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Ondiri Wetland is Kenya’s only known peat bog and among Africa’s deepest. In the fast‑urbanizing Nairobi metropolis, it recharges groundwater, regulates floods, stores carbon, supports biodiversity, stabilizes microclimates, and feeds the Nyongara River, a Nairobi River tributary. 

Despite legal protection under EMCA (1999) and the Wetlands Regulations (2009), Ondiri faces mounting pressure from urbanization and degradation. Rapid growth around Kikuyu Town has driven sewage discharge, solid‑waste dumping, and edge encroachment; agricultural runoff, invasive species, and unregulated water abstraction further disrupt its hydrology and ecology. 

Friends of Ondiri Wetland Kenya (FOWK) has mobilized restoration, environmental education, and advocacy, but many interventions remain fragmented and project‑based. There is currently no integrated framework that connects environmental governance, spatial planning, ecological restoration, and community‑based livelihood opportunities. 

The challenge is therefore not simply ecological restoration, but the development of a practical and community‑led resilience framework that translates existing environmental policies into coordinated local action, while balancing environmental protection with economic realities, and strengthening collaboration among communities, government, and civil society. 

Accelerating urbanization and climate variability are intensifying encroachment, pollution, and hydrological stress; as a peatland, Ondiri stores significant carbon that, if released through drainage or degradation, would amplify emissions while eroding flood regulation and habitat functions. 

Yet the wetland is a critical opportunity. With governance tools, climate‑resilient planning, and livelihood models, Ondiri can become a flagship for safeguarding peatlands in urbanizing landscapes. The window for coordinated action is narrowing; without stronger collaboration, degradation risks crossing irreversible thresholds. The case explores how a community‑led framework can integrate restoration, planning, governance, and livelihoods to better protect and restore Ondiri. 

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