Lekurruki, Morupusi & Koija Community Lands in Final Stages of Participatory Land Use Planning

Notices of completion for the three community land

Lekurruki, Morupusi and Koija community lands are approaching a major milestone in participatory land-use planning, with notices of completion published for their proposed plans. Once approved by the County Assembly and gazetted, the plans will provide a framework for communities to manage their land, secure their rights, improve governance and balance conservation, livelihoods and development priorities over the next 10 years.

The milestone follows an extensive, community-led planning process supported by LCA in partnership with the Wyss Academy for Nature and the Global Environment Facility, GEF-8.  The journey begun with the publication of notices of intention to plan, followed by Free, Prior and Informed Consent, FPIC, consultations and county inception meetings. These initial stages helped establish the basis for community participation and engagement with relevant stakeholders.

Resource mapping was then undertaken to understand the land, its resources, existing uses and opportunities, community aspirations, local knowledge, socio-economic information and ecological considerations, in order to develop plans that reflect both the current needs and long-term priorities of each community. This informed the SWOT analysis, community visioning and proposal development, ensuring that the plans were grounded in local realities and community aspirations.

Further work included socio-economic surveys, situation analysis, boundary verification, resource mapping, stakeholder engagement and validation of the proposed plans. Through these stages, communities identified priorities for infrastructure and services, including healthcare and education, conservation and grazing, alongside opportunities for tourism, nature-based enterprises and other livelihood activities. The plans also address land-use pressures and security concerns.

At the heart of the process is the need to manage community land sustainably as populations grow and demands on land increase. The proposed plans identify and allocate areas for different uses, including settlement, grazing, conservation and wildlife movement corridors. This zoning will help reduce conflicts between competing land uses, protect important ecological areas and create clearer guidance for how land should be managed. It also provides a basis for more deliberate grazing management, reseeding, restoration and land regeneration, helping communities strengthen climate resilience and reduce erosion and degradation.

The plans also recognize the economic opportunities that can emerge from well-managed land. By protecting natural resources, allowing degraded areas to recover and supporting appropriate land uses, communities will strengthen livelihoods through activities such as agriculture, tourism and nature-based programmes, including opportunities linked to carbon stocks.

The publication of the notices of completion marks the beginning of a 60-day period during which community members and other relevant parties can raise issues or submit objections concerning the proposed plans to the County Government. Following this period, the plans are expected to proceed to the County Assembly for consideration and approval, followed by gazettement. Once adopted, they will provide a formal framework for guiding land use over the next decade.

The community will then convene to adopt the land use plans and begin plans to develop the management plans for specific zones key among them grazing, settlement, conservation among others.