30km fence to protect South Western Mau Forest in Kenya
The government of Kenya, through the State Department for Forestry, in partnership with IDH has officially launched the South Western Mau Fencing project. This fence is part of a project aimed at enhancing forest conservation and restoring critical ecosystems, while serving as a flagship for collaborative landscape investment across Kenya and beyond.
30km fence to protect South Western Mau Forest in Kenya
The government of Kenya, through the State Department for Forestry, in partnership with IDH has officially launched the South Western Mau Fencing project. This fence is part of a project aimed at enhancing forest conservation and restoring critical ecosystems, while serving as a flagship for collaborative landscape investment across Kenya and beyond.
The project marks a key milestone in over a decade of collaboration between the government and development partners, focuses on securing the north-eastern boundary of the South Western Mau forest through strategic fencing. This initiative is part of long-term efforts to combat deforestation, reduce human-wildlife conflict, and improve livelihoods through sustainable land use.
Speaking during the launch, Dr. Deborah M. Barasa, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry in Kenya, emphasised the government’s commitment to safeguarding natural forests through community-led and partnership-driven models.
Representing IDH, CEO Daan Wensing, noted the importance of this investment in forest security as a foundation for future restoration, climate resilience, and inclusive green growth.
“Protecting the Mau is not only an environmental duty but a national responsibility. This fencing project will reinforce our conservation efforts while ensuring harmony between communities and protected lands.”
“At IDH, we believe that regenerating nature is also about regenerating markets. The program and the fencing initiative showcases how targeted investment, local ownership, and shared vision can restore ecosystems and secure the future of supply chains. We are proud to work alongside the government of Kenya in scaling this solution—and we invite new partners to help us go further and faster.”
The South Western Mau fencing initiative is part of a broader portfolio of landscape programs led by IDH across Africa, Latin America and Asia. With a track record of co-creating scalable, investable solutions, IDH continues to bridge the gap between climate ambition and implementation on the ground. This launch marks a critical step toward building a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable future.
About South Western Mau Forest
The South Western Mau forest is a vital water catchment and biodiversity hotspot. It supports millions of Kenyans by regulating water flow, supporting agriculture, and acting as a carbon sink. The new fencing initiative will secure over 30 kilometres of forest boundary, directly impacting conservation outcomes for future generations.
About Initiative for Sustainable Landscapes (ISLA) Kenya program
IDH, through the Initiative for Sustainable Landscapes (ISLA) Kenya program, is committed to restoring and conserving 60,000 hectares of the South Western Mau forest block by 2025.
The Mau Forest Complex in western Kenya covers an area of over 400,000ha and is ecologically and economically critical for Kenya and parts of East Africa. More than 10 million people depend on its rivers. The forest also influences the region’s microclimate such as rainfall patterns, creating ideal conditions to produce crops such as tea. Furthermore, the area is one of Kenya’s main water towers and a significant percentage of its hydroelectric power is generated here.
The Mau Forest, the heart of Kenya’s ecosystem, faces serious threats from encroachment, overgrazing, unsustainable wood extraction, fires, and poaching. In recent decades, more than 25% of the forest has either been cut down or degraded, putting tea production, other sectors and community livelihoods at risk. This is caused by growing populations, unsustainable livestock grazing, charcoal burning and timber extraction from the forest.
Recognising the need and urgency, IDH launched an integrated action approach in 2015 to address these challenges in South Western Mau forest, the largest block of the Mau Forest complex, and a crucial watershed for the Sondu Miriu River Basin. A strong coalition of the Nakuru, Kericho and Bomet, national government agencies, tea, energy and telecommunications companies, NGOs, community groups, implementing partners and knowledge institutions was built to work together across the landscape.
IDH collaborating with partners to protect the Mau forest in Kenya
