Mudavadi flags off landmark programme to safeguard natural resources in Kenya
EKUWAM SYLVESTER AND NELSON OBWANA-KNA
The Government has officially launched the Integrated Natural Resources Management Programme (INReMP), a Sh34.1 billion (USD 262 million) initiative that will run for eight years to strengthen climate resilience, restore degraded ecosystems, improve food security, and enhance livelihoods for more than two million Kenyans.
The programme, jointly funded by the Government of Kenya and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), will benefit 407,176 households across 10 counties in western Kenya through investments in climate-smart agriculture, natural resource conservation, and sustainable rural development.
Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi presided over the national launch at the University of Eldoret under the theme, “Building Climate-Resilient Livelihoods Through Inclusive and Sustainable Development.”
Mudavadi described the programme as a major milestone in Kenya’s efforts to combat climate change while accelerating socio-economic transformation through the sustainable management of natural resources.
He said the initiative would enable counties endowed with rich agricultural potential, biodiversity, and water resources to better respond to the growing challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, food insecurity, and rural poverty.
“Implementing this programme demonstrates our determination as a nation to turn these challenges into opportunities by restoring our environment, improving livelihoods and strengthening our resilience.
It will contribute to our socio-economic transformation journey and secure a better future for present and future generations,” Mudavadi said.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary was accompanied by Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Dr. Deborah Mlongo Barasa, Agriculture Principal Secretary Dr. Paul Ronoh, Environment Principal Secretary Dr. Eng. Festus Ngeno and Treasury Principal Secretary Dr. Chris Kiptoo.
Others were Gender Principal Secretary Anne Wang’ombe, Trade Principal Secretary Regina Ombam, Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii Chelilim and other senior national and county government officials.
The programme will be implemented in Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Kakamega, Kericho, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori counties, which continue to experience increasing climate-related shocks affecting agriculture, water resources and livelihoods.
According to Mudavadi, the focus on western Kenya reflects the urgent need to address environmental degradation and strengthen resilience in one of the country’s most productive agricultural regions.
He noted that Kenya is richly endowed with forests, wetlands, rivers, fertile agricultural land and other natural resources that form the backbone of food production, water security, biodiversity conservation and the rural economy.