...This is the second Sectoral Strategic Plan developed by the Department of Environment, Water, Energy, Mining and Natural Resources in the County to fast track the implementation of the County Integrated Development Plan 2018-2022.This strategic plan will also form the basis of guiding the departments activities for the subsequent years as well as being reference frame for other water sectors.Preserving and creating sustainable habitats for local flora and fauna are critical interventions for improving soils,water and air quality that contribute to the conservation of Nyamira Countys and the regions ecology. These natural resources are the basic capital that communities depend on for survival, development and prosperity. In Nyamira, the greatest pressure leading to recent decades dramatic natural resources and environmental degradation (habitat and landscape changes) has been from insatiable demand for agricultural land, biomass fuels,timber and human settlements. The root cause however is undoubtedly the unprecedented rapid changing demography and lifestyles that demands unsustainable provision of goods and services from the ecosystems: food, biomass fuels, water, shelter, timber and herbal medicine.The interventions are aimed at checking on and reversing environmental/ land degradation that has occurred primarily in the last one hundred years. During this period Nyamira transformed from natural tropical forests to an agricultural landscape; having lost her forests, biodiversity, habitats for wildlife and left with degraded soils and water resources.The survival and sustainable development of the County now depends on two main natural resources -soils and water -both of which continue to be degraded rapidly main by unsustainable land management and biomass energy demands. The sectoral plan is part of the broader Kenyas development agenda of transforming the country into a globally competitive and prosperous nation. The department has a contribution to make towards Vision 2030 and it is in this regard that the department is committed to facilitating sustained availability and accessibility to water for all uses, including sewerage and solid waste services through appropriate laws, regulations and policies.The 2009 Population and Housing Census indicate that about 4,403 households (3.4 percent) in the county had access to piped water in 2009 through a house or yard connection. About 59 percent have access to portable water. With regard to rainwater harvesting it is estimated that 2.2 percent of household have made provision for roof catchment systems. Further, estimates for 2009 indicate that 72 percent of the residents practiced improved sanitation standards.

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