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to declare the coastal zone a protected area. It also mandates the Cabinet Secretary to survey
and prepare an integrated national coastal zone management plan based on survey report (section
55). Section 55 imposes criminal sanctions against any person who releases hazardous substances
into the coastal zone. Convicted polluters are required to pay not less than one million or face
an imprisonment not exceeding two years (subsection 5). The National Environment Managemeet
Authority is the regulatory body and it is responsible for coordinating environmental management
activities; examining land use patterns to ascertain impact on quantity and quality of natural resources;
Country Profile
advising the government on legislative and other environmental management measures including the
implementation of international convention; and assessing activities to ensure they do no degrade
the environment.
The Republic of Kenya
Kenya Ports Authority Act 2012 established the Kenya Ports Authority (section 3) and provides for
its functions, management and operations including power to construct ports, wharf and pier. The
Authority is also responsible for cleaning and deepening the ports, determining levies, rates and fares
charged, and prohibiting and regulating the use of any service provided by the Authority. Most of
these activities have been limited to the Mombasa port and harbours in Lamu, Kilifi, Malindi, Mtwapa,
Shimoni, Vanga, Kiunzi and Funzi. However, there have been new developments over recent years
including the construction of a new container and oil terminal and the development of the Standard
Gauge Railway linking Mombasa and Nairobi. These all come with added need for environmental
scrutiny as the probability of ecosystem degradation is high.

Marine Protection Areas
The concept of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) began in 1968 with the establishment of the Malindi-
Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve. Currently, Kenya’s marine protection areas cover an area
of about 1,139 km , representing about 10 per cent of the territorial waters. There are two types of
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MPAs in Kenya - marine national park and marine national reserve. The former prohibits any form of
consumptive utilization but research and tourism. The latter allows the traditional resource utilization
including research and tourism. MPAs in Kenya aim at protecting the marine and conserving the
coastal and marine ecosystem and biodiversity such as the seagrass, mangrove, coral reefs and
beaches. The sustainable conservation of the coastal and marine biodiversity is crucial for the sake
of the future of generation. It is also important to protect the marine diversity for research, recreation,
education and other development purposes.

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