Lead image for Let the environment drive Vision 2060.
As Kenya embarks on the national conversation regarding what should succeed Vision 2030, we have a rare opportunity to redefine our nation's future. Vision 2060, the next development blueprint, must build on the successes of Vision 2030 while responding to the realities of the 21st century.
For every Kenyan, environmental sustainability can no longer be treated merely as a cross-cutting issue. It must become the foundation of our national development pillars to take the country to the next level of sustainable development.
Vision 2030 sought to transform Kenya into a globally competitive, prosperous country with a clean and secure environment. Environmental sustainability was acknowledged as important, but largely as a supporting element. Today, climate change, ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, and growing pressure on natural resources directly impact livelihoods and the economy. They prove that the environment is not simply a sector, but the foundation upon which every other sector depends.
The Constitution of Kenya 2010, Article 42, guarantees every person the right to a clean and healthy environment for present and future generations. Article 69 requires the State to ensure sustainable exploitation, conservation, and management of natural resources, and to maintain a minimum 10 per cent tree cover.
Healthy soils
The environment underpins Kenya's key economic sectors. Agriculture contributes about 22 per cent of Kenya's GDP directly and another 27 per cent indirectly through linkages with manufacturing, distribution, and service sectors. Yet agriculture remains highly dependent on healthy soils, reliable rainfall, thriving pollinators, and functioning watersheds.
Tourism, a leading foreign exchange earner, depends heavily on wildlife, forests, rangelands, beaches, and marine ecosystems. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s 2026 report, Kenya’s tourism sector employed 1.8 million people directly and indirectly in 2025. Similarly, most of Kenya's renewable energy generation relies on healthy water catchments and landscapes. For instance, hosting Lake Turkana Wind Power, one of Africa's largest wind power projects, positions Kenya as a clean energy leader on the continent.
Water towers sustain agriculture, tourism, urban water supply, and energy production. Major cities like Nairobi, Eldoret, Kisumu, Mombasa, and Nakuru cannot survive without these catchments even for a day. While this link between nature conservation and water supply may not always be obvious, the ecosystem services of the Mau Complex alone contribute more than Sh20 billion annually to sectors like tea, tourism, and energy.