UNESCO being the lead agency for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) has continually reiterated that education remains the vehicle to achieving sustainable development. McKeown (2012) observed that proponents of sustainable development realize that there can be no sustainable development in the world if teachers are not trained in skills that enhance sustainable utilization of finite resources in the universe. This paper puts forth a proposition for the use of a conceptual approach of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) for the planning and design of curricula to ensure that educational opportunities in sustainable development are holistically and effectively provided to secondary school students. It addresses how the internal and external environments could influence the prospects of a school to address curriculum development and an implementation process in ESD. In addition, due to concerns of many researchers that any strategies pertaining to sustainable development should consider the surrounding environment and geographical location, this study addresses what such a 'localization' process would mean in practice through a case study of selected secondary schools in Kenya. Working from stated definitions of 'Sustainable Development' and 'Education for Sustainable Development,' the author developed a theoretical process for achieving curricular reform in secondary education. This paper explores current awareness and attitudes towards sustainable development; explores the inclusion of sustainable development in the secondary school curriculum and investigates possible barriers to incorporating sustainable development in secondary school curriculum. In-depth interviews and questionnaire tools are key in data collection for this study. Findings are presented descriptively in form of cumulative frequency counts and percentages. The study establishes that awareness levels of sustianble development among secondary school students are low and their attitudes negative. There are opportunities for inclusion of sustainable development in the secondary school curriculum albeit notable barriers; an already flooded secondary school curriculum as well as inadequate teachers required for implementing the curriculum. It is recommended that the Ministry of Education needs to undertake a 'Phased Strategy' in order to systematically and holistically develop a curriculum in ESD in secondary schools. Universities need to start training teachers of Environmental Studies and that there is a critical need for a 'localization' strategy for a ESD curriculum development process in Kenyan secondary schools. Besides, UNESCO should focus more on ESD sensitization, public awareness and education through establishing a portal and creating caucuses which would map ESD implementation in universities.

For a city to grow and develop in the long term, it cannot disregard its environment. An ad hoc approach to environmental issues is fragmentary, expensive and inefficient. For a city to be effective and efficient it must consciously integrate the environment particularly on the urban fringes into its planning and management mechanisms. This paper describes the impact that land ownership information management systems as applied by the various stakeholders have on the general environmental planning based on a study of informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. First, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire to get an insight into the current situation of the informal land development sector in the study area. Structured interviews were used at the settlement level to gain knowledge on the operations of land management and their impacts on environmental planning in the study area. Finally, focus group discussions were conducted with the village elders and headmen at the settlements to gain more insights on land ownership systems. Data for the study was analyzed descriptively using descriptive statistics. From the study, it was established that there is poor security of land information due to lack of back-ups in these settlements and information on land registration, registration of rights and rights holders is in itself insufficient and does not address environmental planning. It was thus recommended that Nairobi's Informal Settlements Coordinating Committee should be remodeled into a more effective and participatory framework with regard to collection and management of land information for environmental planning in informal settlements.

Kenya is facing an increasing growth of informal settlements in her urban centers. As rapid urbanization takes its toll, so has the development and growth of informal settlements. The social, economic and environmental challenges which informal urban settlements face today, coupled with the speed of urban expansion, require an urban planning approach that integrates the concept of land information management systems in informal settlements in its blueprint. Based on a study in the capital city, Nairobi, this paper describes the characteristics of settlements and land ownership in of informal settlements in Kenya. First, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire to get an insight into the current situation of the informal land development sector in the study area. Structured interviews were used at the settlement level to gain knowledge on the operations of land management. Finally, focus group discussions were conducted with the village elders and headmen at the settlements to gain more insights on land ownership systems. Data for the study was analyzed descriptively. The study established that land information management interventions in these informal settlements are uncoordinated, ad hoc and overlapping. There is also lack of systematic dissemination of land information and updated land information since the stakeholders' interventions in land information management are uncoordinated and therefore undermine efficiency of environmental planning. Besides, there is poor security of land information due to lack of back-up data in these settlements and information on land registration, registration of rights and rights holders is in itself insufficient and does not address environmental planning. There is therefore need for the government and other agencies to create a platform for discussion, monitoring and coordination of the various land data collected to ensure interventions for environmental planning are coordinated and not overlapping.