Kitui County Environment and Climate Change Policy, 2023.

This Policy identifies many challenges to the implementation of environmental conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation measures and therefore prioritises targeted interventions in the following matters: lack of policy, legal, regulatory and institutional framework on climate change adaptation and mitigation; low community and ecosystem resilience and inadequate adaptive capacity to climate change impacts; vulnerability of human and ecosystem to climate change impacts; low county resources' mobilisation, and low capacity for climate change financing; lack of mechanisms that facilitate climate change research and development; and inadequate coordination of climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives. The Policy defines the Kitui government's commitment to: facilitate the formulation and implementation of environmental conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation legal, regulatory and institutional framework; strengthen human and ecosystem resilience and adaptive capacity; enhance safety and security of human and ecosystem; improve county resource mobilisation capacity for climate change financing.
The Policy identifies the following issues that have negative effects on environment: rapid population growth, increasing poverty levels, unemployment, poor land use practices, environmental degradation, over-dependence on land resources, destruction of watershed areas, unsustainable waste management, land degradation, increased deforestation attributed to unsustainable exploitation of wood fuel for domestic use, firewood production, declining soil fertility, loss of biodiversity and alteration of the natural tropical habitat, outbreaks of pests and diseases. The Policy details seven objectives: 1) strengthening the policy, legal and regulatory framework on environment and climate change; 2) strengthening partnerships and development of a framework for sharing trans-boundary resources; 3) enhancing resources mobilisation; 4) enhancing climate change resilience; 5) enhancing tree growing and forest conservation measures; 6) strengthening environmental safeguards and reducing environmental pollution; 7) rehabilitating and restoring degraded and critical catchments, ecosystems and landscapes.