Kenya Showcases Bold Chiefs-Led Climate Security Programme at Africa Summit

Kenya presented its National Climate Change Security Resilience Programme (NCCSRP) as a model for locally driven climate action that will position the country as a committed partner in sustainable development and climate security during the Second Africa Climate Summit in Addis Ababa.

The flagship programme seeks to integrate climate adaptation with national security and grassroots governance.

It is anchored on a people-centered strategy that leverages Kenya’s unique administrative structure, particularly the country’s 4,000 chiefs, who are leading climate action at the community level.

Speaking at a side event during the Summit, Internal Security Principal Secretary Dr. Raymond Omollo emphasized that the success of this programme lies in how it uniquely integrates climate adaptation with national security and grassroots governance, an approach designed to foster resilience, peace, and sustainable development.

“Financing climate-security solutions at the community level yields triple dividends – peace, resilience, and green growth. What makes this model truly transformative is not only its scale but also its guiding philosophy, which recognizes that climate action must be locally owned yet nationally coordinated,” he said.

He added that resilience is strongest when built from the ground up.

Omollo highlighted the systematic scaling up of environmental stewardship, from villages to communities nationwide.

“Chiefs, with their convening power, intelligence networks, and trusted role as the link between government and citizens, are invaluable force multipliers for resilience, peace, and sustainable development.”

The NCCSRP has already introduced the Chiefs Climate Action Day, observed every first Friday of the month, where Chiefs mobilize their communities to plant trees, restore degraded landscapes, and strengthen local resilience.

This, according to Dr. Omollo, demonstrates how grassroots leadership can drive national and continental transformation.

“Our Chiefs have shown that when local communities are empowered with tools, trust, and leadership, climate action becomes both scalable and sustainable,” he said.

Concrete results are already evident. Since the inception of the programme less than a year ago, more than 114 million trees have been planted as part of Kenya’s ambitious 15-Billion Tree Growing Campaign (2022-2032).

Chiefs alone have mobilized over two million community members across the country, with more than 6.4 million seedlings delivered and a survival rate of 60 percent – all achieved without external financing.

The programme also incorporates conflict mitigation as a central pillar.

Chiefs and administrators are tasked with identifying and mediating disputes, implementing locally led restoration activities, and applying climate intelligence to strengthen early warning and rapid response systems.

“As a matter of fact, Africa does not lack ideas, nor do we lack tested models. What we require is sustainable and predictable financing to replicate and scale successful interventions. Imagine the transformative impact if such models were implemented across all 54 nations: millions of livelihoods safeguarded, conflicts prevented, ecosystems restored, and economies stabilised.”

The initiative has already drawn recognition from regional bodies.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) through its Climate Prediction and Application Centre (ICPAC) have partnered with Kenya to train officers using a Climate, Peace, and Security Curriculum and to introduce a Digital Decision Support Framework – a real-time reporting tool accessible via mobile USSD platforms.

Experts note that while involving security and administration agencies in climate action may seem unconventional, it is increasingly relevant as climate change acts as a threat multiplier, which is now exacerbating resource scarcity, fueling conflicts, and undermining peace and stability.

Kenya’s model, Dr. Omollo noted, shows how existing community structures can be harnessed to deliver measurable climate outcomes while reinforcing peace and governance.

“The battle against climate change will not be won in boardrooms or policy forums alone. It will be won in our villages, locations, farms, rangelands, and forests – where ordinary citizens, guided by visionary leadership, transform resilience into reality. Together, let us make climate security a governance imperative – the foundation of a peaceful, safe, and prosperous Africa.”

To this end, Kenya has invited governments, development partners, financiers, and the private sector to join in scaling the programme across the region, with the conviction that grassroots climate leadership is the most predictable and sustainable pathway to climate security and resilience.