This report has been prepared for the Biodiversity Conservation Programme (BCP) of the
Community Development Trust Fund (CDTF). The exercise leading to this report has been
planned and undertaken to facilitate development of a new initiative – Community Environment
Facility (CEF) - whose primary aim is to achieve poverty reduction – through improved
environmental management practices – by making environmental dimensions of poverty reduction
a core component of sustainable development. The report is based on literature review, which
covers a nation-wide perspective, and primary data obtained through field visits to selected sites.
The nation-wide review covered the current state of environmental resources, while paying special
attention to the major water towers and their associated watershed in Kenya. The water towers
include Mt. Kenya, Aberdares, Mau Complex, Mt. Elgon and the Cherangani Hills. Other areas of
high environmental degradation and high incidence of poverty were also focused on. In this
regard, attention has been given to environmentally sensitive areas, ecosystems and habitats,
which support livelihoods and economic development in the country.