on the eastern slopes of Mt. Kenya in Meru, utilizes drip irrigation to maintain a consistent water supply for his mung beans during dry spells. With a thoughtful demeanor, he shares how this extra income has enabled him to invest in better equipment. “Drip irrigation and integrated pest management have been game-changers for me,” he says, his gaze fixed on the neatly lined plants.

In Tharaka-Nithi, Lydia Njeri began growing mung beans to combat climate change’s effects on traditional crops. Using early planting and certified seeds, she has improved her household’s nutrition and found a reliable market for her surplus produce.

“Selling to processors who make mung bean products like noodles and flour gives me a steady income,” she notes, her expression softening as she describes the positive changes in her community.

Even though the National Assembly rejected the Mung Bill 2022, at the second reading stage proponents argue it could offer a regulatory framework to protect farmers from fraudulent agricultural inputs.

However, critics like Dr. John Mburu, an agricultural economist, caution that legislation alone is insufficient. “We need a comprehensive approach,” he emphasizes, “including stricter enforcement against counterfeit products, farmer education, and better quality control infrastructure.”

The bill will now proceed to mediation, according to the National Assembly.

The farmers’ stories underscore the deep-seated vulnerabilities within Kenya’s agricultural sector. While the Mung Bean Bill may offer a glimmer of hope, immediate action is required to strengthen regulatory oversight, enhance farmer awareness, and ensure the authenticity of agricultural inputs. The future of these farmers—and the nation’s food security—depends on it.

As the debate continues, the voices of farmers like Mutuku, Mwangi, Mbithi, Mwikali, Muriuki, and Njeri must guide the development of policies that truly support and protect Kenya’s agricultural community. Only then can such crises be prevented in the future.

The 2024 Mung Bean Congress, held in Bangkok, Thailand, brought together 110 stakeholders from 23 countries. This gathering was a platform for sharing current research and discussing future priorities, including studies supported by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

Dr. Eri Huttner, ACIAR’s Research Program Manager for crops, emphasized the significant potential impact of their investment in mung bean improvement research on partner countries, highlighting the crop’s growing global importance.

As the debate continues, the voices of the most affected—the farmers—mustn’t be overlooked. Their firsthand experiences and insights should be at the forefront of developing policies that truly support and protect Kenya’s agricultural community. This approach is essential to prevent such crises from reoccurring.

Back in 2013, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming 2016 as the International Year of Pulses. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) spearheaded this initiative, which significantly increased public awareness of pulses’ nutritional and environmental advantages while emphasizing their function in sustainable food production.

Building on the success of this celebration and recognizing the potential of pulses to achieve the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Burkina Faso proposed the observance of World Pulse Day. Consequently, in 2019, the General Assembly proclaimed February 10 as World Pulse Day, further underscoring the vital role pulses play in global food security and sustainability.

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Paran Women Group's executive director, Naiyan Kiplagat, is working in the forest. The group are passionate guardians of the environment and promoters of gender equality. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

By Joyce Chimbi
GREAT RIFT VALLEY, Kenya, Sep 6 2024 (IPS)

The Great Rift Valley is part of an intra-continental ridge system that runs through Kenya from north to south. A breathtaking, diverse mix of natural beauty that includes dramatic escarpments, highland mountains, cliffs and gorges, lakes and savannas. It is also home to one of Africa’s greatest wildlife reserves—the Maasai Mara National Reserve.

It is the 400,000 hectares of the Mau Forest Complex that give life to this wondrous natural phenomenon. Located about 170 kilometres north-west of Nairobi, this is the largest indigenous montane forest in East Africa. It is also the largest of the country’s five watersheds and a catchment area for 12 rivers that flow into five major lakes.

More than 10 million people depend on its rivers. Its magnificent portfolio of rare plants and animal species is unfortunately a magnet for illegal activities. Forest monitoring groups say a staggering 25 percent of the forest was lost between 1984 and 2020 and that overall, Mau Forest lost 19 percent of its tree cover—around 533 square kilometres—between 2001 and 2022.

“Paran Women Group is committed to restoring the Mau Forest. To stop the pace and severity of its destruction and degradation, we approached the government through the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and were allowed access to 200 acres of the Maasai Mau Forest block, which is one of the 22 blocks that make the entire Mau Forest Complex. There are 280 water catchments inside the complex,” Naiyan Kiplagat, the executive director of the Paran Women Group told IPS.

“In January this year, we began our restoration efforts and have already covered 100 acres. At the moment, we have prepared 70,000 seedlings and intend to collect another 30,000 from women groups to reach our target of 100,000 tree seedlings, which will be planted once the rainy season begins to cover the remaining 100 acres.”

In Maa, a language spoken by the Maasai community, Paran means ‘come together to assist each other’. Paran Women Group is an organization comprised of women from the Maasai and Ogiek communities who are indigenous, minority ethnic groups.

Forest rangers working for the Kenya Forest Service are responsible for protecting Kenya’s forests. Paran Women Group are in a partnership with KFS to restore Maasai Mau Forest block. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

There are 280 water catchments inside the expansive Mau Forest Complex. These feed 12 rivers, which in turn feed five major lakes. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

The organization comprises 64 women groups and 3,718 members. United against dual marginalization and patriarchy, the group started small, in 2005 and continues to grow and expand their base and conservation activities.

Carrying the wisdom of their ancestors, they rely on indigenous knowledge and innovation in their conservation, afforestation, reforestation and all other land restoration efforts while promoting gender equality. Paran Women Resource centre is located in Eor Ewuaso, a remote rural village in the Ololunga location of Narok South sub-county, Narok County, in the Rift Valley.

The women hold a title deed to the expansive piece of land. A notable achievement in a minority community where women have little autonomy and land is owned and controlled by men. They have another seven satellite resource centres within the expansive counties geared towards giving women access to productive resources.

