In early mornings across rural Kenya, as the long rains approach, farmers are already at work. Fields are being cleared, seeds checked, and planting plans quietly rehearsed. But this year,…
KOMOTE, Kenya — At sunrise on Komote Island, 36-year-old James Lekubo walks his two children down a rocky hillside to the water’s edge, where they clamber into a small fishing…
The influence of Christianity in public life in Kenya is undisputed. Indeed, for more than a century, everyday life in the country — from education to health care and politics…
KISUMU, Kenya — On a December morning, the early sunshine casts a golden sheen on the waters of Lake Victoria in Kenya’s Kisumu county. The breeze from the lake carries…
This is the end of a saga that has stirred nature and tourism enthusiasts in Kenya for the past six months. The Environment and Land Court at Narok dismissed a…
NAIROBI — On Kenya’s eastern coast, a small-scale fisher lugs the day’s catch onto a table for processing and selling. Chances are, mostly threatened species like the scalloped hammerhead shark…
As the afternoon fades at the Three Sisters Caves in Kenya’s Kwale county, David Wechuli’s team begins setting up nearly invisible nets along the hillsides in the coastal forest. “When…
KAPESE, Kenya — At first glance, there is little to suggest that Kapese, a dusty settlement of traditional manyattas and free-roaming livestock scattered across the parched landscape of northern Kenya’s…
Lions, Africa’s largest predators, are a near-universal source of fear for the continent’s wildlife. But in Kenya, it’s the king of the jungle that’s now becoming fearful — of domestic…
From shorebirds flying between their Arctic breeding grounds and southerly foraging ranges to freshwater fish returning to native spawning streams, migratory animals are struggling. About half of all migratory species…
LOKICHAR, Kenya — On a recent Sunday afternoon in Lokichar, a small town in Kenya’s northern Turkana region, the expansive grounds of the Black Gold Hotel are deserted, aside from…
A deceptively simple question underlies many global environmental policies: where, exactly, are the world’s forests? A new study suggests the answer depends heavily on which map one consults—and that the…
MOMBASA COUNTY, Kenya — Five minutes’ walk up the hilly road from the mangroves lining the tidal flats of Jomvu Creek, the sharp scent of sea water fills the air.…
Mangrove forests, located along tropical and subtropical coastlines, are increasingly recognized for their role in buffering climate disasters, storing carbon, supporting wildlife and livelihoods. Yet even as interest in mangrove…
In 2022, when William Ruto was elected president of Kenya, he pledged that his government would plant 15 billion trees by 2032. Many observers saw it as a bold and…
The death of a well-known wild animal is an odd kind of news. It is intimate, because so many people feel they have met the creature through photographs and video.…
From the shores of Sanita Kitole’s quiet coastal town of Uyombo in southern Kenya, one can see dolphins bobbing in the water from time to time. The environmental activist has…
In the vast savanna grasslands of sub-Saharan Africa towers the giraffe, draped in mosaics of brown and tan patches. Long regarded as a single species, this iconic African megafauna was…
A 22-year-old woman is the subject of celebration after she hugged a tree continuously for 72 hours amid fluctuating temperatures and rainfall on the foot of Mount Kenya. Truphena Muthoni’s…
For nearly six decades, Iain Douglas-Hamilton worked across the savannas of Africa, his scientific focus fixed on its largest inhabitants — the elephants. It was said he could identify an…
From Dec. 8-12, Kenya will host delegates from governments, civil society, industry and scientific agencies for the United Nations Environment Assembly at a time of profound environmental challenges and growing…
“Look, giraffes are walking in front of me. We have hundreds of them in our conservancy. There are zebras, too, see! And elephants,” Nelson Ole Reiyia describes during a phone…
This series, Voices from the Land, brings together opinion pieces led and written by Indigenous peoples from around the world. Through these commentaries, we share our lived realities and reflections…
NAIROBI — The Karura Forest covers about 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) just north of the Kenyan capital. Thousands of locals visit the forest every month, to escape Nairobi’s noisy streets…
The regularly used airstrip outside the town of Archers Post, in northern Kenya, was closed after being damaged in heavy rains, so my flight landed at an even tinier dirt…
“It is perfect!” exclaims Anthony Kingi, a member of Uyombo community and an environmental activist. “Kenya doesn’t need it. However, if they must build it, I’m glad it’s not in…
If you’ve watched The Lion King, you probably remember the scene where Mufasa falls into and is trampled by a massive herd of stampeding wildebeests. In real life, as one…
BARINGO, Kenya — Salina Chepsat and a neighbor are loading tomatoes into a vehicle in the scorching midday heat. Chepsat picked the produce earlier that morning from her farm in…
KAKAMEGA, Kenya — A Monday morning finds 50 members of the Nzoia Community Forest Association trekking through rain-drenched thickets in the 5,300 hectare (13,000 acre ) Nzoia Forest Plantation. They…
KAKAMEGA, Kenya — Tropical rainforest once extended east from the Congo Basin into what is now western Kenya. That’s almost all gone now, though there are still plenty of trees…
Kenya is in the process of building its very first nuclear power station. According to forecasts by the Kenya Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA), construction is due to start…
NAIVASHA, Kenya — It was still dark when the call came. Grace Nyambura, known to her neighbors in Karagita as Mama Chuma, was asleep when she got a call from…
