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KENYA
Atlas of Our Changing Environment |
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Press Release 25th Session of the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum 16-20 February Nairobi, 13 February 2009 Kenya's chances of realizing its 2030 vision will depend increasingly on the way the country manages its natural or nature-based assets, a new satellite-based atlas concludes. Many of these economic assets are coming under rising pressure: from shrinking tea-growing areas to disappearing lakes, increasing loss of tree cover in water catchments and proliferating mosquito breeding grounds, environmental degradation is taking its toll on Kenyaís present and future development opportunities. Thus improved and more creative management is urgently needed to translate the aspiration, to the realizing of Vision 2030. These are among the key conclusions of the new 168-page Atlas produced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the request of the Government of Kenya. Kenya: Atlas of Our Changing Environment was launched today by Kenyan Environment Minister John Michuki and UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. It is the first-ever publication of its kind to document environmental change in an individual country, through the use of dozens of satellite images spanning the last three decades. The request for the Atlas, funded by Norway and supported by the United States Geological Survey, follows the launch last June in Johannesburg of Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment at a meeting of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment. Mr Steiner said: "The Kenya Atlas shows both the diversity and the fragility of the country's natural assets which are at the heart of the nation's socio-economic development. It highlights some success stories of environmental management around the country, but it also puts the spotlight on major environmental challenges including deforestation, soil erosion and coastal degradation." "The Atlas makes a strong case that investments in green infrastructure within a Green Economy can bring it closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The Atlas is for the government and for all Kenyans who want to see transformational change and a path out of poverty to prosperity by sustainably realizing this country's true development potential," he added. Some of the key findings of the Kenya Atlas include:
From Maasai Mara to Lake Turkana Kenyan ecosystems under pressure The Atlasís before-and-after satellite images in this Atlas vividly document the environmental change in 30 locations across Kenya since 1973 including:
Towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and Vision 2030 According to the data presented in the Atlas, Kenya has made some important strides towards achieving some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with notable headway in the fight against poverty, the provision of universal education and the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Yet challenges remain for Kenya on the road to achieving environmental sustainability, notably limited government capacity for environmental management and insufficient institutional and legal frameworks for enforcement and coordination. The Atlas notes that deforestation, land degradation and water pollution are some of the challenges Kenya needs to address to achieve MDG7, 'Ensure Environmental Sustainability'. One key finding of the Atlas is that achieving environmental sustainability is fundamental to achieving all the MDGs. Environmental resources and conditions have a significant impact on many aspects of poverty and development. "One of the most powerful ways to help achieve the first MDG eradicate extreme poverty and hunger is to ensure that environmental quality and quantity is maintained in the long term," the authors say. For instance, poor people often depend on natural resources and ecosystems for income; time spent collecting water and fuelwood by children can reduce the time at school; and environment-related diseases such as diarrhoea, acute respiratory infection, leukemia and childhood cancer are primary causes of child mortality. "Vision 2030, with its ambitious development blueprint, is a key opportunity for the Kenyan Government to address environmental challenges as a key element underpinning the country's sustainability and development," concludes the Atlas. Notes to Editors Kenya: Atlas of Our Changing Environment features numerous satellite images taken around Kenya, along with 65 maps, 26 graphs and 229 ground photographs illustrating the environmental issues faced by the country. The Atlas provides compelling visual evidence of the changes taking place in 30 locations across the countryís critical ecosystems due to pressures from human activities. The before-and-after display of satellite images spanning three decades highlights forest loss, wetland drainage, shrinking lakes and coastal degradation, as well as examples of good management and successful environmental strategies. The Atlas analyzes the linkages between the countryís major socio-economic activities and its key natural resources illustrating, for example, the link between agricultural productivity and forests, which regulate the micro-climates that make farming possible. The Kenya Atlas follows on from UNEP's Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment, published in June 2008, which gave an overview of environmental change across the continent. All the materials in the Atlas are non-copyrighted and available for free use. Individual satellite images, maps, graphs and photographs, can be downloaded from http://na.unep.net/ or http://www.unep.org/dewa/Africa/KenyaAtlas The Atlas can also be purchased at www.earthprint.com The digital version of the Atlas will also be released on Google Earth and other websites. The book is the fruit of collaborative work between UNEP and partners including the Government of Kenya, the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development, the United States Geological Survey, and the Government of Norway. 25th Session of the UNEP GC/GMEF http://www.unep.org/gc/gc25/ For More Information Please Contact Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson, Office of the Executive Director, on Tel: +254 20 762 3084; Mobile: 254 733 632 755 or when traveling +41 795 965 737; E-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org Or Anne-France White, Associate Information Officer, on Tel: +254 20 762 3088, Mobile: + 254 728600494; E-mail: anne-france.white@unep.org Or Xenya Scanlon on Tel: +254 20 762 4387, Mobile: +254 721847563; E-mail: xenya.scanlon@unep.org Government of Kenya: The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, NHIF Building,
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