Climate, Energy & Environment
Rural Survival:Guardians of Mother Earth,Saving Mau,Revitalizing Native Lands
: Between 2001 and 2002, the Mau Forest deforestation resulted in loss of about 533 square kilometres of tree cover. Now, a group of women, under the aegis of the Paran Women Group, are preparing to plant 100,000 saplings this rainy season to restore the forest.
By Joyce Chimbi
Between 2001 and 2022, the Mau Forest’s deforestation resulted in the loss of about 533 square kilometers of tree cover. Now, a group of women, under the aegis of the Paran Women Group, are preparing to plant 100,000 saplings this rainy season in an effort to restore the forest.
Paran Women Group’s executive director, Naiyan Kiplagat, is working in the forest. The group are passionate guardians of the environment and promoters of gender equality. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
The Great Rift Valley is part of an intra-continental ridge system that runs through Kenya from north to south. A breathtaking, diverse mix of natural beauty that includes dramatic escarpments, highland mountains, cliffs and gorges, lakes and savannas. It is also home to one of Africa’s greatest wildlife reserves—the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
give life to this wondrous natural phenomenon. Located about 170 kilometres northwest of Nairobi, this is the largest indigenous montane forest in East Africa. It is also the largest of the country’s five watersheds and a catchment area for 12 rivers that flow into five major lakes.
More than 10 million people depend on its rivers. Its magnificent portfolio of rare plants and animal species is unfortunately a magnet for illegal activities. Forest monitoring groups say a staggering 25 percent of the forest was lost between 1984 and 2020 and that overall, Mau Forest lost 19 percent of its tree cover—around 533 square kilometres—between 2001 and 2022.
“Paran Women Group is committed to restoring the Mau Forest. To stop the pace and severity of its destruction and degradation, we approached the government through the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and were allowed access to 200 acres of the Maasai Mau Forest block, which is one of the 22 blocks that make the entire Mau Forest Complex. There are 280 water catchments inside the complex,” Naiyan Kiplagat, the executive director of the Paran Women Group told IPS.
“In January this year, we began our restoration efforts and have already covered 100 acres. At the moment, we have prepared 70,000 seedlings and intend to collect another 30,000 from women groups to reach our target of 100,000 tree seedlings, which will be planted once the rainy season begins to cover the remaining 100 acres.”
In Maa, a language spoken by the Maasai community, Paran means ‘come together to assist each other’. Paran Women Group is an organization comprised of women from the Maasai and Ogiek communities who are indigenous, minority ethnic groups.
Forest rangers working for the Kenya Forest Service are responsible for protecting Kenya’s forests. Paran Women Group are in a partnership with KFS to restore Maasai Mau Forest block. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
There are 280 water catchments inside the expansive Mau Forest Complex. These feed 12 rivers, which in turn feed five major lakes. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
The organization comprises 64 women groups and 3,718 members. United against dual marginalization and patriarchy, the group started small, in 2005 and continues to grow and expand their base and conservation activities.
Carrying the wisdom of their ancestors, they rely on indigenous knowledge and innovation in their conservation, afforestation, reforestation and all other land restoration efforts while promoting gender equality. Paran Women Resource centre is located in Eor Ewuaso, a remote rural village in the Ololunga location of Narok South sub-county, Narok County, in the Rift Valley.
The women hold a title deed to the expansive piece of land. A notable achievement in a minority community where women have little autonomy and land is owned and controlled by men. They have another seven satellite resource centres within the expansive counties geared towards giving women access to productive resources.
These centres are a hub of knowledge and activities to promote conservation and livelihood activities such as sustainable agriculture, beekeeping, beadwork and briquettes for energy-saving cooking to release pressure from the embattled Mau Forest. More than 617 households are already using efficient, energy-saving stoves.
“We are conservationists with a passion for gender equality. Gender-based violence is prevalent in indigenous communities, such as the outlawed Female Genital Mutilation and forced marriages. The most recent incidence was of a nine-year-old girl. We are marginalized as a community in general and worse, our culture has few rights for women and girls. We help children stay in school by paying school fees from our income-generating activities,” she says.
Patrick Lemanyan, a resident of Ololunga, says Paran women “rear and sell chicken and foods such as pumpkin, vegetables and sorghum. They also sell beadwork. Maasai beadwork is unique, beautiful and very marketable. In Nairobi, there is even the popular Maasai market for such beadwork and other Maasai items, such as sandals. The women here face no resistance from the community. We have suffered for many years from failed rainfall and we know that saving the forest is also about saving us as a community.”
Paran Women Resource Centre is located in Eor Ewuaso, a remote rural village in the Ololunga location of Narok South sub-county, Narok County, in Rift Valley. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
Some of the jewelry that the women at the Paran Women Group make. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
Naiyan says indigenous communities depend on natural resources such as forests, rivers and their biodiversity for their survival. The ongoing climate and biodiversity crises affect them the most as a community. Women have no assets and are therefore worse off.
