Related documents
- Is amended by 24th Annual Supplement

LAWS OF KENYA
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND CO-ORDINATION ACT
THE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND CO-ORDINATION (WETLANDS, RIVERBANKS, LAKE SHORES AND SEA SHORE MANAGEMENT) REGULATIONS
CAP. 387
- Published in Kenya Gazette Vol. CXI—No. 16 on 20 February 2009
- Commenced on 20 February 2009
- [Revised by 24th Annual Supplement (Legal Notice 221 of 2023) on 31 December 2022]
Part I – PRELIMINARY
1. Citation
These Regulations may be cited as the Environmental Management and Co-ordination (Wetlands, River Banks, Lake Shores and Sea Shore Management) Regulation.2. Interpretation
In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—"agriculture" means all farming activities including cultivation, agroforestry, bee keeping, livestock management and aquaculture;"alien species" means any exotic non-indigenous life forms originating from outside a given ecological location, accidentally or deliberately introduced to the location by human activity or by natural means;"beach" means a geological landform of loose particles often composed of rock, sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobble, found at the landward margin of a lake or coast line, the lower limits approximating to the position of the highest and lowest tidal water levels;"beach front" means a strip of land facing or running along a beach;"Board" means the Board of Management of the Authority established under section 10 of the Act;"community" means community of people living in a defined geographical area and identified by common history, common culture or common residence in an area, and may comprise of representative members of the organized institutions in the private sector or members of the civil society;"conservation" means the care and management of a resource so that the resource maintains its ability to fulfill its functions and provide goods and services for present and future generations;"District Environment Committee" means the District environment committee appointed under section 29 of the Act;"drainage of wetlands" means the removal or exclusion of water from a wetland by pumping, excavation of channels, planting of fast growing non-wetland trees or plants, abstraction of water from a river entering a wetland, channeling, or reclamation;"Director-General" includes, for the purposes of these Regulations, a person authorized by the Director General to act on his behalf;"high water mark" means the historical recorded point of the highest level of contact between the water and the shore or bank, as the case may be;"hunting" includes the doing of an act immediately directed at killing, wounding, injuring or capture of any animal and the taking or willful interference with any nest, lair or other place where a dependent young animal is born, hatched, or reared;"inspector" means an inspector designated as an environmental inspector under section 117 of the Act;"interested parties" includes the community the lead agency, the Provincial Environment Committee, the District Environment Committee and the Local Environment Committee, and any other party having a discernible interest or a concern;"lake" means a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size, completely surrounded by land, or a natural body or pool of water;"Lake shore" means the rising ground from the highest normal water mark, bordering or adjacent to a lake in the from of rock, mud, gravel or sand;"lead agency" means any Government ministry, department, state corporation or local authority in which any law vests functions of control or management of any element of the environment or natural resource;"livestock" includes cattle, horses, donkeys, mules, pigs, sheep, goats, camels and all other domesticated animals;"low water mark" means the historical recorded point of the lowest level of contact between the water and the shore or the bank as the case may be;"management plan" means a management plan for a wetland, riverbank, lakeshore or seashore, prepared under regulation 9;"Cabinet Secretary" means the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for matters relating to the environment;"modification" means any man-made change in the natural state of a wetland, riverbank or lake shore;"natural resources" include resources of the land, air, water, animals and plants including their aesthetic qualities;"occupier" means a person in possession or control of any land in which there is a wetland, riverbank, lakeshore, sea shore or beach front;"polluter pays principle" means that the cost of cleaning up any element of the environment damaged by pollution, compensating victims of pollution, cost of beneficial uses lost as a result of an act of pollution and other costs that are connected with or incidental to the foregoing, is to be paid or borne by the person convicted of pollution under this Act or any other applicable law;"pre-cautionary principle" is the principle that where there are threats of damage to the environment, whether serious or irreversible, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost effective measures to prevent environmental degradation;"protected species" means any plant or animal species declared as endangered or threatened species under the Wildlife (Conservation and Management) Act (Cap. 376);"endangered species" means any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range due to man-made or natural changes in the environment or as may be declared by the relevant national authority;"threatened species" means any species of plant or animal is likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future throughout or in a significant portion of its range or as may be declared by the relevant national authority;"protected wetlands" means an area declared as a protected wetland under these Regulations or any other written law;"Provincial Environment Committee" means the Provincial Environment Committee appointed under section 29 of the Act;"restoration" means regeneration or putting back a wetland, riverbank or lake shore or sea shore to the state it was in or near to what it was before it was modified;"river