Environment, Climate Change and Forestry CS Deborah Barasa speaks during the launch of the 10-year Mau Forest restoration programme in Nairobi on Wednesday, September 17, 2025. /KNA
The government has unveiled a ten-year programme to restore 33,000 hectares of the degraded Mau Forest Complex.
Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa, speaking in Nairobi on Wednesday during a meeting with conservation stakeholders, said the initiative goes beyond tree planting—it is a national economic and social priority.
“The plan safeguards water towers, protects biodiversity, creates thousands of green jobs and anchors President William Ruto’s 15-billion tree campaign,” she said.
“Every tree planted is a promise—of hope, food security, clean water and a resilient economy. Restoring the Mau is not just an environmental duty, it is an economic necessity vital to protecting our GDP, securing food systems and ensuring energy stability.”
She emphasised that the campaign requires collective action.
“This is about jobs, water, energy, food, peace and equity. Together, let us rise, heal our land and secure a legacy of shared prosperity for Kenya and the region.”
The Mau, Kenya’s largest water tower, feeds 12 major rivers—including the Mara River, famed for the wildebeest migration—and supplies water to Lake Victoria and Tanzania’s Lake Natron, the world’s flamingo breeding hub.
It also supports hydropower stations nationwide. But it faces mounting threats from illegal logging, encroachment, forest fires and climate change, putting biodiversity, livelihoods and national energy supply at risk.
Principal Secretary for Environment and Climate Change Eng Festus Kipkorir Ngeno, patron of the programme, recalled growing up near the Mau and witnessing its decline.
“The Mau Complex is a global treasure, supporting the great migration and acting as a vital carbon sink. But it is under grave threat. We must act now,” he said.
The restoration blueprint—guided by satellite mapping—targets fencing 500 km of forest boundaries, creating 200 km of buffer zones, rehabilitating wetlands, introducing sustainable land use practices for over 138,000 families and scaling up 50 nature-positive value chains such as honey production, dairy and avocado farming.
The initiative will also generate 300,000 green jobs, train 100,000 farmers, expand access to clean energy like solar and biogas, and promote environmental education through school camps and annual conferences. Work is already underway.
“In the past four weeks we have grown over 150,000 seedlings in the Mau,” said Dr Ngeno, noting that Safaricom and the World Resources Institute have adopted blocks of degraded forest for rehabilitation.
To secure progress, the government has established the Mau Water Fund, bringing together government, communities, investors and development partners.
Livestock Development Principal Secretary Jonathan Mueke said his State Department is supporting livelihood alternatives for forest-dependent communities.
“Our strategy focuses on dairy, fodder production and apiculture,” he said.
“We are installing milk coolers to commercialise dairy, promoting fodder crops to reduce forest grazing and introducing thousands of beehives for honey production. A new farm-to-fork traceability system will also boost food safety and open access to premium markets.”
He said such interventions provide “powerful incentives for conservation,” ensuring improved livelihoods while reducing pressure on the forest.
The programme follows a block-by-block model, with each 10-hectare block costing about Sh2 million for clearing, planting, fencing and maintenance.
In its first year, the plan targets restoring 3,313 hectares, planting four million seedlings by October 2025, fencing 50 km of forest boundaries, rehabilitating 14 water dams and creating 10,000 green jobs.
Farmers will also benefit from 50,000 avocado seedlings, 2,000 potato seed packs and fodder inputs.
The conservation effort will culminate annually in a Mau Marathon—raising awareness and funds while symbolising the journey from degradation to renewal.
“This is the moment Kenya turns the tide—from vulnerability to resilience,” said Eng Ngeno.
“When future generations look back, let them see this as the watershed moment when we acted.”
