Legislative Process Training for Kenyan Parliament’s Environmental Committee

Photo credit: International Lawyers Project

Situation

Kenya’s forest ecosystems provide significant economic and environmental benefits by sequestering carbon, supporting diverse plant and animal species, and providing water, food, and livelihood opportunities for local communities. However, these resources are being depleted at an alarming rate, with an annual deforestation rate of 0.7 million hectares, driven by population growth, agricultural expansion, infrastructure development, logging, unsustainable harvesting of firewood and wildfires, among other factors. The Kenyan government therefore introduced the Forest Conservation and Management Act 2016 to protect forests from deforestation and degradation. However, gaps in the law and inadequate implementation have resulted in unsustainable forest management and increasing forest loss.

ILP’s Action

ILP partnered with the East African Wild Life Society (EAWLS) to hold a three-day training workshop on how to translate forest policy into law, for select members of the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining and the Senate Committee on Lands, Environment and Natural Resources of the Kenyan Parliament. The workshop examined Kenya’s National Forest Policy, drew on global examples of effective forest legislation and highlighted the importance of stakeholder consultation. It also focused on techniques that can be put in place to systematically monitor and report on the implementation of laws and policies.

Impact

The training strengthened participants’ expertise in policy making, legislative drafting, public participation, stakeholder engagement, forestry legislation and monitoring and implementation of forestry laws. Since the training, both Senate and National Assembly teams have committed to implementing structured public participation processes and developing tools for tracking policy implementation. This better positions the Kenyan Parliament’s environmental committees to strengthen legal regimes aimed at protecting and conserving Kenya’s forests, while simultaneously advancing environmental justice.