These centres are a hub of knowledge and activities to promote conservation and livelihood activities such as sustainable agriculture, beekeeping, beadwork and briquettes for energy-saving cooking to release pressure from the embattled Mau Forest. More than 617 households are already using efficient, energy-saving stoves.

“We are conservationists with a passion for gender equality. Gender-based violence is prevalent in indigenous communities, such as the outlawed Female Genital Mutilation and forced marriages. The most recent incidence was of a nine-year-old girl. We are marginalized as a community in general and worse, our culture has few rights for women and girls. We help children stay in school by paying school fees from our income-generating activities,” she says.

Patrick Lemanyan, a resident of Ololunga, says Paran women “rear and sell chicken and foods such as pumpkin, vegetables and sorghum. They also sell beadwork. Maasai beadwork is unique, beautiful and very marketable. In Nairobi, there is even the popular Maasai market for such beadwork and other Maasai items, such as sandals. The women here face no resistance from the community. We have suffered for many years from failed rainfall and we know that saving the forest is also about saving us as a community.”

Paran Women Resource Centre is located in Eor Ewuaso, a remote rural village in the Ololunga location of Narok South sub-county, Narok County, in Rift Valley. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

Some of the jewelry that the women at the Paran Women Group make. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

Naiyan says indigenous communities depend on natural resources such as forests, rivers and their biodiversity for their survival. The ongoing climate and biodiversity crises affect them the most as a community. Women have no assets and are therefore worse off.

“The Maasai’s are pastoralists. During prolonged dry seasons, a man will take all the livestock with him and move from place to place for even three years, leaving behind his wives and children. The family is left behind with nothing because women own nothing,” she says.

Naiyan, an Ogiek married to a Maasai, says the Ogiek have not faired any better. As hunters and gathers in an ecosystem that has been destroyed by human activity and climate change, they too are in a life-and-death situation and, are learning to pursue livelihood options outside of their indigenous lifestyle by keeping poultry for sale and farming. Men do not keep or concern themselves with poultry as it is considered beneath them. They keep large livestock such as cows and goats.

Originally pastoralists and hunters and gatherers, the Maasai and Ogiek have turned to sustainable agriculture as a climate adaptation mechanism. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

These are manyattas, Maasai traditional homes. Women from the Maasai and Ogiek communities have joined forces to save their native lands. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

“The role of indigenous groups and more so women, in environmental protection cannot be overemphasized. More so as women are able to combine conservation efforts with income-generating activities. They educate and support each other, and their children grow to school, breaking the debilitating cycle of poverty associated with minority groups due to historical injustices and inequalities,” says Vesca Ikenya, an educator in Gender and Natural Resources.

Stressing that “indigenous people and local communities bring on board indigenous knowledge and leadership that only they possess as custodians of their own lands and waters and have had intimate interactions with their ecosystems since time immemorial. Each generation preserves and passes on this knowledge to the next. When indigenous and local communities take lead in conservation efforts, they never get it wrong. They understand which species grew where and when.”

The Paran Women Group tree nursery is home to 27 indigenous species, including croton macrostacyus, syzygium cuminii, prunus African and Olea Africans. Of the 150,000 tree seedlings already planted this year, 112,500 have survived and are thriving.

According to 2021 International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs and International Labour Organization joint report, indigenous peoples were responsible for protecting an estimated 22 percent of the planet’s surface and 80 percent of biodiversity.

The Paran Women Group has not gone unnoticed and has won a series of international awards. In 2018, they received an award on rural survival from the World Women Foundation Summit; in 2020, they received the International Leadership Award from the International Indigenous Women’s Forum; last year, during the COP28 in the UAE, they received the Gender Justice Climate Solutions and are preparing to receive yet another international award in October 2024.

This feature is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.

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Kenya is yet to ratify the UN's International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Credit: IPS

By Robert Kibet
NAIROBI, Sep 2 2024 (IPS)

As the world marked International Day of the Disappeared, Kenya grapples with a shadowy and persistent crisis—enforced disappearances. This harrowing violation of human rights has left countless families in anguish, searching for their loved ones while battling a wall of government denial and indifference.

Enforced disappearance is addressed in international law, specifically the UN’s International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. However, Kenya has yet to ratify this crucial convention, leaving a legal void that exacerbates the problem.

According to Kevin Mwangi, a program officer with the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), the Kenyan government lacks a definition within national legislation, meaning Kenyans and civil society rely on UN international guidelines to hold authorities accountable.

One haunting instance occurred in 2021 when Kenya’s Yala River, once a peaceful and secluded area, became a site of horror. Over a few weeks, 26 bodies were discovered within a 50-meter stretch. The bodies, many male, were found far from where they had originally gone missing, most of whom were facing criminal charges.

Human rights activists were initially involved in the investigations, but they were soon pushed out by the police. Boniface Ogutu, one of the activists working on the case, told the press, “We found bodies with their hands tied with ropes. Some were wrapped in polythene bags. Many of the bodies showed signs of severe trauma, including scars similar to acid burns, and most appeared to have been tortured before being dumped into the water.”

Ogutu further reported that villagers had observed a black Subaru, often associated with security forces, speeding to the riverbank with four occupants who would hurriedly dispose of the bodies before driving away.

In the early 2010s, the Kenyan government granted sweeping powers to security agencies to combat terrorism, leading to a surge in kidnappings, torture, and extrajudicial killings, even for petty crimes.

Hit squads began targeting suspects, and during election seasons, when rallies and protests were frequent, reports of disappearances and killings skyrocketed. In 2021 alone, rights groups documented at least 170 extrajudicial killings and numerous disappearances attributed to the police.

One of the victims found in the Yala River was Philemon Chepkwony, a resident of Kipkelion in Kenya’s Rift Valley. He had been charged with car theft and was out on bail awaiting trial when he disappeared in December 2021.

“We are witnessing a disturbing trend of young people like Philemon disappearing without a trace, only to be found dead in rivers,” lamented Hillary Kosgey, the legislator for Kipkelion West, at Chepkwony’s burial. “No one has the right to take away these lives. If they are jailed, they can reform.”

