Using the law to protect fisheries in Lamu, Kenya

This case study by Natural Justice describes the legal efforts to protect fishing communities in Lamu, Kenya, from the environmental impacts of the Lamu Port Three Berth Project and a proposed coal power plant.

• The Lamu Port Three Berth Project, which began in October 2016, displaced approximately 4,734 local fishers from their traditional fishing grounds. These fishers are unable to use alternative areas due to their rudimentary equipment and have seen reduced catch sizes because of water turbidity caused by dredging, which resulted from non-compliance with the law and EIA license conditions.
• Legal action taken by Natural Justice, Save Lamu, and the Katiba Institute against the Lamu Port project resulted in a June court ruling in favor of the fishers. The court ordered that compensation be paid to the fishers and remanded the EIA license back to the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) for re-consideration, although compensation had not yet been paid at the time of writing.
• The Kenyan government proposed a 1,050Mw coal plant in the Kwasasi area of Lamu County, which is a sensitive ecosystem and fishing ground. The project is contested because the site is within 60m of the coast high-water mark, violating Kenya’s Survey Regulations, and is currently being challenged at the National Environmental Tribunal.
• The proposed Lamu coal plant poses specific environmental risks, including the release of high-temperature thermal water from a cooling system into the sea and the use of a 15km open conveyor belt to transport coal through mangrove forests. These activities are expected to damage the marine ecosystem, affect fish stocks, and impact the Dodori National Reserve as well as the Kwasasi and Kiunga National Reserves.

APA

Salim, S. (2018). Using the law to protect fisheries in Lamu, Kenya. Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/using-the-law-to-protect-fisheries-in-lamu-kenya/

Chicago

Salim, Said. Using the law to protect fisheries in Lamu, Kenya. Natural Justice, 2018. https://naturaljustice.org/using-the-law-to-protect-fisheries-in-lamu-kenya/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Salim |first1=Said |title=Using the law to protect fisheries in Lamu, Kenya |publisher=Natural Justice |date=26 November 2018 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/using-the-law-to-protect-fisheries-in-lamu-kenya/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{salim2018using, author = {Salim, Said}, title = {{Using the law to protect fisheries in Lamu, Kenya}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2018}, month = nov, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/using-the-law-to-protect-fisheries-in-lamu-kenya/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }