Kenya Environmental Crisis by Emma Chang

Climate change is one of the main concerns for Kenya since most of their economy is based on agriculture and tourism. The increasing heat will cause droughts and losses of livestock and crops which will lead to famines and impacts on the basic human needs, such as water and food. The coastline on the Indian Ocean will be affected by the rise of the ocean and that will impact the different types of fishing that is done there and the tourism money that comes in from people wanting to explore the coast. Kenya is also experiencing "deforestation, soil erosion, land degradation, desertification, loss of biodiversity, water scarcity and pollution from industry." (https://www.ke.undp.org/).

Dams that are being formed are harming farmers and agricultural workers that depend on the streams or rivers to help their crops survive. The water quality in the lakes is also a problem. This is harming the people of Kenya since there has been a hit in getting good healthy fish out of these lakes to provide for the people of Kenya. There are also many fish species becoming endangered because of these water levels and quality. Deforestation efforts are harming the water problem in Kenya because the water is being used for fuel and is being converted into agricultural lands which makes it hard for the water to be maintained when the forest is no longer there protecting it.

A way the U.S. is helping Kenya with the problem by coming up with an "approach to protect wildlife, expand economic opportunities and enhancing the ability of people and land to withstand climate variability and shocks." (https://www.usaid.gov/kenya/environment). Kenya is also part of the Paris Climate Agreement which they hope will help their commitment to combat climate change in Kenya, they call it Kenya's Vision 2030. Kenya's Vision 2030 is a blueprint to help the country and show the world that there is a high quality of life by 2030 by creating "a newly-industrializing, middle income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens in a clean and secure environment." (https://vision2030.go.ke/about-vision-2030/). Between 2008-2012, Kenya created a plan to find a higher and more sustainable growth in their economy, which they did have the faster growing GDP before the pandemic happened, and a more equitable environment and a growth in employment opportunities. Between 2013-2017 was to align the government more with the long term goal of the 2023 vision. Now moving forward Kenya plans is to help with food security, affordable housing, manufacturing and affordable healthcare.

Climate Links. (n.d.). *Kenya*. Global Climate Change. Retrieved May 6, 2022, from https://www.climatelinks.org/countries/kenya

Kenya Vision. (n.d.). Kenya Vision 2030. Retrieved May 6, 2022, from https://vision2030.go.ke/

United Nations Development Programme. (n.d.). *Environmental sustainability, climate change and resilience: UNDP in Kenya*. UNDP. Retrieved May 6, 2022, from https://www.ke.undp.org/content/kenya/en/home/environment-and-energy.html#:~:text=Despite%20this%20reality%20Kenya%20is,scarcity%20and%20pollution%20from%20industry.

USAID. (2022, April 26). *Environment: Kenya*. U.S. Agency for International Development. Retrieved May 6, 2022, from https://www.usaid.gov/kenya/environment

Wikipedia. (2022, March 31). *Environmental issues in Kenya*. Wikipedia. Retrieved May 6, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental\_issues\_in\_Kenya