Land and Environment under the Constitution of Kenya and their Implementation Process

Описание: Land is an important factor in the social-economic and political development of the country, yet it remains as one of the most emotive and contested issues in its legal and political history.
Land reforms were, therefore, considered critical, and in the ensuing constitutional-making process, land and environmental matters were enshrined in the Constitution. Since then, several laws have been enacted to revolutionise land management and administration, to ensure equity, efficiency, productivity and sustainability in its management and utilization. In spite of the inroads made in reforming land governance in Kenya, numerous challenges remain. Lack of political goodwill has contributed to a failure to formulate comprehensive land laws and policies to address problems, of poor land governance and administration, landlessness, dispossessions, inequitable land distribution, land grabbing, land degradation amongst others.

Moreover, environmental considerations cannot be divorced from the land. It is in this regard that the constitution also proclaims the right to live in a healthy environment. This represents a tangible embodiment of hope, an aspiration that the destructive, polluting ways of the past can be replaced by cleaner, greener societies in the future.

As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Constitution, we need to ask ourselves whether we have realised transformations in our governance of land and environment as was envisioned during the Constitution-making process.