Kenya to host environmental law symposium

Environmentalists plant trees at Ngong Forest, Nairobi, on March 7, 2018 during the launch of the National Tree Planting exercise. Kenya will host the African Judicial Network on Environmental Law symposium. PHOTO | ANDREW KILONZI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • A training curriculum and manuals on environmental law for judges and magistrates in Africa were also developed.

Kenya has been chosen to host the African Judicial Network on Environmental Law as African countries' seek to improve their judiciaries' abilities to enforce environmental laws.

The resolution was made during a three-day meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, attended by 20 chief justices, presidents of regional courts and representatives of 42 judicial training institutes.

Environmental laws and judiciaries that can enforce them are critical in a continent where 3.3 per cent of agricultural wealth is lost annually because of soil and nutrient losses.

Land degradation in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to cost $68billion (Sh6.8 trillion) annually, Ms Elizabeth Mrema, the director of UNEP's Law Division, told the meeting.

"Two-thirds of the continent is desert or dry lands, and 74 per cent of its agricultural dry lands are already seriously or moderately degraded.

"Additionally, Africa is suffering from deforestation at twice the world rate. For example, only 22.8 per cent of west Africa's moist forests remain," Ms Mrema said.

A training curriculum and manuals on environmental law for judges and magistrates in Africa were also developed, adopted and launched at the meeting, attended by 37 countries.

The manuals will be used to train judicial officers to better enforce environmental laws.