In Kenya’s coastal counties like Mombasa, where much of the country’s Muslim population resides, young men have been recruited by terrorist groups, prompting the police to carry out frequent raids and profiling of these communities.

The recent discovery of mutilated bodies wrapped in polythene bags at an open quarry in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, one of Kenya’s slum residences, sparked public anger amid weeks of anti-government protests over a since-scrapped finance bill.

After assuming power, President William Ruto repeatedly stated in public rallies, there would be no cases of enforced disappearance or extrajudicial killings.

Mwangi outlines the chilling components of enforced disappearance: “It begins with the deprivation of the right to liberty, often without the victim’s consent or knowledge. This act is carried out by government officials, who then conceal or deny any knowledge of the person’s whereabouts.”

“Enforced disappearance is not a transient issue; it can span years, even decades. It is a permanent state of limbo for the victims and their families until the person is found,” Mwangi adds, stressing the long-lasting impact of such crimes.

The 2023 Missing Voices report indicated a slight reduction in extrajudicial killings between 2022 and 2023, from 130 to 118, and a decrease in enforced disappearances from 22 to 10.

“Men continue to be the primary victims, accounting for 94% of extrajudicial killings, with a notable concentration among men aged 19-35,” the report states.

In Africa, enforced disappearances, particularly in politically volatile regions, often occur within the context of state repression. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a stark example, where a massacre led to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights holding the government accountable for acts of enforced disappearance.

“For enforced disappearance to occur, government officials must be involved, and the state must have full knowledge of the whereabouts of the missing individuals,” Mwangi clarifies.

In Kenya, the situation is dire. Mwangi recalls a case handled by IMLU where two individuals, after being released from court, were allegedly abducted by security officials. “To this day, the government denies knowing their whereabouts,” he laments, highlighting the pervasive culture of impunity.

The infamous River Yala incident serves as a grim reminder of the scale of the problem. Mwangi points to the systemic failure of the judiciary, where a revolving door of bail releases perpetuates the cycle of crime and violence.

“There is a growing narrative that the courts are not doing their work, leading police to take matters into their own hands,” he notes.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Kenya lacks specific legislation on enforced disappearance. The country has not ratified the international convention, leaving victims and their families without a clear path to justice.

“One life is one too many,” Mwangi says, referencing the 32 cases documented by the Missing Voices coalition. “We are currently developing guidelines to ensure that each African country has a policy on enforced disappearance. The numbers may be higher than reported, but only a few cases come to light.”

After Kenya’s 2007-2008 general elections, there were significant human rights violations, leading to the formation of the Ransley Taskforce to address police reforms. The task force made strong recommendations, including the need to separate these entities, as at the time, the police were the perpetrators, prosecutors, and investigators. This flawed system prevented justice from being realized and emphasized the need for mechanisms to ensure justice and accountability.

In 2017, Kenya enacted the Coroner Service Act, which provided a framework for forensic documentation at crime scenes. However, implementation has been problematic. For instance, in a 2018 case in Eldoret, a police officer handled a murder weapon with bare hands, compromising the evidence.

Currently, forensic evidence collection in Kenya is substandard, failing to meet the requirements necessary to hold up in court. Although the Coroner Law was assented to by the President in 2017, it has not been operationalized, largely due to a lack of political will.

“Kenya has a history of passing laws that are then shelved. When questioned, the government claims that the delay is due to funding issues, stating that funds need to be allocated to create the Coroner’s office,” Mwangi says.

Moreover, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) lacks its forensic lab and must rely on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), which is part of the security forces. There is a pressing need for an independent forensic lab under IPOA to carry out forensic audits.

Despite these challenges, IPOA has succeeded in securing eight convictions in extrajudicial cases over the past 11 years. This entity was established to ensure accountability in such cases.

Roselyn Odede, chairperson of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, reported in 2023 that the commission received reports of 22 extrajudicial killings and nine cases of enforced disappearance between January 2022 and June 2023.

Peninah Koome, chairperson of Kenyan Champions for Justice, a community-based organization, recounted her harrowing experience. Her husband was arrested, brutally beaten by the officer in charge at Ruaraka police station, and later died at Kenyatta National Hospital.

“I had no money to pay for lawyers, but IPOA and International Justice Mission (IJM) stepped in. However, as a witness to my husband’s case, I became a target. They came after me the day after I testified. IPOA and IJM had to provide protection. After three years, we finally got justice.”

Houghton Irungu, the Executive Director at Amnesty International Kenya, expressed concern about the return of the same oppressive culture despite the Kenya Kwanza administration’s promise under Ruto to end enforced disappearances.

“They disbanded the Special Service Unit (SSU), revamped the National Police Service, changed the Director of Criminal Investigations, and restructured the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU). We hoped this would lead to respect for the rule of law, but the old habits seem to be resurfacing,” said Irungu.

Irungu emphasizes the importance of timely identification of missing persons and the need for human rights organizations and witness protection agencies to act quickly to protect witnesses and their families.

“As a country, we still haven’t ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. It’s been five years since Parliament passed the Coroner Service Act, yet we still lack independent coroner forensic capacity to prosecute these cases. We don’t even have a national database on missing persons,” laments Irungu.

As the international community commemorates the victims of enforced disappearances, the call for justice in Kenya grows louder. The government’s failure to address this issue not only violates human rights but also erodes public trust in state institutions. For the families of the missing, the search for truth and accountability.

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Although women interact with the environment and its natural resources more closely than men, they remain underrepresented in climate-related decision-making. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Aug 16 2024 (IPS)

After years of reporting on the frontlines of climate change, I have witnessed the devastating impact extreme weather events have on women and girls. In Kenya’s pastoralist communities in far-flung areas of Northern Kenya, West Pokot, Samburu and Narok counties, droughts mean a resurgence in harmful cultural practices such as outlawed female genital mutilation (FGM), beading and child marriages.

