Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Principal Secretary Festus Ng'eno has said the government's approach towards landscape and ecosystem restoration involves everyone.
The PS said the strategy cannot take a silo approach.
He was speaking on Friday during the Kenya Landscape and Restoration forum which brought together many stakeholders to chat about the path.
"All ecosystems are interconnected and interventions must speak to each other. I am persuaded it is an ecosystem of who is who is in the restoration sector. It is the correct mix to give us the views that we need to consolidate one whole strategy," he said.
Ng'eno said the role of government in the conservation, restoration and management of environment and forest ecosystems is to coordinate natural resource protection.
He said they do that by enhancing the production of tree seedlings and establishing synergies for restoration through partnerships.
The PS also said the government ensures legal and policy framework is reviewed in progressive ways.
"We want to break the silos and consider, contemplate, plan and strategize on how in this UN decade of ecosystem restoration, we can plan together as state and non-state actors. We want to allow the government to coordinate and develop one whole Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration programme strategy," he said.
The environment PS said he would like to see the programs not narrowed to wetlands, forests or grasslands only.
He said the plan should cover the entire scope of ecosystems not letting individual or sectoral interests override the common whole.
"I would encourage us not to silo ecosystems, know that there are eight major ones on earth; tropical forests, savannas, deserts, chaparral, temperate grasslands, temperate forests, boreal forests, arctic and tundra. These types can be narrowed down to three major ecosystem categories; freshwater, marine and terrestrial. I hope this points to you the direction we wish you take in the implementation of restoration programs moving forward," Ng'eno said.
He said working on the restoration of Kenya's landscapes will be the greatest contribution as we work towards tackling the globe's crises of pollution, Climate Change and biodiversity loss.
"Let us look at what walls we can collapse, put aside narrow sectoral interests, see whose comparative advantage we can maximize where such that when His Excellency the President launches the National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Programme strategy," the PS said.
He further said when he first addressed the issue of ecosystem restoration, there was some form of disquiet and unease.
He expressed his joy seeing how far the matter had now come, bringing together different stakeholders.
"When I first addressed a workshop several months ago in Naivasha urging various partners to work on consolidating their landscapes and ecosystem strategies, the scepticism was palpable, but look where we are!" he posed.
