Ruto Launches Fund to Secure Kenya’s Forests for Future Generations

By Brian Kiprono - Reporter

Kenya, May 31, 2026 - Kenya’s longest-running conservation fundraiser is getting a new financial lifeline after President William Ruto launched the Rhino Ark Endowment Fund to secure the future of some of the country’s most important forests and water catchment areas.

Speaking during the 2026 Rhino Charge prize-giving ceremony in Samburu County, Ruto said the new fund is designed to provide sustainable financing for conservation projects that have helped protect Kenya’s ecosystems for nearly four decades.

The President described Rhino Charge as more than a motorsport competition, saying it has become one of the country's most successful conservation movements.

"This is sport in its purest and most demanding form. The Rhino Charge is not won on smooth tarmac or level ground. It is won on punishing terrain, through ravines and across rock, where navigation, courage, mechanical skill, and sheer grit are tested to the limit," he said.

Unlike most sporting events, every kilometre covered during Rhino Charge helps raise money for environmental protection. The funds have largely supported the construction of electric fences around key forests to reduce human-wildlife conflict and safeguard critical ecosystems.

Ruto noted that what started in 1989 as a plan to build a 38-kilometre electric fence around the Aberdare Forest has grown into one of Kenya’s most impactful conservation programmes.

"Thirty-seven years later, that single idea has grown into the most impactful conservation project this nation has ever known, 853 kilometres of electric fencing, standing guard over our most vital ecosystems," he said.

The President said protecting forests is no longer just an environmental issue but an economic necessity.

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He noted that Kenya's montane forests serve as vital water towers that support agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing and energy production across the country.

"Our montane forests are the Water Towers of Kenya. They sustain agriculture, fisheries, energy, and manufacturing. They support the well-being of every Kenyan. Their value to our economy is estimated at Sh611 billion each year," Ruto said.

To strengthen conservation efforts, the President announced the establishment of an Integrated Natural Resources Management Secretariat within the Office of the President to improve coordination among agencies involved in environmental protection.

He also welcomed the creation of the Rhino Ark Endowment Fund, saying it would help guarantee long-term funding for conservation projects.

"I understand the Board of Rhino Ark has committed Sh100 million to this Fund. The Government will match that commitment, shilling for shilling. And I call upon our partners in the private sector to give generously, to secure the very sources of water that give this nation life," he said.

The launch of the fund comes as Kenya intensifies efforts to restore degraded ecosystems and expand forest cover, with the government pursuing ambitious tree-growing and climate resilience targets.

For conservationists, the new fund represents an attempt to ensure that the forests protected through decades of fundraising and volunteer efforts remain safeguarded for future generations.