When I visited Samburu County in 2019, beading was in the past. A young girl will be given a specific type of necklace to wear to signal that a Moran or male youth has booked her for marriage. In turn, the Moran is allowed to exploit her sexually for favors extended to her family in the form of gifts such as a goat, milk and meat.

During the recent severe drought of 2022–2023, such harmful practices made a comeback. Child marriages are used as a coping mechanism to recover lost livestock or, in the case of beading, to put food on the table. A pregnancy during the beading process is brutally terminated. It is taboo to have a child outside of wedlock.

Even when deadly floods rocked the country earlier in the year, women and children were crying out for help. In my experience reporting about climatic disasters, UN estimates ring true. Women and girls are 14 times more likely to die when disaster strikes and nearly 80 percent of all displaced people are women and girls.

Their vulnerability and exposure to natural disasters come from pre-existing social and economic inequalities. Growing up, every last Sunday of the month, my mother, aunts and grandmother would attend or host a merry-go-round. Women formed groups and, once or twice a month, they would visit each other in turn and bring household items bought from a set monthly or bimonthly contribution.

My earliest memories are of household items such as kitchen appliances, beddings and food items. Later on, they phased out these items for cash to be spent on the most pressing needs in various households, including school fees.

From the merry-go-round, the revolutionary table banking movement was born—a group funding strategy where all contributions are placed on the table once or twice a month, and shared out among members in the form of low-interest short- and long-term loans.

It took many years for me to understand why women went to such lengths to raise money. They had been locked out of formal financial institutions due to historical and structural gender inequalities. Even today, women still account for the majority of the unbanked in Kenya.

Women could only open a bank account if accompanied by a male chaperone, and I saw, growing up that women could only access land through male relatives. Only 1 percent of Kenya’s land title deeds are in the hands of women today.

When a climatic disaster strikes, women have nowhere to go. They sit out dangerous climatic events, hoping that it is only a passing cloud. But for women, such as Benna Buluma, alias Mama Victor, a well-known human rights defender who perished in the April 2024 floods while in her house in Mathare informal settlements, and millions of others, its a disaster that can destroy lives and livelihoods.

Jane Anyango Adika of serikali saidia (government help!) fame became the face of the enduring cry for gender-sensitive responses in times of floods through repeated media coverage in a region ravaged by perennial floods. By the time Anyango came into the limelight, she had been battling floods for two decades. As recently as 2022, she was still crying out to the government for help.

Now we are becoming increasingly aware that extreme weather patterns such as heatwaves and floods create favorable conditions for vector-borne diseases such as Zika virus, malaria and dengue fever, which cause miscarriages, premature birth, and anaemia among pregnant women.

I am yet to hear of arguments disputing that climate disasters affect women and girls more than men and boys, the lack of women in decision making is simply a manifestation of widespread gender discrimination that takes on different shapes and forms in everyday life. In our patriarchal societies, where women are to be seen and not heard, it is playing out in the very serious and consequential climate arena.

As a result, men still fill 67 percent of climate-related decision-making roles and women’s representation in national and global climate negotiating bodies remains below 30 percent. The 2022 SDG Gender Index, published by Equal Measures 2030, a leading global partnership on accountability for gender equality and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), exposes alarmingly insufficient progress on gender equality at the global level between 2015 and 2020.

In fact, of the 17 SDGs, Goal 13 on climate action was one of the three lowest-scoring goals and even high-performing countries on the index had weaknesses on gender equality under SDG 13. It is highly concerning that even though men own land and control natural resources, in two-thirds of all the States in the world, women are the pillars of agriculture and land management.

My hope that the world is slowly recognizing that there is no escaping the climatic onslaught when half of the world’s population—women—are left behind critical decision-making structures related to climate has recently been ignited by the Conference of Parties (COP) climate and gender equality agenda.

Since COP25, experts have told world leaders that gender equality and climate change are not only two of the most pressing global challenges, but that they are inextricably interlinked. At COP 25, Parties adopted the five-year enhanced Lima work programme on gender and its gender action plan (GAP). Followed by an intermediate review of the implementation of the gender action plan and amendments to the GAP adopted in COP27.

At COP28, a new UN Women report stated that by 2050, climate change may push up to 158 million more women and girls into poverty and cause 232 million to face food insecurity. During the conference, Parties agreed that the final review of the implementation of the enhanced Lima work programme and its GAP would commence in June 2024, identifying challenges, gaps and priorities.

In my opinion, the road to COP29 should be littered with gender and climate blueprints from countries that are already making headway. Zimbabwe is now establishing a renewable energy fund to create entrepreneurship opportunities for women. Bhutan in South Asia has trained gender focal points in various ministries and women’s organizations to better coordinate and implement gender equality and climate change initiatives.

This will in turn ensure that there is gender equality and equity at all levels of climate-related decision-making, and representation at all levels of climate negotiating bodies around the world will not deliver an effective and sustainable climate agenda if half the world’s population remains on the margins.

Note: This opinion piece is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.

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Catherine Wanjeri Kariuki, a TV and radio reporter based in Nakuru, Kenya, at a police station. A police officer shot her in the leg despite her visible press credentials. The incident was reported to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA). Credit: Robert Kibet/IPS

By Robert Kibet
NAIROBI, Aug 15 2024 (IPS)

In the heart of Nairobi, as tear gas clouded the streets, the line between journalists and protesters blurred in the eyes of Kenyan law enforcement. A wave of anti-government protests, ignited by opposition to a proposed finance bill, has spiraled into violence, with journalists increasingly caught in the crossfire between police and protesters.

On March 27, 2024, as opposition leader Raila Odinga’s convoy wound through Nairobi, reporters and photographers followed closely, documenting the unrest against President William Ruto’s administration. Despite having their press credentials on display, they encountered hostility rather than protection. Outside Langata Police Station, officers deliberately targeted journalists from The Standard Group with tear gas canisters, even after they had identified themselves.

