As Kenyans mourn former Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga for his political prowess and fighting for democracy, his contribution to environment conservation cannot go unrecognised.
At a time when few political leaders were willing to confront powerful interests behind environmental degradation, Odinga stood firm.
In 2009, as Prime Minister in the Grand Coalition Government, Raila spearheaded what remains one of Kenya’s boldest and most controversial environmental interventions – the eviction of illegal settlers from the Mau Forest Complex.
At the time, massive deforestation, illegal logging, and encroachment had reduced forest cover drastically, drying up critical rivers that sustain major economic sectors
“Raila Odinga’s leadership on the Mau was visionary,” says Dr. Judith Nyambura, an environmental policy scholar. “He took an unpopular decision because he understood that without water, Kenya’s economy would collapse. It was not about politics. It was about national survival.”
Despite fierce political backlash and accusations of insensitivity, Raila insisted that protecting the Mau was a moral, ecological, and economic necessity.
“You cannot destroy the forests that feed our rivers and expect to survive,” he said during a rally in Narok. “Protecting the Mau is not about tribe or politics; it’s about our children’s tomorrow.”
The government subsequently launched a reforestation and rehabilitation program, establishing the Mau Forest Restoration Secretariat to coordinate recovery. Over the years, thousands of hectares of degraded land have regenerated, and water flow in several rivers has stabilized
Raila’s environmental advocacy extends beyond forests to Kenya’s threatened lake ecosystems. He has been a consistent voice for the protection and restoration of Lake Victoria, East Africa’s largest freshwater body, and Yala Swamp, one of Kenya’s most important wetlands.
As a son of the lake region, Odinga has championed the fight against water hyacinth infestation, a menace that has choked fisheries, blocked navigation, and destroyed aquatic biodiversity. He has personally inspected cleanup projects and supported the deployment of water hyacinth harvesters along the Kisumu shoreline.
“Raila Odinga understood that water is life,” says Kisumu-based ecologist Lydia Achieng’. “His advocacy for Lake Victoria’s health is not just regional. It’s about livelihoods, food security, and climate resilience for the entire basin.”
In 2018, he launched a regional call for joint action by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to tackle pollution, overfishing, and industrial waste threatening the lake.
Beyond domestic conservation, Raila emerged as one of Africa’s loudest voices for climate justice. He repeatedly called on developed nations to honour their climate finance pledges, urging them to release billions promised to help developing countries cope with the escalating impacts of global warming.
In 2024, he told an environmental forum in Nairobi: “Africa contributes the least to climate change, yet we suffer the most. The global north must not only pay its climate debt, it must partner with Africa to build a sustainable future.”
As an advocate of green energy transition, Odinga backed the expansion of geothermal and wind energy, calling them the engines of Kenya’s future industrialization. His previous government initiatives helped lay the groundwork for renewable energy investments that now power large parts of the national grid.
In the era of devolved government, Odinga emphasized that counties should be evaluated and rewarded based on their environmental performance. He proposed incentives for counties that excel in forest restoration, clean energy adoption, and pollution control, arguing that “development without sustainability is self-destruction.”
While environmental protection has rarely been the most politically rewarding cause in Kenya, Raila’s record reveals a pattern of courageous, forward-looking environmental leadership.
“Raila’s environmental legacy shows that leadership is not about popularity but about principle,” notes Prof. Peter Kamau, an environmental historian. “He chose to defend the Mau when it was easier to stay silent. Today, Kenya’s rivers, lakes, and forests still breathe because someone had the courage to act.”
