Report on the audit of national and county policy and legislation in the natural resource management sector. 2018. Kenya Law Reform Commission, Council and Governors

The Constitution envisages that the management of natural resources will be a cooperative process with national government having overall responsibility for policy formulation and being vested with majority of the natural resources in trust for the people of Kenya. This audit has revealed that in the field of water, forests and mining, the forest sector is the most compliant. The Water Act is the most problematic and requires substantive revisions to ensure it complies with the ethos of devolution. Additionally, the laws creating the various regional development authorities which are established along river basins should be repealed as they are unconstitutional. Following their repeal, new legislation may be enacted if it is desired that combination of counties manage a specific region or managed a shared resource. Any such new legislation will need to respect the roles of national and county governments.