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Promoting Biodiversity Mainstreaming for Food and Nutrition Security

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By Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD (Leading Environmental Law Scholar, Policy Advisor, Natural Resources Lawyer and Dispute Resolution Expert from Kenya), Winner of Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021, ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and CIArb (Kenya) Lifetime Achievement Award 2021*

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aims to not only achieve biodiversity conservation but to also mainstream such measures into efforts towards achieving food and nutrition security. This is due to the important role that biodiversity plays in achieving food and nutrition security. Biodiversity mainstreaming is defined as ensuring that biodiversity and the services it offers are correctly and adequately included into policies and practices that rely on and affect it.

Adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture

Plant productivity varies due to variances in inherent soil fertility, climate and weather, and chemical inputs and agricultural methods, resulting in patterns of biological diversity linked to the agricultural component of economic productivity. One of the ways of promoting food security in the face of climate change is adoption of climate smart agriculture. FAO defines Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) as an approach that helps to guide actions needed to transform and reorient agricultural systems to effectively support development and ensure food security in a changing climate. CSA aims to tackle three main objectives: sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes; adapting and building resilience to climate change; and reducing and/or removing greenhouse gas emissions, where possible. CSA is an approach for developing agricultural strategies to secure sustainable food security under climate change. CSA provides the means to help stakeholders from local to national and international levels identify agricultural strategies suitable to their local conditions.

Protection of Pollinators

Pollinators are an important part of the food supply chain and must be protected. Climate change, according to experts, will have a significant impact on insects’ physiology (how they live and reproduce), behavior, and morphological characteristics, as well as their connections with other species (like host plants and natural enemies). As a result, huge changes in insect population dynamics, abundance, and geographic distribution are expected. In terms of vulnerability to insect-transmitted diseases and availability of key services supplied by insects such as pollination and pest regulation, these changes will have both beneficial and negative consequences for people, livestock, and crops. Thus, this must form part of the wider debate in the quest for food and nutrition security.

Embracing Production and Consumption of Traditional and Indigenous Food Varieties

To face the problem of feeding the world’s population of about nine billion people by 2050, it has been suggested that we should consider not just producing enough food responsibly, but also working toward diverse nutrition, which implies providing a good diet for everyone. Traditional dietary patterns are being phased out, which is having significant nutritional effects for rural Indigenous peoples, who are already suffering from nutritional deficiencies and excesses. Traditional food consumption and production practices can help to increase nutritional security by smoothing out dietary transitions, supplying nutrients, and increasing agricultural resilience. Traditional agriculture practices assist healthy ecosystems by restoring biodiversity.

Native foods are thought to have untapped potential to help the 26% of Kenyan children who suffer from chronic undernutrition (which impairs development and growth), as well as the 4.1 percent who are overweight or obese, mostly in urban areas. A lack of established market channels, poor agronomic practices, and limited information about the production, consumption, and marketing of traditional plants have also been reported as hurdles to increasing nutrition status, food security, and overall wellbeing in Kenyan families. As a result, a grassroots strategy is required in Kenya, where stakeholders can perform cooperative plant research and coordinate school, policymaker, and farmer meetings in order to boost productivity and establish an enabling policy and market environment for underutilized crops. Projects like the Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition Project, which is funded by the Global Environment Facility and led by the UN Environment Programme and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, are taking steps in the right direction to promote traditional foods in Kenyan homes and schools, and they should be supported and expanded especially within the rural areas.

Promoting Biological Pest Control Approaches

Biological control is a part of a comprehensive pest management plan. It is described as the use of natural enemies to reduce pest populations, and it usually involves human involvement.85 In terms of the quantity of species and agricultural uses, agricultural habitats and landscapes serve as a diversity reservoir (pollination, recycling of organic matter, amongst others). Agricultural intensification, on the other hand, puts this variety in jeopardy. The use of mineral fertilisers and synthetic pesticides, as well as the “simplification” of agricultural landscapes due to a decline in the diversity of production systems, are said to have contributed to an increase in cultivated area productivity. Agricultural intensification has thus been cited as one of the key drivers of global biodiversity decrease, despite the fact that it has helped humanity to feed a growing global population.

Mineral fertilizers and pesticides can degrade habitat quality at the local-field level, while the conversion of perennial habitats (grassland) to arable fields, as well as the destruction of field boundaries and hedges, results in the loss of semi-natural habitats and simplification at the landscape level, including changes in the distribution and supply of resources for many species and the food webs that depend on them. Biodiversity is valued at all scales of the agricultural landscape, from soil bacteria that assist cycle nutrients and decompose organic matter, to wasps and bats that help decrease crop pests, to birds and insects that pollinate high-value crops. Not only does maintaining biodiversity aid crop productivity, but many organisms and species have evolved to rely on specific agricultural environments for their very survival. Agriculture, in other words, both supports and is supported by biodiversity preservation. To this end, biological pest control in arable fields is a vital ecosystem service given by high-diversity landscapes and species rich enemy populations, but it is vulnerable to agricultural intensification.

*This article is an extract from the Article: Biodiversity Mainstreaming for Food and Nutrition Security in Kenya by Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD, Kenya’s ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021 (Nairobi Legal Awards), ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 and ADR Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 (CIArb Kenya). Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a foremost Environmental Law and Natural Resources Lawyer and Scholar, Sustainable Development Advocate and Conflict Management Expert in Kenya. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a Senior Lecturer of Environmental Law and Dispute resolution at the University of Nairobi School of Law and The Center for Advanced Studies in Environmental Law and Policy (CASELAP). He has published numerous books and articles on Environmental Law, Environmental Justice Conflict Management, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Sustainable Development. Dr. Muigua is also a Chartered Arbitrator, an Accredited Mediator, the Africa Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Managing Partner of Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates. Dr. Muigua is recognized among the top 5 leading lawyers and dispute resolution experts in Kenya by the Chambers Global Guide 2022.

 

References

Muigua, K., Biodiversity Mainstreaming for Food and Nutrition Security in Kenya,” (KMCO, 2021) Available at: http://kmco.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/ 2021/12/ Biodiversity-Mainstreaming-for-Food-and-Nutrition-Security-in-Kenya-Kariuki-Muigua-December-2021.pdf (accessed on 05/04/2022).

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The Roles of the Three Parts of the Permanent Court of Arbitration

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H.E. Amb. Marcin Czepelak, the Fourteenth Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)

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Brief History of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)

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By Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD, C.Arb, Current Member of Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Representing the Republic of Kenya.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a 124 Years Old Intergovernmental Organization currently with 122 contracting states. It was established at the turn of 20th Century during the first Hague Peace Conference held between 18th May and 29th July 1899. The conference was an initiative of then Russian Czar Nicholas II to discuss peace and disarmament and specifically with the object of “seeking the most effective means of ensuring to all peoples the benefits of a real and lasting peace, and, above all, of limiting the progressive development of existing armaments.” The culmination of the conference was the adoption of a Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, which dealt not only with arbitration but also with other methods of pacific settlement, such as good offices and mediation.

The aim of the conference was to “strengthen systems of international dispute resolution” especially international arbitration which in the last century had proven effective for the purpose with number of successful international arbitrations being concluded among Nations. The Alabama arbitration of 1871-1872 between the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) under the Treaty of Washington of 1871 culminating in the arbitral tribunal’s award that the UK pay the US compensation for breach of neutrality during American Civil War which it did had demonstrated the effectiveness of arbitration in settling of international disputes and piqued interest of many practitioners in it as a mode of dispute resolution during the latter years of the nineteenth century.

The Institut de Droit International adopted a code of procedure for arbitration in 1875 to answer the need for a general law of arbitration governing for countries and parties wishing to have recourse to international arbitration. The growth of arbitration as a mode of international dispute resolution formed the background of the 1899 conference and informed its most enduring achievement, namely, the establishment of the PCA as the first global mechanism for the settlement of disputes between states. Article 16 of the 1899 Convention recognized that “in questions of a legal nature, and especially in the interpretation or application of International Conventions” arbitration is the “most effective, and at the same time the most equitable, means of settling disputes which diplomacy has failed to settle.”

In turn, the 1899 Convention provided for the creation of permanent machinery to enable the setting up of arbitral tribunals as necessary and to facilitate their work under the auspices of the institution it named as the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). In particular, Article 20 of the 1899 Convention stated that “[w]ith the object of facilitating an immediate recourse to arbitration for international differences which it has not been possible to settle by diplomacy, the signatory Powers undertake to organize a Permanent Court of Arbitration, accessible at all times and operating, unless otherwise stipulated by the parties, in accordance with the rules of procedure inserted in the present Convention.” In effect, the Convention set up a permanent system of international arbitration and institutionalized the law and practice of arbitration in a definite and acceptable way.

As a result, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) was established in 1900 and began operating in 1902. The PCA as established consisted of a panel of jurists designated by each country acceding to the Convention with each country being entitled to designate up to four from among whom the members of each arbitral tribunal might be chosen. In addition, the Convention created a permanent Bureau, located in The Hague, with functions similar to those of a court registry or secretariat. The 1899 Convention also laid down a set of rules of procedure to govern the conduct of arbitrations under the PCA framework.

The second Hague Peace Conference in 1907 saw a revision of the 1899 Convention and improvement of the rules governing arbitral proceedings. Today, the PCA has developed into a modern, multi-faceted arbitral institution perfectly situated to meet the evolving dispute resolution needs of the international community. The Permanent Court of Arbitration has also diversified its service offering alongside those contemplated by the Conventions. For instance, today the International Bureau of the Permanent Court of Arbitration serves as a registry in important international arbitrations. In 1993, the Permanent Court of Arbitration adopted new “Optional Rules for Arbitrating Disputes between Two Parties of Which Only One Is a State” and, in 2001, “Optional Rules for Arbitration of Disputes Relating to Natural Resources and/or the Environment”.

Reference

PCA Website: https://pca-cpa.org/en/about/introduction/history/ (accessed on 25th May 2023).