This violent crackdown wasn’t confined to Nairobi. Across Kenya, journalists have faced brutal assaults, arbitrary arrests, and the destruction of their equipment. Despite having clearly visible press credentials, a police officer shot Catherine Kariuki, a female journalist from the Rift Valley, in the leg in Nakuru. The incident, captured on camera, left no doubt about its deliberate nature. The Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ) swiftly condemned the attack, demanding a thorough investigation and accountability.

The grim reality is that Kenya, ranked 102nd on the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), is witnessing a severe erosion of media freedoms. Despite the country’s diverse media landscape, many outlets are under the control of politicians or people who are closely associated with the government, which fosters a culture of fear and self-censorship.

As protests continue, so too does the violence against those tasked with documenting them.

“We are opposed to media censorship and the government’s attempts to dictate what should be aired. Media freedom is guaranteed under the constitution, but the government is increasingly interfering,” says Zubeidah Koome, president of the Kenya Editors’ Guild.

The case of Catherine Kariuki, who remains without justice despite clear evidence, has become emblematic of the broader crisis. RSF has referred the matter to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), but the lack of response has only deepened concerns about accountability.

The threats to press freedom in Kenya extend beyond physical violence. Reports have surfaced of government threats to shut down the Kenyan Television Network (KTN) after it aired footage of protesters storming Parliament. The channel eventually ceased operations, citing financial strain amid the ongoing economic crisis. Insiders, however, suggest that senior officials from the Communications Authority ordered television signal carriers to switch off KTN in a blatant attempt to suppress media coverage.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joined KUJ in condemning these actions, labeling them a disgraceful attempt to stifle press freedom and deny Kenyan citizens access to information. IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger urged the Kenyan government to investigate the brutalization of journalists and hold those responsible accountable.

Parliamentary reporter Elizabeth Mutuku echoed these concerns, recounting the fear she and her colleagues felt after being labeled criminals for simply doing their jobs.

“Our greatest mistake that day was showing Kenyans exactly what transpired. Some of us were labeled as criminals, and we were told that investigations are ongoing. We’re left wondering what investigations they’re conducting,” Mutuku said.

Freedom of the press is enshrined in Kenya’s 2010 constitution, yet over 20 acts and laws regulating journalism challenge the basic principles of press freedom. The 2018 Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, for example, prescribes up to 10 years in prison and a fine of Ksh 40,000 for disseminating information deemed to be fake news likely to incite violence.

Amnesty International, in its 2024 State of Media Freedom analysis, highlighted that the intentional disruption of internet connectivity and the enactment of stringent security laws are part of a broader strategy to silence the media and control the flow of information. Despite earlier assurances, internet access was temporarily disrupted nationwide during the protests, depriving millions of Kenyans of real-time information about the unfolding events.

The threats against journalists in Kenya mirror the challenges faced by their counterparts in neighboring East African countries, where journalists are subjected to threats, harassment, intimidation, beatings, arbitrary arrests, and prosecution. For instance, in February of last year, a Mogadishu court sentenced journalist Abdalle Ahmed Mumin to two months in prison for allegedly disobeying government orders.

In Ethiopia, Amnesty International reports that ongoing conflicts have led to the detention of at least nine journalists since August 2023, with five still in custody. Three of these journalists are facing terrorism charges that could carry the death penalty if they are convicted.

Dinah Ondari, a safety specialist with the Media Council of Kenya, questioned how the agency responsible for protecting press freedom could be violating it. “It’s disheartening to see the frustrations journalists undergo. In Kenya, as a journalist, every time you express yourself, you watch over your shoulder to see who is targeting or following you,” remarked Zubeidah Koome.

Among those who were targeted were Joe Muhia and Iddi Ali Juma of the Associated Press (AP), who were arrested and later released after being assaulted. In an incident captured on video, Standard Group video editor Justice Mwangi Macharia was arrested and violently hauled out of a moving police motor vehicle, sustaining physical injuries.

Nation Media Group’s Taifa Leo reporter Sammy Kimatu was also thrown out of a moving police Land Rover and sustained injuries. Maureen Murethi (NTV) was also hospitalized after police aimed a canister at her as she covered the protests as well as the shooting of a female journalist, Catherine Wanjeri, in Nakuru, Rift Valley.

As Kenya teeters on the brink, the international community watches closely. Will the country uphold its democratic values, or will it succumb to the darkness of repression? The answer may well determine the future of press freedom in Kenya.

One notable incident was the mysterious assassination of renowned Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif in 2022 in Nairobi. Kenyan police fired multiple shots at Sharif’s vehicle, killing him. Last month, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomed the Kenyan High Court’s ruling that the 2022 killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was unlawful. Angela Quintal, head of CPJ’s Africa program, noted in New York that while the “verdict marks an important step towards ending impunity in this case, Kenyan authorities should ensure that genuine justice is achieved by prosecuting those responsible for Arshad’s fatal shooting.”

During this year’s World Press Freedom Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the escalating dangers journalists face globally. In his address, he described journalism as an increasingly dangerous profession, with dozens of journalists covering risky themes having been killed in recent decades, and in the vast majority of cases, no one has been held accountable.

David Omwoyo, CEO of the Media Council of Kenya, addressed a recent government and media leaders’ roundtable, emphasizing the need for a critical space for media freedom and democracy. “We need to stop branding the media as anti-government. The media should play its rightful role within the prescribed standards. Anyone fighting the media is out of order, given the critical place of media in democracy and governance,” Omwoyo stated.

Zubeidah Koome further called for an end to attacks against the media.

“We remain relentless in our call to end the violence and threats against journalists. However, no substantial progress has been made, and the violence targeting the media continues to escalate. We hope that appropriate action will be taken against those attacking journalists. At the same time, the media industry must align ethical conduct with the current times.”

Erick Oduor, Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Journalists, emphasized the need for all stakeholders to engage collectively in seeking solutions to the challenges facing the media industry, especially during these critical times in Kenya.

“Regrettably, the ongoing events in our media space continue to impact Kenya’s World Press Freedom ranking. As media industry players, we are ready to engage with the government at all levels,” he told IPS.

“The unfortunate events remind us that members of the National Police Service remain the weak link in Kenya’s quest for freedom of expression and freedom of the media, as espoused in our Constitution. We call on the Inspector General of Police to rein in on his officers by ensuring that journalists are protected and not targeted for harassment while performing their duties in any working environment,” said Omwoyo in a statement, hinting that so far, 24 cases of harassment against journalists during recent protests have been documented.

The International Press Institute (IPI), in its findings, reported that it had documented four cases of journalists killed in Sudan as of June 2024, with the killings carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The journalists named by IPI include Muawiya Abdel Razek, who was killed in Khartoum along with his three siblings. Others include Makawi Mohamed Ahmed, Alaadin Ali Mohamed, and freelance journalist Ibrahim Abdullah.

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Drought in Kenya's Ewaso Ngiro river basin in 2017 when pastoralists had to dig for water because much of the river system in Isiolo county had dried up. Credit: Denis Onyodi/KRCS

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Aug 7 2024 (IPS)

Kenya contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions every year, yet development banks have flagged the East African nation as a high climate risk. This is due to extreme weather changes that are increasingly threatening the country’s development agenda, widening socio-economic inequalities, and deepening rural poverty and hunger.

Climate change is a long-term shift in temperatures and weather patterns. Climate risk is the potential harm caused by climate change, such as financial, social, and environmental destruction and loss of life. Country-specific climate risk profiles are a summary of an analysis of climate trends over a long period of time, revealing how variability in weather patterns affects life and livelihoods.

Countries are advised to use these profiles to inform their development agenda, as failure to do so can significantly derail achievement of set development goals. For instance, unpredictability in weather patterns has a negative impact on certain sectors of Kenya’s economy.

This includes agriculture, tourism, horticulture, livestock and pastoralism, and forest products. Nearly 98 percent of agriculture is rain fed. Using climate risk projections, the country can invest in irrigation to reduce the impact of climate change on the sector, as approximately 75 percent of Kenyans draw their livelihood from agriculture.

Kenya’s most recent climate risk profile provides a climatic trend summary spanning two decades from 1991 to 2020, revealing that an estimated 68 percent of natural disasters in Kenya are caused by extreme climatic events, mostly floods and droughts. The remaining 32 percent represents disease epidemic.

Drought in Kenya from 2011 to 2022. Infographic: Cecilia Russell/IPS

High Temperatures Causing Frequent, Intense Droughts

Overall, 16 drought events are on record from 1991 to 2020, affecting millions of people and causing an overall estimated damage of USD 1.5 billion. Despite floods being a more recent phenomenon in Kenya they are becoming increasingly frequent, resulting in 45 flood events within the same period. While a pattern of droughts began to emerge as far back as 1975, a pattern of floods has only begun to emerge from 2012 to 2020.

A repeating pattern of droughts and floods costs the country approximately 3 to 5 percent of its annual Gross Domestic Product. Over the past two decades, Kenya’s mean annual temperature was 24.2 degree Celsius—with a high of 30.3 degree Celsius and a low of 18.3 degree Celsius.

To give a perspective of average temperatures in Kenya, 2023 was the hottest year on record and 2024 is following the trend. According to the Gilbert Ouma Associate Professor, Meteorology, University of Nairobi writing in The Conversation the capital Nairobi average temperatures fare normally moderate, between 24°C and 25°C on the higher side and 17°C-18°C on the lower side.

“These are generally very comfortable temperatures. However, in the December-January-February period, maximum temperatures are normally high, ranging between 26°C and 27°C.

“This year, temperatures in February went up to between 29°C and 30°C, even hitting 31°C. This is about 6°C higher than normal Nairobi temperatures. That is a big difference and our bodies are bound to feel the difference. If such an increase is sustained for a long time, it can lead to a heat wave.”

Droughts have been a most pressing and persistent problem in Kenya. As far back as 1975, drought cycles used to occur every 10 years. But as climate change escalates in both frequency and intensity, the drought cycle reduced from every 10 years to every five years, to every two to three years.

Each year there is an annual dry spell and a food shortage and the regularity of extremely dry periods makes it difficult for the country to recover from one drought to the next.

Temperature differences between 1901 and 2020 show a clear trend toward higher temperatures. Infographic: Cecilia Russell/IPS

A History of Drought Cycles in Kenya From 1991 to 2020

Drought is a regular occurrence in Kenya. In 1991–1992, more than 1.5 million people were affected by drought. This was followed by another cycle of widespread drought in 1995–1996 that affected at least 1.4 million people.

In January 1997, the government declared drought a national disaster, affecting more than two million people, and the famine continued into 1998. Shortly after, in 1999–2000, an estimated 4.4 million people were in dire need of food aid due to a severe famine. As far as natural disasters go, this was declared the worst in the preceding 37 years.

The 1998–2000 drought cost the country an estimated USD 2.8 billion, and this was largely due to crops and livestock loss, forest fires, damage to fisheries, reduced hydropower generation, reduced industrial production and reduced water supplies.

In 2004, failure of the March to June long rains led to a severe drought that left more than three million Kenyans in need of urgent food aid. In December 2005, the government declared drought a national catastrophe, affecting at least 2.5 million people in northern Kenya alone.

The drought in 2008 affected 1.4 million people and an overall 10 million people were at risk of hunger after an unsuccessful harvest due to drought in late 2009 and into early 2010. The severe and prolonged drought caused the country USD 12.1 billion in damages and losses, and cost over USD 1.7 billion in recovery.

There are 47 counties in Kenya. As only 20 percent of Kenya receives high and regular rainfall, Kenya’s arid and semi-arid (ASAL) areas comprise 18 to 20 of the poorest counties, which are particularly at risk from increased aridity and periods of drought.

ASAL regions have endured three significantly severe droughts from 2010 to 2020. The 2010–2011 period was severe and prolonged, affecting at least 3.7 million people, causing USD 12.1 billion in damages and losses, and costing over USD 1.7 billion in recovery and reconstruction needs.

That cycle was followed by the 2016–2017 drought. The 2020–2022 famine, which was the most severe, longest and widespread as more than 4.2 million people, or 24 percent of the ASAL population were facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

The impact on people of disasters in Kenya from 1900 to 2020. Infographic: Cecilia Russell/IPS

Overview of Natural Disaster Events in Kenya, 1991–2020

Kenya is increasingly enduring periods of intense, heavy rainfall. During this period, there were a total of 45 flood events, directly affecting more than 2.5 million people and causing an estimated damage of USD 137 million.  These events took place in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2012 and 2020, as they were short, frequent and intense.

Unlike drought and famine, Kenya’s history with floods is much shorter. There were many consecutive drought seasons from 1991 to 1997. From 1997, a pattern of floods begun to emerge in this East African country.

It all started with the historic severe and deadly El Nino floods in 1997–1998 that were widespread and affected 1.5 million people. This was followed by the 2002 floods, that affected 150,000 people. Kenya has experienced flooding almost every year from 2010 to 2020.

The impact of flooding in Kenya between 2010 and 2024. Infographic: Cecilia Russell/IPS

Projected Risk Moving Forward

“From 2020 to 2050, projections show that ASAL regions will continue to receive decreasing rainfall. Temperatures in the country will continue to rise by 1.7 degree Celsius by 2050 and even higher by approximately 3.5 degree Celsius before the end of this century. The escalation in climate change will increase our climate risk,” Mildred Nthiga, a climate change independent researcher in East Africa, tells IPS.

“We will have even more frequent and damaging floods, and this will be followed by longer periods of drought. We have already started to experience some worrisome landslides and mudslides and, this will become an even bigger concern, especially in the highlands.”

Stressing that additional soil erosion and water logging of crops will significantly affect agricultural productivity, reducing yields and increasing food security. There will also be significant economic losses, severe damage to farmlands and infrastructure.

Worse still, as already witnessed in the recent 2024 deadly floods—human causalities. This will deepen rural poverty and hunger, and derail Kenya’s progress towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Note: This feature is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.

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Excerpt:

Naomy Kolian and Jane Kaliko share light moments after a tiring day of engaging the community at a public forum on the need to stop FGM. Credit: Robert Kibet/IPS

By Robert Kibet
NAIROBI, Jul 15 2024 (IPS)

In the heart of Empash village, a fragmented community nestled in Suswa, Narok County, some 62 miles northwest of Nairobi, Naomy Kolian’s story unfolds like a gripping saga of pain, resilience, and unyielding determination.

It was here, amidst the familiar surroundings of her home, that she was subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), a brutal tradition that left her with physical and emotional scars. This hidden trauma would linger, haunting her well into adulthood.

Here, the Maasai culture thrives on a tapestry of rich traditions and deep-seated customs. The rhythmic chants of age-old songs blend with the distant bellowing of cattle, painting a picture of pastoral tranquility. Yet, beneath this picturesque veneer lies a harrowing reality for many Maasai women, which Naomy Kolian knows all too well.

A mother of five and a fierce advocate against FGM, a practice that nearly shattered her life, Naomy is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.

Her journey began with an unlikely opportunity. Compassion International, a Christian humanitarian organization, offered her the chance to attend school in a community where educating girls is often undervalued.

She thrived in both academics and athletics, becoming one of the best runners in her primary school. But this promising future was abruptly interrupted when, at the age of 14, after her final primary school examinations, she was forced to undergo FGM—a rite of passage that would rob her of her athletic potential and much more.

“We were taken to where my mother was,” Naomy recalls, her voice tinged with a mix of pain and resilience. “There, we found several people with a cow slaughtered. When I asked what was happening, I was lied to and told that nothing was going on. My mother finally disclosed that I was to undergo the cut since all my friends had already done so.”

The following morning, Naomy was placed under the custody of elderly women inside a manyatta, a traditional mud-walled house. The ordeal that followed was nothing short of a nightmare. In the cold, early hours, she was taken outside, stripped, and doused with ice-cold water meant to numb her nerves.

“That is when I fainted,” she says, wiping away tears with the palm of her hand.

Naomy’s voice wavers as she describes the excruciating details of her mutilation. She was sat down and held to the ground by strong women. Despite her struggles, she managed to overpower them temporarily, but this only led to more brutal measures.

“They chose to tie ropes on both legs and pass them through pierced holes in the wall. Men outside held the ropes, which forced my legs apart, giving the elderly woman ample time to carry out her assignment,” she explains, recounting how she felt one leg go numb.

In the Maasai community, FGM lacks a precise method, often resulting in severe complications. Naomy continued to bleed profusely, and the women attending to her resorted to applying sugar, honey, and cold milk to the wound. When these remedies failed, they tied her legs together in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. Desperation led them to extract almost a liter of fresh cow’s blood, which they forced her to drink, hoping it would stem the blood loss.

Naomy’s ordeal is a stark representation of the plight faced by many Maasai women, who endure such inhumane practices under the guise of cultural preservation.

Lilian Saruni, also a victim, is a mother of seven, married to an elderly man with ten wives. “I engage in the beading business to enable me to educate my children so they can get a basic education,” she says.

“My husband issued curse threats that whoever would prevent the daughters from undergoing the cut would die, including the practitioner,” she shares. With support from the area chief and clergy, Lilian managed to protect her daughter and expand her efforts to help other girls.

Using her own experience as a powerful narrative, Naomy is today one of Kenya’s most powerful and persuasive advocates for the eradication of FGM. As the founder of a grassroots organization, Eselenge Engayion, she focuses on empowering the youth and providing safe havens for girls fleeing forced knife in her native village.