bank" means the rising ground from the highest normal water mark, bordering or adjacent to a river in the form of rock, mud, gravel or sand and in cases of flood plains include the point where the water surface touches the land, that land not being the bed of the river;"river" includes a permanent and seasonal river;"riverine wetlands" includes wetlands along rivers and streams;"soil" includes earth, sand, rock, shale, minerals and the flora and fauna in the soil and the derivates thereof;"soil erosion" means, a general process whereby soil articles are worn away or removed by natural agencies;"sustainable use" means present use of the environment or natural resources which does not compromise the ability to use the same by future generations or degrade the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems;"Tribunal" means the National Environment Tribunal established under section 125 of the Act;"water" includes drinking water, river, stream water course, reservoir, well, dam, canal, channel, lake, swamp, open drain or underground water;"wetlands" means areas permanently or seasonally flooded by water where plants and animals have become adapted; and include swamps, areas of marsh, peat land, mountain bogs, bank of rivers, vegetation, areas of impeded drainage or brackish, salt or alkaline; including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed 6 meters. It also incorporates riparian and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands;"wetland products" includes fish, fibre, fruit, papyrus, grass, soil. stone, gravel, sand and such other things as the Cabinet Secretary may be statutory instrument declare to be wetland produce;"Wetland resource use permit" means a permit granted to a person, community or organization to make extractive utilization of wetlands and other non-extractive uses such as tourism and cultural activities in accordance with the grant under these Regulations or any other law.Part II – MANAGEMENT OF WETLANDS AND WETLAND RESOURCES
3. Application of Part
This part applies to all wetlands in Kenya whether occurring in private or public land.4. Objectives of Part
The Objectives of this Part of the Regulations include—5. General Principles
6. The Standards Enforcement Review Committee
7. The District Environment Committee
The District Environment Committee shall be responsible for coordinating, monitoring and advising on all aspects of wetland resource management within the District.8. Protected Wetlands
9. Procedure for Declaration of a Protected Wetland
10. Inventory of Wetlands
11. Permitted use of Wetlands
The following sustainable uses of wetland resources shall not be subject to these Regulations—12. Wetland Resource Use Permit
Subject to the provisions of Section 42 of the Act, no person shall carry out any of the activities stipulated therein without a permit issued by the relevant lead agency and an Environmental Impact Assessment License issued by the Authority where applicable.13. Temporary Permit
14. Duty of Land Owners Users and Occupiers
Part III – MANAGEMENT OF RIVER BANKS, LAKE SHORES AND SEA SHORE
15. Application of Part
This part shall apply to all river banks, lake shores and to the sea shore in Kenya.16. Objectives of Part
The objectives of this Part include—17. General Principles
The following principles shall be observed in the management and conservation of river banks, lake shores and the seashore—18. Identification and inventory of degraded river banks, lake shores and sea shores and conservation measures
Within five years from the date of commencement of these Regulations, the Authority shall, in consultation with the relevant lead agencies—19. Resource Use Permit
Subject to the provisions of Section 42 of the Act, no person shall carry out any of the activities stipulated in that section without a permit issued by the relevant lead agency and an environmental impact assessment licence issued by the Authority where applicable.20. Duty of District Environment Committee
A District Environment Committee within whose jurisdiction an activity likely to degrade the environment, river banks, lake shores or sea shore is taking place, shall—Part IV – MISCELLANEOUS
21. Requirement for Environmental Impact Assessment
22. Environmental Restoration Orders
The Director–General may issue Environmental Restoration orders pursuant to the provisions of the Act in order to allow a wetland, riverbank, lake shore or the sea shore area which has been degraded to regenerate.23. Duty of Environment Officer
An environment officer within whose jurisdiction activities likely to degrade or are degrading, river banks, lake shores or the sea shore are taking place, shall ensure that the communities living near such areas participate in conservation activities and assist them in implementing these Regulations and any other law that protects.24. Sanitation
25. Transition
Any person carrying out any activities on a wetland, riverbank, lake shore or the sea shore immediately before the coming into force of these Regulations, shall within six months from the coming into force thereof, take all necessary measures to ensure full compliance with these Regulations.26. Improvement Notice
Where an inspector has reasonable cause to believe that any person is violating the provisions of these Regulations, the inspector may—27. Offences and Penalties
Any person who contravenes the provisions of these Regulations commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for such term and such fine as are provided for in the Act.28. Appeals
A person aggrieved by a decision of the Director-General under these Regulations may appeal to the Tribunal in the manner as prescribed in the Act.29. Delegation of Powers and Functions
The Director-General may where necessary, delegate any of the functions and powers provided for within these Regulations to any officer of the Authority or to a lead agency.30. Operations of Regulations
These Regulations shall be in addition and not in derogation from any other regulations relating to the environment made under any other law.History of this document
31 December 2022 this version
Revised by
24th Annual Supplement
20 February 2009
Commenced