NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 17 – The government has unveiled an ambitious 10 year plan to restore the Mau Forest Complex, Kenya’s largest water tower.
Environment Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa said that the Mau Forest Complex Integrated Conservation and Livelihood Improvement Programme (MFC-ICLIP) will officially roll out on October 24, 2025, with its first edition targeting the restoration of 3,313 hectares of degraded forest using 4 million tree seedlings.
Speaking at a media and partners’ roundtable in Nairobi, the Cabinet Secretary said restoring Mau ecosystem is “not just an environmental duty, it is an economic necessity— for energy, for agriculture, for Vision 2030”.
“Restoring the Mau is not charity—it is economic insurance, protecting GDP growth, securing food systems, and guaranteeing national energy stability,” CS Deborah said on Wednesday.
The MFC-ICLIP project is focused on Molo, Njoro, Kuresoi North, and Kuresoi South sub-counties.
Its vision is to restore and sustainably manage the Mau Forest Complex through a holistic approach that integrates conservation with community livelihoods.
The Environment CS noted that the programme is part of President William Ruto’s 15 Billion Tree Growing Campaign which she described as “a social contract and a moral obligation.”
She noted that the Mau Forest Complex is part of the continuum of restoration.
Other critical ecosystems being targeted under the restoration programme include the Yala–Isiukhu Watershed, Mt Elgon, Tsavo and ASALS.
She noted that the initiative will have far-reaching benefits not only for Kenya but also for the Greater Horn of Africa.
“Restoration will have a ripple effect into the Greater Horn of Africa; Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, and beyond. When Kenya leads, Africa follows, restoration of ASAL is reinforcing the Great Green Wall vision—A regional shield against hunger, migration, and conflict,” CS said.
Environment and Climate Change Principal Secretary Festus Ng’eno said the initiative adopts a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society” approach, bringing together government institutions, county governments, communities, the private sector, civil society, development partners, and the media.
“This programme aligns with Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC’s), the National Climate Change Action Plan, the 15 billion Tree Initiative, the SDGs, the AFR100 Initiative and the Convention on Biological Diversity,” PS Ng’eno, who also serves as Patron of MFC-ICLIP, observed.
To kickstart the initiative, the PS disclosed that over 150,000 seedlings have already been planted in Eastern Mau over the past month through a weekly tree-planting drive.
The government plans to establish a Mau Water Fund and regular partners’ coordination forums to sustain restoration efforts.
