Research Group: Environment and Sustainable Development With the emerging economic growth in both developed and developing countries, flora and fauna are greatly endangered at the hands of industrialization. Forests have been cut down in the name of development, replaced by fast growing trees which are primarily for economic benefit. In the process, biodiversity is threatened by extinction, as well; the human community experiences harmful effects like droughts and floods, among other devastating phenomena, which in the end affect mostly the lowly in rural communities. Also, with modern technological advancement, the hunger for economic development calls for exploitation of natural resources, which has left the ecosystem with a long term negative impact that is irreversible. Context Therefore, having realised the urgency of environmental conservation, the global community decided to protect Mother Earth from precarious climate change effects. The UN came up with a breakdown of the 7th Millennium Development Goal with more emphasis on the last five goals. This took place with the previous Sustainable Development Summit in New York confirmed the urgency, by emphasising ecological conservation in the last three Sustainable Development Goals. These include:  13th Goal; Take urgent action to combat climate change effects.  14th Goal; Conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.  15th Goal; Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests and combat desertification and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.  16thGoal;Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.  17th Goal; Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development. The above goals are geared towards ecological conservation and thus, there is an urgent need for a collective effort in actively responding to the above and find ways in which we can stop the menaces of climate change. With that, the research team in charge of this research area intends to embark on academic study and publication of well researched academic studies as well as helping the students to attain their educational goals. The team’s major focus is drawn from the main theme and the subsequent sub-themes, which reflect research interests team members. As well, it will enable students’ research interests to be accommodated. Below are the sub-themes: 1. Water Governance and Community Development 2. Global Environmental issues and sustainable development 3. International response to climate change 4. Refugee survival strategy and sustainable natural resource management 5. Gender and environmental governance 6. Environmental management and policy Conclusion The primary aim of these research efforts is to guide the Department, School, and the entire University towards academic excellence. As a collective effort the team will as well work on outreach activities, which will be geared towards creating environmental awareness and ascertain measures adapting and mitigating to climate change.
Researchers in this group include:

• Paul Kimono