Kenya
Communities shaping fair climate solutions
An estimated 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity exists within the traditional territories of Indigenous and pastoralist communities. These communities are nature’s best stewards, but they often lack the legal right to restore, conserve, and manage their land.
In Kenya, communities have had the right to own and register their land since 2016, but only a few have received a title deed. Paralegals continued walking alongside communities throughout 2024, helping them meet the requirements for registration, like establishing bylaws and electing Community Land Management Committees (CLMCs) composed of at least 30% women. Community members like Salante say the process has been a catalyst for positive change:
“It has brought equality… Now [women] are involved in land management and conservation.”
Nonetheless, the government has been slow to process applications, leaving communities like Salante’s unable to govern their lands, negotiate fair deals with investors, or plan for climate-resilience initiatives.
With Namati’s support, community leaders came together from across Kenya to create an action plan. In November, they marched to parliament where they submitted a petition calling for immediate action and listing their demands. The Clerk of Parliament promised to invite them for further deliberation.
Together with the Ministry of Lands and the National Land Commission, we also created a manual that sets out a practical roadmap for how CLMCs in Kenya can work with their communities to fulfill the requirements of the Community Land Act (CLA). The Ministry plans to distribute this practical guide to its staff across the country.
Man attending CLOAK protest to demand land rights in Kenya.
Meanwhile, we continued to support 27 pastoral communities to bargain collectively for a fair deal with the world’s largest soil-based carbon project. The project covers 4.5 million acres and has been around for over a decade, but it was not until the communities took action in 2023 that they were able to see the current legal agreement that governs the project. By year’s end, all 27 communities agreed on a list of core demands and the project proponent agreed to a re-negotiation, with the aim of signing a new agreement in 2025.
This grassroots experience informed our recommendations for Kenya’s new carbon market regulation. When the final draft was issued it included several of the changes we had championed: carbon projects now must have free, prior, informed, consent from communities, include CLMCs in negotiations, and issue at least 40% of the aggregated revenue to communities.
Salante Lebulkash’s Story
When Women Lead
When people know, use, and shape the law, they can challenge the power structures and norms that silence women and diverse genders. In 2024, we brought together frontline justice advocates from 15 countries tackling the gendered impacts of land, environmental, and climate injustice. Together, we explored ways to improve women’s participation in land governance, such as the women’s leadership boot camp that Salante joined, and shared powerful examples like the Community Land Rights Act of Sierra Leone, which grants women and men equal right to land. We compiled these lessons into a toolkit that serves movements for justice, land, and gender. Looking ahead, we are compiling tools for community paralegals to strengthen gender inclusion, and will launch a gender justice and legal empowerment course as part of the Grassroots Justice Network Academy.
Our Impact at a Glance
