Kenya’s development must strike a balance between growth, environmental protection, and community wellbeing, according to Fredrick Njau, Programmes Coordinator at the Heinrich Boell Foundation.
Speaking in an interview on Radio Generation, Njau said that for development to be truly sustainable, it must consider not just infrastructure, but also social, human, and ecological impacts.
“For our foundation, we talk about sustainable development, because development has to be in totality,” Njau explained.
He noted that civil society is often accused of being anti-development when raising environmental concerns, yet major projects have shown the risks of ignoring these issues.
The Nairobi Expressway, for example, led to the removal of large numbers of trees, while the LAPSSET corridor, stretching from Lamu to northern Ethiopia, disrupted communities’ livelihoods and natural habitats.
“There could be impacts on human rights or the livelihood of people,” Njau said, pointing out that some coastal families lost access to fishing grounds and other resources due to development activities.
The 2027 report by the Economic and Social Rights Centre (Hakijamii) indicates that the LAPSSET Corridor has affected numerous households and communities across nine Kenyan counties, including Lamu, Garissa, Isiolo, Meru, Laikipia, Baringo, Samburu, and Marsabit.
The project has impacted pastoralists, fishers, and farmers through land acquisition, changes in livelihoods—such as shifts in fishing grounds and loss of grazing areas—competition over resources like water and land, and displacement.
Studies also highlight socio-cultural effects and raise concerns about inadequate compensation, particularly for pastoralists who have lost access to grazing and watering rights.
Njau emphasized that sustainable development is not about halting progress, but about planning infrastructure responsibly.
“We look at the environment in totality, in terms of how you mitigate destruction as you carry out development,” he said.
He warned that poorly designed projects can worsen natural hazards: “You can build a road, then it exacerbates flooding because all the drainage leads towards a certain community.”
He called on engineers and developers to ensure new infrastructure is climate-proofed and does not create new risks for communities.
Njau stressed that focusing only on physical infrastructure while ignoring social and environmental considerations is both dangerous and unsustainable.
“That’s the sustainable development we are looking for,” he said, adding that strong mitigation measures and inclusive planning are essential to ensure Kenya’s growth benefits people without harming the environment.
For Njau, the key to progress lies in integrating environmental protection, social well-being, and climate-conscious planning into every stage of development.
Only by considering these elements together can Kenya achieve growth that is truly sustainable and resilient.
