KENYA IS COMMITTED TO BIODIVERSITY ACTION – PS DR. NG’ENO

Environment and Climate Change Principal Secretary Dr. Eng. Festus K Ng’eno has said Kenya has undertaken several political and technical strategies to ensure a cross-sectoral and whole-of-society approach in updating its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), aligning with the KMGBF.

“We are undertaking a robust process of aligning the NBSAP, with the overarching goals and targets of the KMGBF. We have since submitted our 25 national targets aligned with the global targets on 31st July, 2024”.

Further, Kenya has also adopted the whole of government and whole of society approach in the process of reviewing the NBSAP by involving all stakeholders to ensure that conservation efforts are inclusive and garner ownership while fostering partnerships for collective action.

PS Ng’eno spoke Tuesday during the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 16) High Level thematic Ministerial dialogues in Cali, Colombia where he reaffirmed the Kenya’s commitment to biodiversity action. This he said will be done through identifying the key priorities and mechanisms needed to accelerate the implementation of the KMGBF as well as mainstreaming biodiversity considerations across sectors as guided by Target 14.

Further, biodiversity considerations will be embedded into policies, regulations, planning and development processes in particular those with significant impacts on biodiversity. Towards this end Kenya recently established the National Biodiversity Coordination Mechanism (NBCM) whose objective is to strengthen coordination, advising on biodiversity policies, fostering partnerships, mainstreaming biodiversity across sectors, and enhancing resource mobilization. NBCM aims to integrate scientific knowledge and indigenous traditional wisdom into biodiversity conservation efforts.

To address the significant gaps in the availability of data on biodiversity at both the national and local levels, the Ministry of Environment Climate Change and Forestry with partners undertook a Rapid Baseline Data Assessment to foster seamless sharing and utilization among stakeholders.

PS Ng’eno cited balancing biodiversity conservation with economic growth as one of the challenges faced in Kenya where large-scale infrastructure projects and agricultural expansion are often prioritized, which can conflict with biodiversity goals.

On institutional arrangements need to assist Parties in fulfilling their obligations under various MEAs the PS encouraged collaboration among national and county governments is also vital to ensure that biodiversity actions are coordinated and consistent across different governance levels, particularly in Kenya’s devolved system. This approach he said will assist align local and national efforts in addressing biodiversity challenges and maximizing resource efficiency.

Further the PS encouraged capacity building and training programs to enhance the capacity of government officials, particularly at the county level, in understanding MEA obligations as well as development of integrated monitoring frameworks to aligning national biodiversity monitoring with MEA reporting requirements.

The meeting was moderated by Neville Ash, Director, UNEP-WCMC and attended Susana Muhamad, CBD COP 16 President as well as Ministers of Environment and Heads of Government from across the world.