Government launches 10-year mega plan to revive Mau Forest Complex
The programme forms part of President William Ruto’s 15 Billion Tree Growing Campaign, which the Environment CS described as “a social contract and a moral obligation".
The government has unveiled a ten-year plan to restore the Mau Forest Complex, in what it describes as a long-term investment in Kenya’s environmental and economic future.
The programme, known as the Mau Forest Complex Integrated Conservation and Livelihood Improvement Programme (MFC-ICLIP), is set to launch officially on October 24, 2025, with the first phase targeting the restoration of 3,313 hectares of degraded forest using four million tree seedlings.
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Environment Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa, speaking during a media and partners’ roundtable in Nairobi, said the restoration of the Mau ecosystem goes beyond environmental protection.
“Restoring the Mau is not charity, it is economic insurance, protecting GDP growth, securing food systems, and guaranteeing national energy stability,” she said.
The MFC-ICLIP project will focus on Molo, Njoro, Kuresoi North, and Kuresoi South sub-counties. Its goal is to rehabilitate and sustainably manage the Mau Forest Complex through a comprehensive model that connects forest conservation with the improvement of livelihoods for surrounding communities.
“This is not just an environmental duty, it is an economic necessity— for energy, for agriculture, for Vision 2030,” CS Deborah said, highlighting how the project fits into Kenya’s broader development goals.
The programme forms part of President William Ruto’s 15 Billion Tree Growing Campaign, which the Environment CS described as “a social contract and a moral obligation”.
She noted that the Mau restoration project is one part of a wider effort targeting key ecosystems, including the Yala–Isiukhu Watershed, Mt Elgon, Tsavo, and the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs).
The CS further explained that Kenya’s leadership in landscape restoration will have a broader regional impact.
“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,” she stated.
Environment and Climate Change Principal Secretary Festus Ng’eno echoed this vision, saying the initiative brings together all sectors of society and levels of government.
“This programme aligns with Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the National Climate Change Action Plan, the 15 Billion Tree Initiative, the SDGs, the AFR100 Initiative, and the Convention on Biological Diversity,” he said.
Ng’eno, who also serves as the programme’s Patron, added that more than 150,000 seedlings have already been planted in Eastern Mau in the past month as part of weekly tree-planting drives aimed at building momentum ahead of the official launch.
To ensure the sustainability of the programme, the government plans to establish a Mau Water Fund and hold regular coordination forums with stakeholders.
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