Country Comments

Kenya is known for its vast savannah and rich wildlife. It’s economy and its citizen's livelihoods depend on their natural resources and nature-based tourism.

However the Nations Encyclopedia reported that growing population pressure which creates increased demands for food production and firewood has caused much deforestation and soil erosion. By the mid 1980s, Kenya had lost 70% of its original mangrove areas. Water pollution from urban and industrial wastes poses another environmental problem. In an effort to preserve wildlife, the government has set aside more than 3.5 million hectares as national parks and game preserves.

Nevertheless with approximately twice the number of citizens than its renewable natural resources can support and a fertility rate in 2020 of 3.5 children per woman, Kenya has witnessed its population increasing at over one million new citizens annually since 2010 further stressing its natural resources. Getting Kenyans to reduce their consumption makes little sense since the average citizen lives modestly on less than $2000 US dollars a year.

The Population Reference Bureau cited that in 2012, the government of Kenya passed a landmark policy to manage its rapid population growth. The new population policy aims to reduce the number of children a woman has over her lifetime from 5 in 2009 to 3 by 2030. The policy also includes targets for child mortality, maternal mortality, life expectancy, and other reproductive health measures. Even with these these improved human rigths initiatives, it would take 40 plus years of women choosing only to have one child to stabilize the population level.