“The Maasai’s are pastoralists. During prolonged dry seasons, a man will take all the livestock with him and move from place to place for even three years, leaving behind his wives and children. The family is left behind with nothing because women own nothing,” she says.
Naiyan, an Ogiek married to a Maasai, says the Ogiek have not faired any better. As hunters and gathers in an ecosystem that has been destroyed by human activity and climate change, they too are in a life-and-death situation and, are learning to pursue livelihood options outside of their indigenous lifestyle by keeping poultry for sale and farming. Men do not keep or concern themselves with poultry as it is considered beneath them. They keep large livestock such as cows and goats.
Originally pastoralists and hunters and gatherers, the Maasai and Ogiek have turned to sustainable agriculture as a climate adaptation mechanism. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
These are manyattas, Maasai traditional homes. Women from the Maasai and Ogiek communities have joined forces to save their native lands. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
“The role of indigenous groups and more so women, in environmental protection cannot be overemphasized. More so as women are able to combine conservation efforts with income-generating activities. They educate and support each other, and their children grow to school, breaking the debilitating cycle of poverty associated with minority groups due to historical injustices and inequalities,” says Vesca Ikenya, an educator in Gender and Natural Resources.
Stressing that “indigenous people and local communities bring on board indigenous knowledge and leadership that only they possess as custodians of their own lands and waters and have had intimate interactions with their ecosystems since time immemorial. Each generation preserves and passes on this knowledge to the next. When indigenous and local communities take lead in conservation efforts, they never get it wrong. They understand which species grew where and when.”
The Paran Women Group tree nursery is home to 27 indigenous species, including croton macrostacyus, syzygium cuminii, prunus African and Olea Africans. Of the 150,000 tree seedlings already planted this year, 112,500 have survived and are thriving.
According to 2021 International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs and International Labour Organization joint report, indigenous peoples were responsible for protecting an estimated 22 percent of the planet’s surface and 80 percent of biodiversity.
The Paran Women Group has not gone unnoticed and has won a series of international awards. In 2018, they received an award on rural survival from the World Women Foundation Summit; in 2020, they received the International Leadership Award from the International Indigenous Women’s Forum; last year, during the COP28 in the UAE, they received the Gender Justice Climate Solutions and are preparing to receive yet another international award in October 2024.
This feature is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.
IPS UN Bureau Report
Renewable Energy & Access
Kenya Court Halts $2B Lamu Coal Project
The 1,050MW Lamu coal plant faced a decade of opposition from environmental groups and UNESCO advocates. The verdict now strengthens Kenya’s clean energy transition.
Kenya’s High Court halts a $2 billion Lamu coal plant near a UNESCO site, citing environmental and heritage violations.
NAIROBI, Oct. 17 — Kenya’s High Court has blocked construction of the proposed $2 billion Lamu coal plant, citing serious environmental and social concerns. The ruling delivered virtually from Malindi by Justice Francis Mwangi Njoroge on October 16, 2025, is a major victory for activists and local residents who have fought the project for years.
The 1,050-megawatt facility, planned for Kenya’s historic Lamu County, where al-Shabaab militants are threatening a $ 25 billion Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia -Transport (LAPSSET) corridor project,was to be the country’s first coal-powered station. However, the court found that the developers failed to conduct proper public participation and environmental assessments before securing government approvals.
“The approval process lacked meaningful engagement with affected communities,” Justice Njoroge said. “The constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment must take precedence over economic ambition.”
A Decade of Controversy
The project was led by Amu Power Company Ltd, a consortium majority-owned by Centum Investment Co. Plc — one of Kenya’s largest investment firms. Other key partners included Gulf Energy Ltd and China Power Global, which was expected to handle engineering and construction under the $2 billion deal.
Since its inception in 2015, the Lamu coal plant has faced intense opposition. Local fishermen, conservationists, and global environmental organizations such as Greenpeace Africa and Natural Justice warned that the plant would damage marine ecosystems and pollute air quality. The site lies close to Lamu Old Town — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — which risked losing its protected status if construction went ahead.
In 2019, the National Environment Tribunal (NET) suspended the plant’s environmental license, ruling that the environmental review had been flawed. Amu Power appealed the decision, but the project stalled as government policy began shifting toward cleaner energy sources.
Kenya’s Energy Shift
Kenya’s energy mix has changed dramatically over the past decade. As of 2024, Kenya Power reports that 86% of electricity comes from renewable sources such as geothermal, hydro, wind, and solar.
The Lamu coal project was originally conceived to provide cheap, reliable energy for industrial users. Yet falling renewable costs and international climate pressure have made coal both economically and politically unviable.
