NAIROBI, Kenya — The Government of Kenya has called for increased private sector involvement in efforts to restore degraded land and ecosystems across the country, highlighting restoration as both a climate imperative and economic opportunity.
Speaking at a high‑level roundtable hosted by the World Bank in Nairobi, Principal Secretary for Environment and Climate Change Dr. Festus Ng’eno said Kenya is transitioning from policy formulation to large‑scale implementation of landscape restoration programmes.
The hybrid meeting brought together representatives from the State Department for Forestry, development partners, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), private sector leaders and climate stakeholders.
It focused on mobilising finance, technology and innovation to rehabilitate forests, rangelands, wetlands and other degraded ecosystems.
𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞-𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧The Kenyan government has called for stronger private sector participation in restoring
Dr. Ng’eno noted that land degradation remains a serious threat to Kenya’s food security, water resources, biodiversity and rural livelihoods. He emphasised that restoration offers a pathway to climate resilience, green growth and job creation.
Under the National Land and Ecosystems Restoration Strategy, Kenya has set an ambitious target of restoring 10.6 million hectares of degraded forests, farmland, rangelands and wetlands.
The strategy aligns with the country’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement and broader economic transformation goals.
However, the Principal Secretary acknowledged that public financing alone is insufficient to meet the scale of restoration required.
“The magnitude of the challenge demands that we mobilise private capital, innovation and technology,” Dr. Ng’eno said, underscoring the need for strong public‑private partnerships to drive impact.
He highlighted a range of investment opportunities, including sustainable forestry, agroforestry, climate‑smart agriculture, rangeland management, ecotourism and carbon markets.
Kenya’s public forests, which cover about 2.1 million hectares, were identified as key areas for sustainable timber production and commercial reforestation, provided robust environmental safeguards are in place.
Dr. Ng’eno also pointed to existing concessional finance mechanisms that can help mitigate risk and attract commercial capital, including the Kenya Watershed Services Improvement Project, ProGreen, the Climate Investment Funds Nature Ventures Program, and the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund.
These initiatives, he said, play a crucial role in making restoration projects bankable and attractive to private investors.
In addition to financial incentives, the government pledged to improve regulatory clarity, streamline approval processes and establish transparent concession frameworks — all while protecting environmental standards and community interests.
A key focus of the government’s approach, Dr. Ng’eno said, is ensuring that restoration delivers tangible benefits to local communities, including the protection of land rights, gender inclusion and the creation of decent green jobs.
“Restoration is not an environmental cost. It is an economic investment in resilience, productivity, biodiversity and future generations,” he stressed, urging investors to embrace the economic potential of nature‑based solutions.
