V4_Kenya_2-pager.indd

This case study examines the social and environmental impacts of a coal mining concession awarded to a Chinese company in the Mui Basin of Kitui County, Kenya. It details the threats to the livelihoods of local farmers and pastoralists, the disproportionate risks faced by women, and the legal challenges mounted by the community and civil society organizations against the Kenyan government.

• In 2010, the Kenyan government granted a coal mining concession in the Mui Basin to the Chinese company Jung‘u and its subsidiary Fenxi Mining Industry Ltd. This project is expected to cause large-scale evictions, potentially forcing at least 100,000 people to leave their ancestral land, leading to a state of 'arrested development' where residents stop investing in their farms.
• The coal mining project is expected to disproportionately affect women in several ways: increasing health risks and labor burdens due to potential water pollution from toxic waste, risks of prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases brought by temporary outside laborers, and a lack of decision-making power over land due to traditional gender disparities in land control.
• Community members, supported by organizations such as the Law Society of Kenya and the Institute for Law and Environmental Governance, sued the Kenyan government and the mining company in 2012. The lawsuit cited violations of the right to information, the right to a clean and healthy environment, and the lack of Free, Prior and Informed Consent. While an October 2015 ruling favored the government, it mandated that the national and county governments work with the community to ensure greater participation in consultations and compensation.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2015). V4_Kenya_2-pager.indd. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Coal-mining-disrupts-peoples-livelihoods-in-Mui-basin-Kenya.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. V4_Kenya_2-pager.indd. 2015. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Coal-mining-disrupts-peoples-livelihoods-in-Mui-basin-Kenya.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=V4_Kenya_2-pager.indd |date=November 2015 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Coal-mining-disrupts-peoples-livelihoods-in-Mui-basin-Kenya.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2015v4kenya2pagerindd, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{V4\_Kenya\_2-pager.indd}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2015}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Coal-mining-disrupts-peoples-livelihoods-in-Mui-basin-Kenya.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }