Adaptive and Inclusive Watershed Management: Assessing policy and institutional support in Kenya

The report examines Kenya's efforts to integrate gender and climate change into water resource management. It highlights a strong legislative foundation, including the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and the Water Act 2016, which mandate gender representation and inclusive governance. However, it identifies significant gaps in implementation, such as limited women's land ownership, insufficient gender-disaggregated data, and a lack of targeted funding for women in climate adaptation. The document also details the impact of climate change on Kenya's water-scarce environment, particularly in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), and evaluates the role of institutions like the National Gender and Equality Commission and the Water Resources Authority in promoting inclusive water governance.

• Kenya faces chronic water scarcity with a per capita water availability of 647 cubic metres, which is below the global benchmark of 1,000 m3.
• Arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) cover 82 per cent of Kenya's total area and are highly vulnerable to climate change, with droughts causing estimated losses of USD 12.1 billion.
• There is a severe disparity in land ownership in Kenya; an analysis of over 1 million titles found that women received only 1.62 per cent of the total land area titled between 2013 and 2017, compared to 97.76 per cent for men.
• The Constitution of Kenya and the Water Act 2016 implement a 'two-thirds gender rule,' requiring that no more than two-thirds of members of elective or appointive bodies in the water sector be of the same gender.
• The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) monitors gender mainstreaming across government agencies through mandatory quarterly reporting and gender-responsive budgeting guidelines.
• Climate change is projected to significantly reduce crop yields in Kenya by 2100, with maize, rice, and soybean seeing reductions up to 45 per cent, and tea and coffee up to 40 per cent.
• The Access of Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) Program reserves 30 per cent of government tenders for enterprises owned by women, youth, and persons with disabilities.
• While the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) 2018–2022 incorporates gender-disaggregated indicators into its monitoring system, there is a general lack of available gender-disaggregated data across the seven priority climate areas.
• Five county governments—Garissa, Isiolo, Kitui, Makueni, and Wajir—have established County Climate Change Funds to finance local adaptation investments.
• Women's participation in water governance is operationalized at the community level through Water Resource Users Associations (WRUAs), with a target of 30 per cent gender balance.

APA

Puzyreva, M., & Roy, D. (2018). Adaptive and Inclusive Watershed Management: Assessing policy and institutional support in Kenya. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/adaptive-inclusive-watershed-management-kenya.pdf

Chicago

Puzyreva, Marina, and Dimple Roy. Adaptive and Inclusive Watershed Management: Assessing policy and institutional support in Kenya. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/adaptive-inclusive-watershed-management-kenya.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Puzyreva |first1=Marina |last2=Roy |first2=Dimple |title=Adaptive and Inclusive Watershed Management: Assessing policy and institutional support in Kenya |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=August 2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/adaptive-inclusive-watershed-management-kenya.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{puzyreva2018adaptive, author = {Puzyreva, Marina and Roy, Dimple}, title = {{Adaptive and Inclusive Watershed Management: Assessing policy and institutional support in Kenya}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/adaptive-inclusive-watershed-management-kenya.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }