This Policy replaces the National Environment Policy 2013, adopted as Sessional Paper No 10 of 2014. It provides the national policy framework for the protection, conservation and sustainable management of Kenya's environment and natural resources.
Why the Policy is being revised
The case for the revision of the Policy as stated in the National Environment Policy 2026 entails:
The Goal
The goal of this Policy is to provide a coherent, constitutionally grounded and evidence-based framework for the protection, conservation and sustainable management of Kenya's environment and natural resources, for the benefit of present and future generations.
The Policy sets out 10 objectives to give effect to this goal. These include:
Twenty-two guiding principles inform how those objectives are pursued. They include sustainable development, the precautionary principle, polluter pays, intergenerational and intragenerational equity, public participation and environmental democracy, gender equality, disability mainstreaming, the best interests of the child, the rights of Indigenous Peoples and marginalised communities, subsidiarity and devolution, the ecosystem based approach, nexus governance, science and policy integration, the circular economy, adaptive governance and common but differentiated responsibilities.
Side by Side
Structure of the Policy
| Chapter | Details |
|---|---|
| Preliminary Pages | Foreword & Preface (To be inserted in the Second Draft), Abbreviations & Acronyms Executive Summary Provides the context and overview of the National Environment Policy 2026, covering the political context and review process, contributors to its development, key abbreviations and acronyms, and a summary of the Policy's rationale, goal, objectives, guiding principles, commitments, implementation and next steps. |
| Chapter 1: Preamble To The National Environment Policy | Provides the context and rationale for the National Environment Policy 2026. It traces Kenya's environmental policy development since independence through key international and national milestones, including the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, following which Kenya initiated the National Environment Action Plan (NEAP) process, completed in 1994, the 1999 EMCA and the 2010 Constitution, and outlines the development of the 2013 Policy. It then sets out why the Policy requires revision, highlighting changes in legislation, constitutional jurisprudence, devolution, international commitments, scientific evidence, emerging environmental governance issues and policy development standards, before introducing the approach and structure of the National Environment Policy 2026. |
| Chapter 2: Policy Making & Implementation In A Devolved Government Context | Sets out the framework for environmental policy making and implementation within Kenya's devolved system of government. It explains the constitutional framework governing environmental responsibilities, the distribution of functions between the national and county governments, and the mechanisms for intergovernmental relations and coordination where functions are shared. It also identifies the gap in county environmental policy and establishes the basis for strengthening coordination, guidance and implementation of environmental governance at both levels of government. |
| Chapter 3: Rationale For The Revision Of Sessional Paper No. 10 Of 2014 On National Environment Policy | Sets out the rationale for revising the National Environment Policy 2013. It explains how Kenya's environmental governance landscape has changed over the past decade through developments in legislation, sectoral policies, international commitments, constitutional jurisprudence, scientific knowledge and devolution. It also highlights emerging environmental governance themes and the need to align the Policy with current policy formulation standards, providing the basis for a coherent, constitutionally grounded and forward-looking framework for environmental governance. |
| Chapter 4: Goal, Objectives & Guiding Principles | Sets out the goal, objectives and guiding principles of the National Environment Policy 2026, which provide the normative foundation for the policy directions that follow. It defines the Policy's overall goal of protecting, conserving and sustainably managing Kenya's environment and natural resources, sets out its 10 objectives and 22 guiding principles. |
| Chapter 5: Constitutional & Legal Foundation | Establishes the constitutional and legal foundation of the National Environment Policy 2026. It aligns the Policy with relevant constitutional provisions, particularly Articles 10, 42, 69 and 70, and incorporates key court decisions that have shaped environmental governance. It also sets standards for areas such as public participation, environmental justice, environmental assessments, liability, intergenerational equity and the protection of environmental rights. |
| Chapter 6: International Commitments & MEA Alignment | In a nutshell, Chapter 6 establishes how Kenya's international environmental commitments will be translated into national and county-level policy and action. It maps Kenya's obligations under key multilateral environmental agreements and frameworks, including climate change, biodiversity, chemicals and waste, marine environments, land degradation and disaster risk reduction, to the domestic policy responses required. It also sets out a domestication pathway linking each commitment to the relevant legal or policy instrument, accountable institution and reporting mechanism, while strengthening coordination between national and county governments. |
| Chapter 7: Overarching Policy Commitments | Chapter 7 brings together the overarching policy commitments that apply across the entire National Environment Policy 2026. It sets out the common commitments that guide all sectors, chapters and both levels of government, including constitutional compliance, implementation of international environmental obligations, ecosystem-based management, environmental quality and pollution control, climate and energy governance, cross-sectoral coordination, equity and public participation, devolved environmental governance, financing, and monitoring and evaluation. It provides a single view of what the Policy commits the Government to before the specific environmental governance areas are addressed in the subsequent chapters. |
Part II
The chapters that follow set out the substantive commitments of this Policy. They begin with the natural resource base and with environmental quality and public health, turn to climate change, the energy transition and the emerging governance themes, and then to the cross-sectoral and cross-cutting arrangements. They conclude with the institutions, the financing and the monitoring and evaluation through which this Policy is delivered.
Each chapter is structured around a Chapter Policy Objective and Overview, a situational analysis that explains the issue, context, challenges and gaps, and policy statements that set out what the Government commits to do in response.
Below is an overview of Chapter 8 to 14
The matrix follows the format in the Public Policy Handbook for Kenya. The rows below are for the commitments in this chapter 14 only.
The rows for every other chapter will be prepared for the Second Draft, after the public consultation process.
The matrix follows the format in the Public Policy Handbook for Kenya. It runs from the objectives at 4.2, and will be completed with the Second Draft of this Policy, once the policy statements in every chapter are confirmed after the public consultation. Where no baseline exists at the time of completion it is recorded as not existing, and the date by which the baseline is to be established and recorded will be entered in its place.
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