Understanding the Kenyan Extractive Sector - The Players and Their Roles

The IHRB's Nairobi Process and the Institute for Law and Environmental Governance (ILEG), and a number of other actors drawn from business, civil society and academia have come together to create the Extractive Sector Forum (ESF). 

Promoting sustainable management and use of Kenya’s upstream oil, gas and minerals has been the subject of numerous exchanges over recent years among civil society organisations (CSOs), academic institutions working in the extractive sector, and mining and oil & gas companies in Kenya. Although the conversations have been useful, they have at times appeared unstructured, disjointed, and not inclusive. These experiences have highlighted the need for a common platform to promote open and continuous dialogue involving all concerned actors.

The ESF aims to facilitate regular dialogue among businesses from the extractive sector and other stakeholders with an interest in the sector, including civil society organisations, community representatives and academics. The ESF encourages sharing of information concerning ongoing projects and the identification of issues of mutual interest and plans to address them, all aimed at building trust, and providing opportunities for capacity building on aspects of the sector that are of value to all.

One of the Extractive Sector Forum’s flagship initiatives is to convene quarterly workshops bringing together extractive sector companies, civil society, and academia to dialogue and share information on topical issues in the extractive sector.

The first quarterly ESF workshop was held on December 3, 2015 in Nairobi. The workshop brought together 35 participants drawn from civil society, academic institutions working on the extractive sector, as well as oil & gas and mining companies and their industry associations. This report outlines the workshop objectives, proceedings and main outcomes.