RECONCILE Projects and Programmes

HAKI-MAZINGIRA Programme

Western Kenya Environmental Law Centre (WKELC)

Western Kenya Environmental Law Centre seeks to empower citizens as individuals and groups to promote environmental enforcement and compliance in the three provinces of Western Kenya (Rift Valley, Nyanza and Western), through research, training, advocacy and public interest litigation that supports and facilitates citizen action in the promotion and protection of environmental rights.  It works closely with environmental enforcement and regulatory institutions to find legal and policy solutions to environmental challenges facing Kenyans in both rural and urban settings.

The work of the Centre is informed by the conviction that policies, laws and institutions for the sustainable management of the environment are meaningless in the absence of compliance and enforcement, which in turn is not possible without citizen awareness and participation.  It thus seeks to mobilize citizens in the protection and promotion of environmental rights.

The Centre runs a resource centre at RECONCILE which stocks key materials on environmental policy in Kenya including statutes, books, and research reports.  The resource centre is accessible to public interest lawyers and researchers.  There are plans to affiliate the resource centre to major environmental databases through UNEP and other environmental agencies.

WKELC works closely with lawyers as individuals and within the framework of the Law Society of Kenya.  It also collaborates with the Faculty of Environmental and Resources Development at Egerton University, the School of Environmental Studies and the Faculty of Law at Moi University.

WKELC produces a quarterly newsletter, Mazingira Magharibi to create awareness among citizens and facilitate networking on environmental issues. The newsletter promotes the sharing of ideas and experiences about the challenges of environmental governance generally and the role of individuals and citizens groups.

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