Kenya to review public comments on draft environment policy in Naivasha, 2–7 November

Kenya's State Department for Environment and Climate Change will review public comments on the draft National Environment Policy 2026 in Naivasha, Nakuru County, from 2 to 7 November, it said in a notice dated 30 October.

The six-day exercise is meant to examine and consolidate the feedback gathered in the public participation process held in October, and to fold it into the text. A Technical Working Group will refine the draft before it goes to national validation.

The draft updates the National Environment Policy 2013. It covers climate change, biodiversity conservation, pollution control, sustainable waste management, the circular economy, carbon markets and environmental governance.

The department says the policy is meant to line up with Article 42 of the Constitution, which guarantees a clean and healthy environment, and with Articles 69 and 70, which provide for environmental obligations and the enforcement of environmental rights.

A national validation conference is planned for November. The department has set 12 December as the target for completing the whole review.

The review was launched at a stakeholder forum in Nairobi earlier this year. Festus Ng'eno, Principal Secretary for Environment and Climate Change, said there that the exercise aims to modernise environmental governance and help Kenya respond to climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, the sustainability news site Africa Sustainability Matters reported on 28 January.

The notice lists the department's contacts as +254 (0) 20 2730808/9 and the email addresses [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected]. Its office is at SHA Building, Ragati Road, Nairobi.