In an effort to guarantee that the nation has a Land Reclamation Policy and Land Reclamation Bill by 2023, the State Department of Irrigation and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have forged a close partnership.
This will give the nation direction in stopping land degradation, reclaiming degraded land, and offering a framework for using land as a natural resource sustainably.
The policy will ensure land degradation neutrality and enable the sustainable reclamation of degraded lands for socioeconomic development, environmental sustainability, and the security of food and water. To move the nation towards land degradation neutrality, it would also be helpful to identify the causes of land degradation.
During the event, PS State Department for Irrigation Ephantus Kimotho emphasised that land should be used responsibly as a natural resource for food security, underlining that land reclamation is acknowledged as a Nature Based Solution to drought.
He continued by saying that the workshop was timely in that it assisted in the development of regulations that governed reclamation and rehabilitation and established procedures for the sustainable administration of reclaimed lands, taking into account, among other things, community financing and gender involvement.
IUCN Regional Head for Land Systems and Country Representative Innocent Kabenga underlined the organization’s strong relationship with institutions that share its mission and vision.
The goal of IUCN is to supply information and resources to public, corporate, and non-governmental organisations so they can advance humankind, promote economic growth, and conserve the environment all at the same time.
Mr. Kabenga emphasised that in order to close gaps in current legislation, policy, and institutional frameworks, as well as to guide efforts to stop land degradation due to both natural and human sources, the suggested Policy is required to establish the parameters of land reclamation and land deterioration neutrality.
He said that IUCN is eager to keep collaborating with the Ministry in order to help the completion of the policy and related Bill as well as to put important measures into place that will increase the resilience of the communities that directly depend on land for their survival.
Senior officials from the National Drought Management Authority, the Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation, the Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and members from the Council of Governors, MDAs, universities, and technical specialists attended the workshop.
