Kenya Launches US$200 Million Forestry Project to Restore Degraded Landscapes and Support 750,000 People

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The State Department for Forestry has officially launched the Kenya Watershed Services Improvement Project (KEWASIP), a five-year, US$200 million initiative aimed at restoring degraded landscapes, improving water security and strengthening the livelihoods of communities across 12 counties.

Funded by the World Bank and implemented under the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, the project targets the rehabilitation of 200,000 hectares of degraded ecosystems and is expected to directly and indirectly benefit approximately 750,000 people. KEWASIP will focus on five priority landscapes: Marsabit, Marmanet, Nyambene Hills, Chyulu Hills and Shimba Hills, covering Marsabit, Isiolo, Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Laikipia, Samburu, Baringo, Makueni, Kitui, Garissa, Tana River and Kwale counties. The initiative seeks to strengthen community participation in environmental conservation while creating opportunities for sustainable income generation, agricultural productivity and employment.

The project comes amid growing concerns over land degradation and climate change, with approximately 88.6 per cent of Kenya’s land reported to be at risk of degradation. Natural resources support more than 80 per cent of livelihoods in the country, making their protection essential to food security, economic growth and community resilience. KEWASIP aligns with the National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Strategy 2023–2032, the Presidential 15 Billion Tree Growing Initiative, the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda and the National Climate Change Action Plan. It will also support Kenya’s ambition to restore 10.6 million hectares of degraded landscapes by 2032, alongside the State Department for Forestry’s commitment to restore 5.1 million hectares of degraded land.

Priority beneficiaries include Community Interest Groups, nature-based enterprises, vulnerable and marginalised groups, and marginalised communities. Through improved watershed management, biodiversity conservation and sustainable natural resource governance, the project is expected to enhance water security, strengthen climate resilience and diversify rural incomes.

 County governments have been urged to integrate landscape restoration into their development priorities and support forest conservation initiatives, including the forthcoming Adopt-a-Forest guidelines. 

The government says the initiative will strengthen collaboration between national and county governments, communities and development partners to advance environmental sustainability while ensuring that restoration efforts deliver tangible economic and social benefits to Kenyans.

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