The meeting was organised ahead of World Environment Day 2020 to be held in Turkana county on Friday.
Image: FILE
Experts have linked the outbreak of coronavirus, desert locusts and floods to the destruction of the environment.
“Nature is unforgiving,” Environment CS Keriako Tobiko said.
He said during a webinar that the unfortunate occurrences were now the subject of global discussions.
The meeting was organised ahead of World Environment Day 2020 to be held in Turkana county on Friday.
The theme of the day is: 'Biodiversity for sustainable livelihoods: Protect, restore and conserve.'
The webinar was organised by National Environment Management Authority and United Nation Environment Programme.
Tobiko said the occurrences were in part related to how human beings had handled nature.
“Covid-19, ebola, SARS are linked to human destruction of wildlife habitats,” Tobiko said.
The CS said the Constitution calls for a clean and healthy environment.
He said the country has domesticated several protocols and treaties to do with biodiversity.
The CS said there have been a lot of commitments and it is now time to move to the implementation phase.
Environment PS Chris Kiptoo said there are a lot of policies in place to protect the environment.
“Despite legal and regulatory framework, the environment still has a lot of threats,” Kiptoo said.
UNEP director for Africa Juliette Biao said nature was sending a message through Covid-19 that all is not well.
“Zoonotic diseases are increasing due to the unprecedented destruction of the environment,” she said.
NEMA acting director general Mamo Mamo said biodiversity is a major enabler of development.
Prof Gideon Nyamasyo of the University of Nairobi said there is a disconnect between science and policy, which is a drawback to the county’s realisation of the biodiversity benefits.
“A lot of scientific information generated since 1992 has not found its way into the policy framework,” he said.
Edited by Henry Makori