“The pain I went through is fresh in my mind to date, and the worst of it is that I lost my sporting talent completely,” she confides. Yet, her resolve remains unbroken.

“Teachers in high school would punish me for not participating in the sport indicated in my certificate, mistaking my inability to participate as ignorance,” Naomy says.

Determined not to let her past define her future, Naomy persisted. “I said to myself, I should not give up. I told my father that I would proceed to college. An old man was brought home. They resisted, saying that since I had undergone the cut, I should be married. That is when I decided to fake it and got into a relationship with a young man whom I did not love. That’s where I got pregnant,” she narrates.

The fear of hospitals due to the scars from FGM compounded her struggles during childbirth. “I feared going to the hospital because of the rupture due to the scar. I had a premature birth. I asked mom what was happening and she encouraged me, saying it is usually that way. I was referred to Kijabe Hospital. I could not walk properly,” she shares.

Her second birth was equally painful, but with the support of her understanding husband, Naomy managed to pursue a certificate course in Early Childhood Development Education (EDE). She worked as a volunteer, using every opportunity to educate young children and girls on the effects of FGM.

Prof. Patrick Muia Ndavi, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Nairobi, explains, “When you look at the drivers of FGM, they say it is a cultural issue, a religious issue. But even when we ask which religion supports this practice, they can’t quantify which religion prescribes this vice.”

He continues to highlight the severe harm inflicted upon girls and women, stating, “FGM violates bodily integrity and has led to the deaths of some women and girls. In Kenya, FGM can cause fistula, which affects the communication between the bladder and the birth canal. Young mothers forced to undergo the cut often have children who develop cerebral palsy.”

Muia underscores the chronic, lifelong complications of FGM, which span medical and mental health issues. “Women and girls suffer from anxiety and fear of intimacy, especially where the worst forms of the practice are carried out,” he notes.

Jane Soipan Letooya, a poet from the Keekonyoike location, uses her talent to speak out against FGM. “FGM, taken as a cultural practice, makes it rampant in our community. The practice has cut off the future of many girls,” she asserts. Jane started her campaign in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, motivated by the fear and loss experienced by her classmates.

Sharon Saruni, a 23-year-old student, was rescued by her mother, Lilian Saruni, from her father’s aggression.

“There is a need for a common discussion among stakeholders to dig into the root cause of this rampant vice among the Maasai community,” Sharon insists. She urges fellow girls to speak out without fear, highlighting the low self-esteem and shattered dreams caused by FGM.

According to the Somaliland Ministry of Social Affairs and a 2020 UNFPA report, Somaliland has the world’s highest recorded prevalence of FGM, with about 98 percent of women aged 15-49 having undergone FGM.

Article 8 of the Somaliland Constitution guarantees women the right to be free from violence. However, there is currently no viable anti-FGM policy approved. The Ministry of Social Affairs, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, is drafting an anti-FGM policy that has been submitted to the cabinet for approval.

“This policy will support and back up the fight against FGM in Somaliland. Without the policy, there is no reference to take action against perpetrators. This policy will significantly enhance our interventions in ending FGM,” Yahye Mohamed, a TGG-ALM team lead, also working for Action Aid Somaliland, told IPS in a virtual interview.

The ongoing conflict in the east and the drought have disrupted the speed of the fight against FGM and the approval of the policy.

Jacinta Muteshi, the regional team leader of The Girl Generation-Support to the Africa-Led Movement dubbed TGG-ALM, noted that the prevalence rates remain very high in many Eastern African countries.

“We have been at the forefront in supporting those leading the fight against FGM in the East Africa region,” she told IPS in an interview.

TGG-ALM is a consortium led by Options Consultancy Services, which includes Amref Health Africa, Action Aid, the Orchid Project, the Africa Coordination Centre for the Abandonment of FGM/C, and the University of Portsmouth. The consortium is actively working in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somaliland for the East Africa region and Senegal to combat FGM/C.

At a recent AU conference in Tanzania, government representatives highlighted the importance of collaborative actions, emphasizing the need to harmonize laws and penalties, establish hotlines for at-risk individuals, and standardize definitions of FGM to unify their approaches.

“If you look at the African continent, for the 28 countries where the prevalence is high, we are talking about 55 million girls experiencing FGM. Early and forced marriages are often aligned with these prevalence rates,” Muteshi told IPS.

In Kenya, there is a strong stance against FGM by the leadership in terms of policy, resources, and public statements. In Senegal, Amref Health Africa and Action Aid have engaged with parliamentarians to stress the significance of harmonizing regional laws for eradicating FGM/C.

“Many countries have laws, but their inconsistency in enforcing them or allocating resources to make those efforts effective is a concern. Hence, there is a need to bring parliamentarians together to highlight these issues,” Muteshi added.

The recent UNICEF report titled Female Genital Mutilation: A Global Concern-2024 says though the pace of progress is picking up, the rate of decline would need to be 27 times faster to meet the target of eliminating female genital mutilation by 2030, in line with the UN SDG on eliminating harmful practices by 2030.

Saruni Reson, a senior chief in Enosupukia, Narok East sub-county, has lived in Oloserian for five decades. A former teacher, he began fighting against FGM by setting an example with his daughters.

“As a family, we have saved 59 girls from undergoing the cut, and we are on a mission to spread the message against this vice,” he states.

Reson highlights the challenges faced in the fight against FGM. “Distance is one of the main challenges, especially when it comes to mobility coupled with the locality’s terrain when it rains,” he says. Despite these obstacles, the community’s security model, including village elders and local police, has been instrumental in rescuing girls.

“The government’s vision to eradicate the cut by 2030 will be achieved through our assistance, but we target to achieve this before that time,” he affirms. Reson calls for the establishment of safe homes near educational facilities, providing girls with a refuge and a chance for a better future.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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