Looking Beyond Oil Profits: an Appraisal of the Laws Governing Natural Resource Management by Multinational Corporations in Kenya, Turkana County

Abstract

In the wake of industrialization and expansion of activities by Multinational Corporations in the oil and gas industry, it becomes imperative that the effect of their activities to the environment are effectively monitored so as to attain better governance of natural resources. It is indeed clear that currently in the International scene, the codes in place to censure any harmful practice to the environment propagated by these companies are merely persuasive. The onus is therefore on individual states to put in place robust laws and to ensure their proper implementation in order to benefit both the environment and their citizenry. This study presents a background to the problem with special emphasis on Turkana County in Kenya. It highlights key environmental and associated issues that are critical in the management of natural resources. It further presents an analysis of various persuasive codes and the legislative framework applicable to Kenya. A best practices approach analysis is also presented of the Kingdom of Norway through a discussion of its legislation which is contrasted with the legislation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is the study’s conclusion that the national and Turkana county policies and laws on management of national resources need to be updated to cater for any overlap in functions and fill for any deficiency in legislation in areas where they occur. Implementation of the available legislation becomes paramount for the realization of the right to a clean and healthy environment and for this, coordination between the various government agencies both at the national and county level as well as the goodwill of the state is critical.