Tana River Delta straddles Tana River and Lamu counties. The Delta comprises a vast patchwork of palm savanna, seasonally flooded grasslands, forest fragments, acacia woodland, lakes, marine wetlands and the river itself. Tana River Delta is internationally recognized as a wetland of global importance: Ramsar Site, Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), and Important Bird Area (IBA). The area harbours high biodiversity due to its rich and diverse habitats.

Over 120,000 people living in the core of the Delta depend on River Tana for livelihood. Farming communities practice agriculture on the receding lake edges. Pastoralists use the Delta’s wetlands as dry season grazing grounds for their livestock. Fishing communities are dependent on lakes and watercourses for fish supplies.

Over the years, resource use conflicts in the Delta have escalated as demand for competing land uses, natural resources, conservation and community interests have intensified contributing to its degradation, threatening its unique biodiversity and community livelihoods. A participatory land-use planning process was initiated in 2011 to promote regulated access, wise use and improved rangeland management in the Tana River Delta. The Tana Delta Green Heart Project is designed to deliver the preferred strategy set out in the Tana River Delta Land Use Plan (2014).

Now in its implementation phase, the land use plan seeks to protect the unique environmental qualities of the Delta and achieve a balanced approach towards sustainable development. Water lies at the heart of the Tana Delta. All economic activities in the area rely on the continued flow of River Tana. Wise use of water, land and other natural resources holds the key to a sustainable future of the Delta.

This internationally important wetland has the potential to make a significant contribution to Kenya’s economy, which is dominated by a rapidly expanding and increasingly profitable agricultural sector. The Delta is also part of the cultural and social heart of the coastal region with great opportunities for tourism promotion.

The Tana River Delta Green Heart Project is based on the strategy set out in the Tana River Delta Land Use Plan. Together they offer a vision for the future, but also a practical development programme which will be achieved in five-year phases over the next thirty years.

In simple terms, the Green Heart Project will brand and promote the Tana River Delta as an area with exceptional agricultural potential, while retaining its pre-eminent position as one of the most important ecosystems in East Africa.