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Former KCB Company Secretary Sues Over Unlawful Dismissal

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Former KCB Group Company Secretary Joseph Kamau Kania who has sued the Bank for Unlawful Dismissal

Former KCB Group Company Secretary Joseph Kamau Kania has sued the lender seeking reinstatement or be compensated for illegal sacking almost three years ago. Lawyer Kania was the KCB Group company secretary until restructuring of the lender in 2021 that saw some senior executives dropped.

Through the firm of Senior Counsel Wilfred Nderitu, Kamau wants the court to order KCB Group to unconditionally reinstate him to employment without altering any of the contractual terms until his retirement in December 2025.

In his court documents filed before Employment and Labour Relations Court, the career law banker seeks the court to declare the reorganization of the company structure a nullity and amounted to a violation of his fundamental right to fair labour practices as guaranteed in Article 41(1) of the Constitution. He further wants the court to declare that the position of Group Company Secretary did not at any time cease to exist within the KCB Group structure.

He further urged the Employment Court to declare that the recruitment and appointment of Bonnie Okumu, his former assistant, as the Group Company Secretary, in relation to the contemporaneous termination of his employment, was unprocedural, insufficient and inappropriate to infer a lawful termination of his employment.

“A declaration that the factual and legal circumstances of the Petitioner’s termination of employment were insufficient and inappropriate to infer a redundancy against him, and that any redundancy declared by the KCB Group in relation to him was therefore null, void and of no legal effect and amounted to a violation of his fundamental right to fair labour practices as guaranteed in Article 41(1) of the Constitution,” seeks lawyer Kamau.

Kamau says he was subjected to discriminatory practices by the KCB Bank Group in violation of his fundamental right to equality and freedom from discrimination as guaranteed in Article 27 of the Constitution and the termination of his employment was unfair, unjustified, illegal, null and void.

Lawyer Kamau further seeks the court to declare that the Non-Compete Clause in the 2016 Contract is unenforceable by the KCB Group as against him and is voidable by him as against the Bank ab initio, byreason of the termination of the Petitioner’s employment having been a violation of Articles 41(1) and 47(1) and (2) of the Constitution, and of the Employment Act.

He also wants the Employment Court to find that finding that KCB’s group legal representation by Messrs of Mohammed Muigai LLP Advocates law firm in respect of his claim for unlawful termination of employment resulted in a clear conflict of interest by reason of the fact that a Founding and Senior Partner at the said firm lawyer Mohammed Nyaoga is also the Chairman of the CBK’s Board of Directors.

“A Declaration that the circumstances of KCB’s legal representation by Messrs. Mohammed Muigai LLP Advocates resulted in a violation of the Petitioner’s fundamental right to have the employment dispute decided independently and impartially, as guaranteed in Article 50(1) of the Constitution,” seeks lawyer Kamau.

Kamau is seeking damages against both KCB Group and Central Bank of Kenya jointly and severally for the violation of his constitutional and fundamental right to fair labour practices.

He wants  further wants court to declare that CBK is liable to petitioner on account of its breach of statutory duty to effectively regulate KCB Group to ensure that KCB complied with the Central Bank of Kenya Prudential Guidelines and all other Laws, Rules, Codes and Standards, and that, as an issuer of securities, it complied with capital markets legislation.

Kamau through his lawyer Nderitu told the court that he was involved in Shareholder engagement in introducing the Group aide-mémoire that significantly improved the management of the Annual General Meetings, including obtaining approval without voting through the Memorandum and Articles of Association of Kenya Commercial Bank Limited among others.

He said that during his employment at KCB Bank Kenya and with the KCB Group, he initially worked well with former KCB CEO Joseph Oigara until 2016 when the CEO allegedly started sidelining him by removing the legal function from his reporting line.

He further claims he was transferred from the Group’s offices at Kencom House to its offices Upper Hill under the guise that the Petitioner was merely to support the KCB Group Board.

He adds that at that point his roles were given to Okumu for reasons that were not related to work demands.  He stated that Oigara at one time proposed that he should leave his role in the KCB Group and go and serve as the Company Secretary of the National Bank of Kenya Limited, a subsidiary of the Group, a suggestion which he disagreed with to Oigara’s utter annoyance.

Kamau stated that his work was thenceforth unfairly discredited, leading to his being taken through a disciplinary process whose intended outcome failed miserably, and the Petitioner was vindicated.

“More specifically, the Petitioner contends that the purported creation of a new organizational structure towards the end of 2020 was in fact Oigara’s orchestration targeted to remove certain individuals by requiring them to undergo interviews in the pretext that new roles were created, and amounted to a further violation of the Petitioner’s fundamental right to fair labour practices under Article 41(1) of the Constitution,” said in his court documents.

He further adds that this sham reorganization demonstrates how the role of the KCB Group Company Secretary purportedly ceased to be and was then very briefly replaced with a new role of the KCB Group General Counsel. The role of KCB Group Company Secretary then ‘resurfaced’ immediately thereafter, in total violation of legal and regulatory requirements.

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