“Coal no longer fits Kenya’s green growth agenda,” said Joseph Njoroge, former Principal Secretary for Energy. “The economics simply don’t add up, and the environmental cost is too high.”
In 2022, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to 100% clean energy by 2030, aligning with the Paris Agreement and national Vision 2030 goals.
Impact on Investors and Communities
The court’s ruling carries deep implications for both investors and local livelihoods. Centum’s subsidiary, Amu Power, had already invested around KSh 3.2 billion ($21 million) in feasibility studies, design work, and land acquisition.
A company spokesperson said Amu Power was “reviewing the judgment and considering its legal options.”
For Lamu residents, however, the decision was cause for celebration.
“This is not just a win for Lamu—it’s a win for all Kenyans who believe development must respect people and planet,” said Omar Elmawi, coordinator of the DeCOALonize Coalition, which led local resistance efforts.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International Kenya and the Kenya Human Rights Commission, welcomed the verdict, urging the government to compensate families affected by earlier land acquisitions. They also called for the redirection of public investment toward renewable infrastructure in coastal Kenya.
A Turning Point for Green Governance
Experts believe the Kenya court ruling could reshape how African countries balance industrialization with environmental responsibility.
“Kenya’s courts are increasingly defining the country’s sustainable development trajectory,” said Dr. Wanjira Mathai, Managing Director for Africa at the World Resources Institute. “This judgment shows that rule of law and green growth can advance together.”
The High Court decision effectively voids the Lamu plant’s environmental license. Any attempt to revive the project would require a fresh environmental review and new public consultations — a process expected to take years.
For now, the ruling positions Kenya as a continental leader in renewable energy governance. It also signals to international investors that environmental accountability is no longer optional in Africa’s infrastructure landscape.
Climate, Energy & Environment
U.S. Backs 1-Year AGOA Extension Amid Trade Strains
The Trump administration’s tariff hikes have eroded AGOA’s benefits. A short-term extension may not be enough to restore African confidence.
U.S. supports a 1-year AGOA extension; African exporters may suffer amid tariffs and tight deadlines for renewal.
A senior White House official confirmed that the Trump administration supports a one-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which is set to expire at the end of the month. While the move offers some reassurance to African exporters, significant uncertainty remains over whether Congress will act in time.
Trade flows underscore the stakes
U.S. trade with Africa has been rising: in 2024, total goods trade reached roughly $72 billion, with exports to Africa at $32.4 billion and imports at $39.6 billion, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office. The trade deficit stood at about $7.2 billion.
Under AGOA specifically, U.S. imports from beneficiary countries dropped to about $8 billion in 2024, down from $9.3 billion in 2023, according to a Congressional Research Service note. In 2023, imports under AGOA totaled nearly $9.7 billion, led by crude oil ($4.2 billion), apparel ($1.1 billion) and agricultural products, data from the Center for Global Development shows.
These figures illustrate how much is now at risk if AGOA were allowed to lapse.
Background: a pact under pressure
First enacted in 2000 under President Bill Clinton, AGOA grants eligible sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the U.S. market across many product lines. Over the decades, it has become a primary vehicle of U.S.–Africa economic engagement.
However, that preferential access has been eroded by the Trump administration’s unilateral tariffs—ranging from 10 percent to 30 percent—on several African exports. These measures have muted AGOA’s advantages, creating distrust among beneficiary nations.
Supporters argue AGOA has sustained hundreds of thousands of jobs in over 30 countries and served as a counterbalance to China’s rising presence in Africa.
Renewal prospects and obstacles
Despite White House backing, the window for Congress to renew AGOA is narrow. Leaders anticipate its extension may need to ride on a stopgap funding bill, a common legislative strategy for time-sensitive measures.
Still, internal divisions complicate that path. Some U.S. lawmakers question AGOA’s long-term efficacy and fairness, especially in a climate where tariffs have distorted the original benefits.
From the African side, pressure is intensifying. Delegations from Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa and others have urgently lobbied lawmakers and trade officials to act. Lesotho’s trade minister warned that delays could cost garment sector jobs.
South Africa’s trade minister, Parks Tau, voiced cautious optimism, noting bipartisan support in Congress but suggesting any extension is likely to be short (one to three years) to allow for later reforms. Tau is also in talks with U.S. officials over tariff relief on South African exports hit by 30 percent duties.
Consequences of lapse
If AGOA expires—even temporarily—analysts forecast sharp harm to sectors such as apparel, metals, chemicals, and agriculture. The International Trade Centre estimates Lesotho’s clothing exports could fall by nearly 29 percent, while South Africa’s car exports might shrink 23 percent by 2029.
Countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, and Eswatini are also seen as particularly vulnerable. Some firms already say they are cancelling U.S. orders or pivoting to alternative supply chains, according to Business of Fashion.
