The client
Our client on this assignment was the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) in the Republic of Kenya. NEMA was formed by the Environment Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) of 1999, which mandated the Authority general supervision and co-ordination over all matters relating to the environment and made it the principal instrument of Government in the implementation of all policies relating to the environment.
Situation
This assignment was a Natural Resource Management Program (NRMP) initiative. The NRMP was formed by the Governments of Kenya and Denmark with the joint development objective to, “contribute to reduced poverty in the context of Kenya’s Vision 2030 in safeguarding the state of the environment and promoting sustainable management of natural resources.”
Client requirements
The client needed to develop a global, master strategic plan that would direct its work, as well as that of the Lead Agencies it supervised and coordinated
Given the vast interest that matters relating to environment, water and natural resources attract across various sectors, the envisaged implications of devolution in the sector as required in the Constitution of Kenya 2010, and in compliance with the Republic’s national values and principles as carried in Article 10 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, NEMA's planning process demanded extensive consultation of stakeholders, consensus building, referencing of a wide variety of policy guidelines and the incorporation of key government directives.
The client was therefore looking to work with a competent and adequately experienced consulting firm that understood the workings of government, build consensus within the wide range of stakeholders and effectively forge a common vision for the management of the environment in the country.
Our approach
We structured the assignment around the following:
1. review of the relevance and interpretation of the Environmental Management and Coordination Act EMCA (1999), in the light of the new constitution
2. review of NEMA’s mandate as an environment management authority with respect to process and outcome indicators, and the specific responsibilities borne by various stakeholders as defined in EMCA (1999)
3. determination of what planning, monitoring, evaluation and reporting framework NEMA should adopt in its supervision and coordination role
4. deep engagement with EMCA lead agencies and other stakeholders on NEMA’s relative positioning and how they might most effectively work together and avoid conflict.
Significant outcomes
NEMA adopted the master strategic plan, which it used to supervise and coordinate environment Lead Agencies for the next five years. Key Lead Agencies including National Government Ministries in water, mining and environment, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Water Resources Authority (WRA) , National Land Commission (NLC) and all County Governments were also required to adopt sections of NEMA's master strategic plans into their respective plans to obtain an integrated regulatory environment and to avoid areas of duplication and conflict.
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Government and public sector planning - bringing together coordination and oversight