• Kenyatta said the award will recognise persons or institutions who champion environmental sustainability.
• He said the award will be given on June 1 during Madaraka Day celebrations.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced the Amani and Mazingira award worth USD 20,000 as part of the government’s way of celebrating those who contribute positively to conservation efforts.
Speaking at UNEP Headquarters on Thursday during the commemoration to mark UNEP’s 50 years, Kenyatta said the award Kenya has made great strides in the protection of nature.
“And in recognition in order to celebrate 50 years of UNEP, I have to say, put forward the Amani and Mazingira award to be sponsored by the Kenyan government,” he said.
Kenyatta said the award will recognise persons or institutions who champion environmental sustainability.
He said the award will be given on June 1 during the Madaraka celebrations.
Kenyatta said the government has provided for the creation of a diplomatic upgrade, taking them to the United Nations Office at the UN conference.
“In addition and in order to enhance efficiency, in the administration of diplomatic privileges, we have developed an integrated protocol management information system that creates an automated one-stop-shop for tax exemptions, start registration, issuance of diplomatic ID card registration and passport,” he said.
Kenyatta said Kenya is committed to supporting UNEP.
“I will call upon all Member States to continue to ensure evidence and support organizations which are critical in safeguarding our planet,” he said.
Kenyatta extended an invitation to member states for two key events that he said he believes will “enable us to consolidate the commitments we made see that in Stockholm, which Kenya is co-hosted in Sweden, and will be held in Stockholm from the second to the third of June this year.”
He said the event will be a celebration of the 50 years of global environmental action, and more importantly, it will act as a springboard to accelerate the implementation of the UN Decade of access to deliver the SGDs and to encourage the adoption of green post-Covid-19.
Kenyatta also unveiled the commemorative plaque marking the fiftieth anniversary of UNEP.
He was accompanied by President Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi (Botswana) Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria) Prime Minister of Central Africa Republic, Felix Moloua, and UNEP Executive Director Inger Anderson.
Kenyatta’s announcement comes a few hours after the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly made a historic decision after it agreed to develop a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution.
The treaty became one of the world’s most ambitious environmental actions since the 1989 Montreal Protocol which effectively phased out ozone-depleting substances.
Following the adoption of the draft resolution on plastics, an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee will now be formed to kick-start work towards a global and legally binding agreement to address plastic menace.
The legally binding instrument on plastic was among a series of draft resolutions on biodiversity and health, green economy, and circularity.
The Assembly also considered other critical issues, including ecosystem-based approaches and biodiversity, green recovery and circular economy, and chemical waste and nitrogen management.