Vision, Mission and Core Values

In the process of preparing this Strategic Plan, the Department formulated its Vision, Mission and Core Values. These are:

Our Vision

To be a leading county with equitable and sustainable management, utilization, conservation and use for environment, water, renewable energy and natural resources for social economic development.

Our Mission

To enhance conservation and sustainable management of environment and allied natural resources for socio economic development and to provide sustainable, reliable, efficient and cost effective water supply systems that deliver adequate quantity and quality of water to satisfy domestic, agricultural, industrial and commercial purposes for improved quality of life for all.

Departmental goals and objectives

Strategic Issues and Objectives

The department has identified thirteen (13) strategic issues, as follows:

1. Poor Waste management (solid and liquid),
2. Weak compliance on regulations,
3. Inadequate urban centre landscaping,
4. Uncontrolled and Unsustainable ballast/ murram quarrying
5. Uncontrolled and Unsustainable brick making sector
6. Low Electrification coverage,
7. Inadequate supply of tree and forest products,
8. Lack Natural resource database
9. Inadequate human resource capacity
10. Organizational Resource Base,
11. Organizational Structure Projects and Programmes Implementation,
12. Community participation,
13. Partnership Establishment and Development.

Strategic objectives that have been proposed to deal with seventeen (17) include;

1. To ensure efficient and effective waste management through collaboration with the public, relevant government department, and development partners.
2. To promote awareness on environmental requirements and regulations
3. To uplift the aesthetic features of urban centers
4. To promote sustainable quarrying activities in line with the developed environmental standards
5. To promote sustainable brick making activities in line with the developed environmental standards
6. To ensure electrification of market centers, primary schools and health centers in Nyamira county
7. To increase the current tree cover in Nyamira county from 35per cent to 45per cent
8. Build adequate human resource capacity
9. To attain optimal staff levels,
10. To achieve adequacy in facilities and equipment for field operations,
11. To source for adequate financial resources for projects / programmes implementation i.e. Resource mobilization
12. Build and enhance skills and competences of staff at all levels,
13. Ensure completion of ongoing projects,
14. Undertake Design and Survey of new projects,
15. Inventorize and evaluate viability of stalled projects for possible rehabilitation,
16. Identify Flagship projects
17. Institutional strengthening of the community groups i.e. Capacity building and sensitization.

Departmental mandate and roles

The Department’s core functions include:

1. Provision of policy guidelines, financial resources, and sector services (environmental management, forestry, health, sensitization and awareness creation, social services – Community Forest Associations (CFA), Water Resource Users Associations (WRUA), Energy, Mining among others); Technical support and facilitation e.g. tree nursery establishment and support, adoption of appropriate technologies;
2. Project planning and implementation e.g. Bamboo project and Carbon Credit Schemes;
3. Partnership and investment e.g. African Development Bank (ADB) water supply system augmentation in Keroka Town, Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI) advisory role on bamboo and tree nursery establishment and management; Solar power generation at Sironga
4. Environmental conservation e.g. tree planting, landscape stratification and zoning Development and promotion of new technologies and research in liaison with research institutions e.g. Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Kisii University, KEFRI NGOs; KPLC, Kengen
5. Advocacy and capacity building on the functions of the sector e.g. tree planting, choice of tree species to plant on water sources, alternative energy sources, waste management; brick making
6. Monitoring of the ongoing projects e.g. tree nursery establishment, replacement of eucalyptus species from water sources with suitable indigenous species and bamboo;
7. Implementation of rural electrification and promotion of alternative energy sources.