“It is with extreme interest that we note that the local community from Mui Basin, a coal rich region in Kitui County, Kenya, is not opposed to the ongoing coal exploration projects or that these resources should be exploited. Instead, they would like their issues especially on access to information on land compensation and resettlement heard and resolved before coal exploration in the region advances to the development phase.”
These are some of the findings from the Extractives Baraza (EB) county-level information needs assessment in Kenya that commenced in April 1, 2017, for a period of 3 months, in partnership with Aga Khan University – East African Institute (AKU-EAI). The aim of the project was to establish community and stakeholder perceptions, knowledge, concerns and their understanding of the extractive activities within their regions. This was based on the fact that the views and experiences of the people who are likely to be most affected by extractive projects often go unheard or undocumented, even though they are an invaluable source of insight into a project’s effectiveness.