Assessing the Effectiveness of Land Use Regulations in Promoting Environmental Sustainability in Kenya

Abstract

Land use planning and management, has globally been credited with the success of capitalism in western democracies and equally identified as the missing link in nascent democracies i.e. Kenya. In that regard, this research paper is founded on the take off point that the existence of a comprehensive, specific and coordinated land use planning and management policy is a pre-requisite in the fight against climate change, environmental degradation and promoting sustainable use of land and land-based resources. In that regard, this research will examine the concept of environmental sustainability with a focus on implementation of land use planning and management regulations in Kenya. This approach will be geared at the purpose of assessing the effectiveness of land use regulations in promoting environmental sustainability. Consequently, this research seeks to analyse and seek to balance the fact that excessive emphasis on environmental sustainability using some policies could hurt the economic activities of a country through loss of jobs and societal mishaps while on the other hand too much emphasis on economic growth could result into health risks, global warming and environmental degradation within the society. Sustainable environment and growth can only be achieved through the integration of policies that connect the environment, the economy and the society. Lastly, upon analysing the inadequacies and lacunas that exist in the availing legislation, the research paper proceeds to recap on some of the overarching concepts of land use planning and management as well the lessons learnt from counter-majoritarian approaches to land use adopted by judicial organs with regard to indigenous communities. Thereafter, the research paper drawing lessons from both the lacunas and the overarching issues discussed, offers some of the ideal recommendations that can be chiselled into the Kenyan legislation.