Photo Caption: Stakeholders pose for a group photo during the launch of the Artisanal Mining Committee Manual and the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Guidelines at the Annual Mining Policy Brief and Stakeholders’ Forum in Nairobi on October 29, 2026.
NAIROBI, October 29 ,2026 – Kenya has launched two policy documents aimed at strengthening governance in the mining sector, improving the safety of artisanal miners and promoting environmentally sustainable extraction of mineral resources.
The Artisanal Mining Committee Manual and the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Guidelines for the Mining Sector were unveiled Thursday during the Annual Mining Policy Brief and Stakeholders’ Forum in Nairobi.
Speaking during the forum, Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Hassan Joho said the documents would help address informal mining practices, unsafe working conditions and environmental degradation while supporting the sector’s contribution to economic growth.
“Growth without sustainability is not transformation. The Ministry’s priority is to embed Environmental, Social and Governance principles across the mining sector,” Joho said.
The government aims to increase mining’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product from less than one per cent to up to 10 per cent by 2030, with the sector expected to create jobs, expand exports, support industrialisation and improve livelihoods.
The Artisanal Mining Committee Manual is expected to strengthen grassroots governance, accountability, dispute resolution, safety and coordination among miners, communities and government agencies.
The ESIA guidelines provide direction on identifying, assessing, managing and monitoring environmental and social risks associated with mining, including public participation, environmental management, mine closure and rehabilitation.
Joho said implementation would involve training, county-level dissemination, capacity building and monitoring arrangements, urging county governments, mining committees, artisanal miners, investors and communities to adopt the documents as practical tools for improving mining operations.
“These guidelines will help ensure that mining leaves behind stronger communities and restored landscapes, not abandoned pits and unresolved disputes,” he said.
Principal Secretary for the State Department for Blue Economy and Fisheries Betsy Muthoni Njagi said environmental governance was critical to protecting aquatic resources and ensuring food safety as the country exploits its natural resources.
She noted that mining activities on land and in the sea could affect rivers, lakes and oceans through pollution and chemical residues, threatening fisheries and the communities that depend on them.
“When you look at the effluents and the pollution that happens and the residues of chemicals that flow to our rivers, our lakes and our ocean, it affects the aquatic resources,” Njagi said.
She said Kenya’s Exclusive Economic Zone had enormous economic potential, noting that the country generated about Sh54 billion from the ocean economy against an estimated potential of between Sh300 billion and Sh350 billion.
Njagi urged stakeholders to ensure that mining and other resource-based activities were undertaken sustainably to protect marine ecosystems and strengthen food security.
Meanwhile, Environmental Governance Programme (EGP) Deputy Programme Manager Elisabeth Simelton said collaboration among government agencies, communities and industry stakeholders had improved environmental management in the mining sector.
She cited training on mine closure and environmental management, participatory environmental monitoring and on-site compliance assistance as some of the programme’s achievements.
Simelton called for better coordination among development partners, harmonised regulations and increased investment in responsible mining, warning that overlapping mandates and requirements could increase costs and push miners towards informality.
“Responsible practice by companies is central to the transition,” she said, urging investors to support operations that meet environmental and social standards and engage communities fairly.
UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Madelena Munoja said sustainable mining required investment, stronger coordination and partnerships among government institutions, development partners and the private sector.
She noted that the extractive sector supported more than 800,000 rural livelihoods, with artisanal mining providing an important source of income for women and young people.
“Compliance and economic opportunity are not competing goals. When miners are organised, supported, and informed, compliance becomes a pathway to participation and not a barrier to it,” Munoja said.
She urged stakeholders to support the expansion of environmental governance initiatives to more mining sites and counties, including measures to promote formalisation, mine rehabilitation and community engagement.
The forum was convened through collaboration between the State Department for Mining, the National Environment Management Authority, UNDP and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency under the Environmental Governance Programme.
