Role of NEMA in facilitating RCE
operations in Kenya
By
Dr Ayub Ndaruga
Director, Environmental Education, Information
and Public Participation, NEMA-Kenya
How can a national government
authority engage RCEs in national
sustainability processes?
Why is NEMA interested in
working with RCEs?
Legal requirement
EMCA 1999 section 9(2)m mandates the
Authority to –
• undertake, in co-operation with relevant lead
agencies, programmes intended to enhance
environmental education and public
awareness about the need for sound
environmental management as well as for
enlisting public support and encouraging the
effort made by other entities in that regard
Role of NEMA in establishment of RCEs
• Development of ESD strategy started in 2003 and
finalized in 2007
• 8 strategies of implementing Kenya ESD strategy
one of which is RCEs
• 1st RCE launched in 2007 – RCE Greater Nairobi
• 2008 – NEMA visited 22 ministries and
universities selling the idea of RCEs
• NEMA includes targets in the annual workplan to
establish RCEs
How can a national government
authority support local RCE actions?
How does NEMA encourage
development of RCEs?
• Wrote to universities requesting for a meeting to explain
RCE concept
• Letter sent to the Vice chancellor with intention to lobby at
highest level to secure whole school approach
• Action sometimes delegated to a senior member of staff
• Training on ESD concept and RCEs done to university staff
and local stakeholders
• After the training, NEMA could announce the University as
an RCE
• Ideally, Kenya has 9 RCE’s but only 3 acknowledged by UNU
• The universities are guided on how to engage UNU for
acknowledgement
To strengthen engagement of
national policy makers with RCEs,
what are the major challenges and
opportunities, and how do you
intend to tackle or address them?
Opportunities
• Capacity in universities in terms of human capital
– lecturers, students
• Mandate – Training, Research/innovation and
community outreach
• Sustainability issues to be addressed
• Flexibility of university systems
• Multiple stakeholders doing things at local level
including government, private sector, and CSOs
•
Challenges
• Governance – NEMA useful in conflict
resolution
• Dormancy
• Recruitment of partners
• Team management
• Fundraising
• Linkage between learning and action
Challenges cont’d
• Thinking globally and acting locally
• Linkage with government and private sector
initiatives
• RCE action plans
How NEMA addresses the challenges
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Devolved contact persons from NEMA
Encouragement and reminders to RCEs
Policy development
Capturing RCE activities in NEMA workplans
Meeting with RCE coordinators
Capacity building and mentoring for upcoming
RCEs
• Funding some RCE activities e.g. botanic garden,
solid waste project, e-waste project
Interventions cont’d
• Annual RCE conference
• Roping in of policy makers and other project
initiatives to RCE activities
• Quarterly monitoring and evaluation by NEMA
Conclusion
• RCEs have great potential to address
sustainability issues
• RCEs face numerous challenges
• NEMA is committed to making the RCEs
operational
• Main role played by NEMA is national
coordination, capacity building and funding
some projects
End