Government Rollout 10-Year Drive to Revive Mt. Elgon Ecosystem
CS for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Dr. Deborah Barasa during a media briefing on the Mount Elgon Restoration Programme held in Nairobi on November 4, 2025.
The government has unveiled an ambitious 10-year plan to restore the degraded Mount Elgon ecosystem and improve community livelihoods in Bungoma and Trans Nzoia counties.
Speaking during a media breakfast in Nairobi on Tuesday, Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Dr. Deborah Barasa said the programme aims to rehabilitate 103,000 hectares of degraded forest and farmlands at an estimated cost of KSh 10.1 billion.
“In 2023, UNESCO designated the Mount Elgon Ecosystem as a Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, the second of its kind in Africa,” said Dr. Barasa. “However, this status is not permanent. Continued degradation could lead to degazettement , a reminder that the cost of environmental destruction is too high to bear.”
She announced that the Ministry has designated November 7, 2025, as Mt. Elgon Day to rally national and county governments, partners, conservationists and communities towards conservation efforts.
Further, Dr. Barasa appointed the Principal Secretary for Mining, Mr. Harry Kimtai, as the Patron and Champion of the Mt. Elgon Restoration Programme, to spearhead coordination across ministries and stakeholders.
“This initiative seeks to foster collaboration, promote sustainable livelihoods through green jobs, enhance agricultural value chains, and increase conservation awareness in schools and institutions of higher learning,” she said.
According to the Ministry, the initiative aligns with the Presidential directive to grow 15 billion trees by 2032 and supports Kenya’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP).
Also speaking Gitonga Mugambi, Principal Secretary for Forestry, emphasized the economic and ecological importance of Mount Elgon, valued at KES 115 billion annually.
“Mount Elgon supports our economy through water supply, agriculture, and biodiversity,” said Mugambi. “Allocating KSh 10 billion to restore an ecosystem worth over KSh 100 billion is a small but worthwhile investment. Together with the communities, we will achieve it.”
He added that the programme targets to grow 10 million trees annually in degraded areas to restore the mountain’s ecosystem.
Festus Ng’eno, Principal Secretary for Environment and Climate Change, said the project would complement similar ongoing initiatives in other key ecosystems such as Mau and Kakamega forests.
“This is about restoration and sustainability,” Ng’eno said. “The success of the Mt. Elgon programme will depend on strong community participation, political goodwill, and local leadership. We are building on what has worked elsewhere to deliver lasting change.”
He lauded partners such as WWF, FAO, and Kenya Forest Service for their support, saying, “When you see these partners here, you can be certain the programme will succeed.”
Development partners also pledged their support for the initiative. Dr. Oketch Salah, speaking on behalf of partners, commended the government’s commitment and praised the leadership of the Ministry.
“Since the Ministry of Mining came on board, it has demonstrated tremendous progress,” Salah said. “We thank the team for transforming the sector and for the partnership that now extends to environmental restoration.”
Mount Elgon was declared Kenya’s second Transboundary Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2023. The ecosystem covers 172,095 hectares and supports thousands of households through agriculture, forestry, and water supply.
The 10-year programme aims to enhance livelihoods through sustainable farming, value chain development, and community-based forest management, while ensuring the conservation of one of Kenya’s most critical water towers.
