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The event,\u00a0 to be held today 5th June 2026 under the global theme \u201cInspired by Nature for Climate for Our Future,\u201d <\/strong>is expected to draw national and county government officials, development partners, environmental agencies, community groups, youth, women, farmers, schools, and local residents for a major demonstration of collective climate action and environmental stewardship.<\/p>\nSpeaking on the choice of venue, Chief Officer for Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, Mr. Jared Abayo, said Ufinya Dam perfectly embodies the kind of practical, community-driven solutions the county is championing.\u201cUfinya Dam represents the future of locally-led climate action,\u201d said Abayo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt demonstrates how ecosystem restoration can be integrated with food security, water resource protection, biodiversity conservation, green enterprise development, and community empowerment \u2014 exactly what this year\u2019s World Environment Day theme calls for.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ongoing Ufinya Dam project seeks to restore a vital community water resource while generating sustainable livelihoods through climate-smart agriculture, fisheries, apiculture, agroforestry, renewable energy, and ecosystem restoration. The initiative is supported by KSh 7.1 million from the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) Programme and aligns with Kenya\u2019s Climate Change Act, the National Climate Change Action Plan, and several Sustainable Development Goals.<\/p>\n
More than 11,000 residents \u2014 including women, youth, persons with disabilities, and vulnerable households are expected to benefit directly.<\/p>\n
Key project interventions include desiltation of the dam, riparian restoration, climate-smart horticulture, fish farming, beekeeping, the establishment of a 60,000-seedling agroforestry nursery, and the promotion of energy-saving cook stoves.<\/p>\n
As part of the celebrations, participants will engage in a major tree-planting and riparian restoration exercise to strengthen the dam\u2019s catchment area and boost local tree cover.<\/p>\n
A key highlight will be the official unveiling of the proposed Ufinya Eco and Agrotourism Park, a community-led initiative designed to transform the site into a hub for environmental education, biodiversity conservation, ecotourism, research, climate awareness, and sustainable enterprise development. The park will feature an arboretum and biological garden showcasing indigenous, medicinal, fruit, and nut tree species.<\/p>\n
Mr. Abayo said the celebrations are intended to deliver a lasting legacy for Siaya County. \u201cThe future of climate action lies in empowering communities to restore and sustainably manage their natural resources,\u201d he said. \u201cThrough this World Environment Day event, we are showing that environmental conservation and economic development can go hand in hand. Ufinya is becoming a living example of how nature-based solutions can transform lives and build resilience for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Siaya joins the global community in marking World Environment Day 2026, the message from Ufinya is clear: protecting and restoring nature is both an ecological necessity and a strategic investment in food security, economic prosperity, and long-term climate resilience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The County Government of Siaya through the Department of Water, Irrigation, Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources has selected the Ufinya Dam Rehabilitation and Climate-Smart Livelihoods Project in Nyandiwa Sub-location, Siaya Township Ward, as the venue for this year\u2019s World Environment Day celebrations. The event,\u00a0 to be held today 5th June 2026 under the global […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":30096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siaya.go.ke\/siaya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}