• The Cabinet Secretary announced that the wetland will be fenced to prevent further encroachment and enhanced into a people's nature park and urban green space.

The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Soipan Tuya has urged people occupying riparian lands, wetlands, forests, and other protected ecosystems illegally, to heed the government's repeated calls and voluntarily vacate these areas before it's too late.

CS Tuya was speaking at the World Environment Day National celebrations held in Embu County, marked by a tree-planting exercise at the Kiambuthi Wetland, a peri-urban ecosystem in the region.

The Cabinet Secretary announced that the wetland will be fenced to prevent further encroachment and enhanced into a people's nature park and urban green space.

"The support of the Embu County Government is invaluable, and with Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) providing technical assistance, we shall intensify the planting of bamboo and fruit trees to support economic value," she stated.

Furthermore, the CS said the government would escalate ongoing multi-agency security operations across the country to end all ecosystem illegalities, including the brazen occupation of gazetted forests. She applauded the courts for recent progressive rulings that forbid the illegal occupation of protected forest areas.

Read More

  1. COP29 Exposes Gaps in Global Climate Commitment
  2. Advancing Clean Cooking Initiatives: Kenya and Saudi Arabia Collaborate
  3. Fighting Falsehoods: UN's Bold Step Against Climate Disinformation

The 2024 World Environment Day theme was "Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience," underscoring the urgency of protecting Kenya's vital ecosystems.