A National Dialogue on Water Towers, Forests and Green Economy in Kenya, held with the participation of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and part of Kenya's response to the outcomes of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) developed a five-year roadmap with recommendations to reduce deforestation in Kenya's water towers.
7 November 2012: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) participated in Kenya’s National Dialogue on Water Towers, Forests and Green Economy, part of Kenya’s follow-up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20). The dialogue discussed options for reducing deforestation in the ecosystems serving as Kenya’s water towers.
The dialogue, which took place from 5-7 November 2012, in Nairobi, Kenya, brought together 200 policy makers, development partners, civil society, members of the private sector and international organizations, and sought to build on momentum created by the adoption of a new Constitution in Kenya that calls for increasing forest cover by 10%.
The dialogue developed a five-year road map with recommendations including to: strengthen implementation of existing policies to serve as the basis for sustainable management of water towers and forests; improve coordination and synergies between government departments; capture forest restoration potential; establish a public-private partnership to support an investment portfolio for sustainable management of forest ecosystems; build on and developing research, especially data on water availability and water quality; and promote participation, education and training for stakeholders.
The deforestation problem is highlighted in the UNEP report launched at the dialogue, titled “The Role and Contribution of Montane Forests and Related Ecosystem Services to the Kenyan Economy.” UNEP notes that deforestation causes economic losses of 5.8 billion KSh per year. [UNEP Press Release] [UN Press Release] [IISD RS Story on UNEP Report]