Beyond the economic toll, a lapse in AGOA would represent a diplomatic setback for the U.S. in Africa—particularly as China and others deepen their trade and investment presence across the continent.
The road ahead
A multiyear renewal seems unlikely in the short term. A one-year extension is the most politically feasible option under current constraints. Still, such a stopgap would not fully restore trust or correct structural distortions caused by recent tariffs.
Which way Congress leans—and whether it can build bipartisan momentum quickly—will determine whether AGOA endures, is reshaped, or quietly disappears. Time is ticking.
Renewable Energy & Access
Ethiopia Signs Nuclear Energy Agreement with Russia to Develop Power Plant
If completed, Ethiopia will become the second sub-Saharan African nation with nuclear power. Experts say the Ethiopia-Russia deal could serve as a model for Africa’s clean energy transition.
On September 25, Ethiopia signed a nuclear energy deal with Russia in Moscow, aiming to diversify power sources, build local expertise, and boost regional energy security.
Ethiopia Signs Landmark Nuclear Energy Deal with Russia to Diversify Power Sources
Ethiopia took a historic step on September 25, 2025, by signing a nuclear energy cooperation agreement with Russia in Moscow. The deal, formalized during a nuclear energy forum, involves the construction of a nuclear power plant in Ethiopia and represents a major leap in the country’s energy strategy. Ethiopian Electric Power CEO Ashebir Balcha and Rosatom CEO Aleksei Likhachev signed the comprehensive action plan, highlighting the nations’ commitment to collaboration in energy technology and infrastructure.
Strategic Significance for Ethiopia
The agreement outlines a roadmap for building the nuclear facility, covering technical planning, financing, and the creation of a Nuclear Science and Technology Center in Ethiopia. The deal also includes training Ethiopian personnel in nuclear operations to develop domestic expertise. For Ethiopia, this project marks a critical step toward diversifying its energy mix beyond hydropower, solar, and wind.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed emphasized the importance of the initiative: “Nuclear technology provides reliable, low-emission power, strengthens food security, optimizes water management, and empowers our scientists.” He added that Ethiopia’s rapidly growing economy and population of over 130 million demand a diversified energy portfolio. Current investments, including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), are not sufficient to meet future energy needs.
The Deal’s Scope and Capacity Building
Under the agreement, Rosatom will assist Ethiopia in constructing the nuclear power plant while building local technical capacity. Ethiopian engineers and technicians will receive specialized training in nuclear science, safety protocols, and operations. This ensures that the project does not only generate power but also strengthens Ethiopia’s scientific and technological base.
Ashebir Balcha, CEO of Ethiopian Electric Power, said: “This nuclear facility is more than energy generation; it’s about building knowledge, capacity, and innovation for Ethiopia’s future.” The initiative positions Ethiopia to emerge as a regional hub for advanced energy technology.
Regional and Continental Implications
If completed, Ethiopia would become only the second sub-Saharan African country after South Africa to operate a nuclear power plant. This milestone would demonstrate Africa’s capacity to adopt advanced, low-carbon energy solutions and could serve as a blueprint for other nations facing surging energy demand.
For example, this May, neighbouring Kenya signed a $1b renewable energy deal positioning itself as Africa’s green leader.
Energy analysts highlight that Ethiopia’s growing population, urbanization, and industrialization require a resilient energy system. According to the World Bank, electricity demand in Ethiopia is projected to double over the next decade. Nuclear energy, with high reliability and low greenhouse gas emissions, offers a sustainable solution to meet this demand.
The development also has broader geopolitical implications. By partnering with Russia, Ethiopia strengthens strategic ties while signaling its intention to diversify energy sources and reduce dependence on a single energy type. The project enhances regional energy security, providing a potential model for neighboring countries in East Africa.
Risks and Challenges
Despite the promise, nuclear energy projects are complex, expensive, and politically sensitive. Ensuring safe operations, adhering to international safety standards, and securing consistent funding are critical for the project’s success. Ethiopia must also manage public perception and regional concerns over nuclear proliferation, while demonstrating transparency and regulatory compliance.
A Vision for Sustainable Energy
The Ethiopia-Russia nuclear partnership represents a forward-looking approach to energy security. Combined with hydropower, solar, and wind, nuclear energy will contribute to a diversified, sustainable power system capable of supporting economic growth, innovation, and social development.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stressed: “The nuclear deal is a strategic investment in our nation’s human capital, technological capacity, and future prosperity.” By integrating nuclear power, Ethiopia sets a precedent for the continent, showing that African nations can safely and effectively adopt advanced energy solutions to meet rising demand.
Explore further: Rosatom | Ethiopian Electric Power | Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam | South Africa Nuclear Program
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