Kenya ranks eighth in regional conservation outlook

Kenya has protected nearly 14 per cent of its territory, but closing the gap to the global 30 per cent conservation target remains a major challenge. [File, Courtesy]

Kenya has been ranked eighth among countries in Eastern and Southern Africa for the share of its territory set aside for conservation, with nearly 14 per cent of its land classified as protected or conserved areas.

The finding is contained in the Biodiversity Outlook for Eastern and Southern Africa (BOESA) launched by the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) in Nairobi on Tuesday.

The report shows that 13.94 per cent of Kenya’s terrestrial area and 0.59 per cent of its marine area are covered by protected and conserved areas.

The figures place Kenya behind countries including Seychelles, Tanzania, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique and Malawi in terrestrial conservation coverage.

Seychelles leads the table with 68.12 per cent of its land covered, followed by Zambia at 41.27 per cent, Tanzania at 39.95 per cent and Namibia at 39.92 per cent.

The report provides a snapshot of the region's natural wealth and the progress countries are making in conserving forests, wildlife habitats, marine ecosystems and other important areas.

BOESA brings together maps, scientific data and regional experiences to support conservation planning and policy decisions.

For Kenya, the report identifies 41 protected and conserved areas covering about 82,185 square kilometres.

This means that Kenya would therefore need an additional 16.06 percentage points of its territory to reach the 30 per cent conservation target under Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The global framework seeks to have at least 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water, marine and coastal areas effectively conserved by 2030. BOESA's regional platform includes a tracker that monitors countries' progress towards the 30 per cent target

The launch comes ahead of the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), scheduled for October in Yerevan, Armenia.

The meeting will include the first global review of collective progress in implementing the Kunming-Montreal framework.

Sanne Willems, Regional Partnerships official at the European Union Delegation to Kenya, said generating data was not enough unless it could be translated into information that policymakers and communities could use.

“We have seen many programmes over the years conduct incredibly valuable research, but we often lack the next step of translating it into policy and, therefore, into action,” she said.

Willems noted the programme was making information accessible to young people and decision-makers while strengthening countries' capacity to act on the evidence.

RCMRD Director General Emmanuel Nkurunziza said BOESA was intended to make information on the region's natural resources more accessible to policymakers, conservation practitioners, researchers, development partners and communities.

“By making this information more accessible, we aim to support policymakers, conservation practitioners, researchers, development partners and communities in advancing nature-positive action across the region,” Nkurunziza said.

The outlook relies heavily on geospatial information and Earth observation technologies to map ecosystems, monitor protected areas and provide evidence for conservation decisions. RCMRD says the platform is designed as a continuing regional resource, with new data, evidence and tools expected to be added over time.

The Nairobi launch was held alongside a regional workshop on integrated landscape-seascape modelling for climate-resilient development, running from September 22 to 24.

The workshop is examining how terrestrial and marine systems can be considered together in addressing climate resilience and food-system vulnerabilities.