Nema requires implementation of a comprehensive offset and compensation plan for tree species to be cleared for the controversial road through the Aberdare ecosystem.
The Kenya National Highways Authority has been tasked with developing and carrying out the plan.
The conditions have been outlined in an environmental impact assessment licence issued by the National Environment Management Authority on January 5.
The licence shows 185 acres (75 ha) of bamboo, 35 acres (14ha) of montane forest and 35 acres (14ha) of moorland.
Some 255 acres will be affected by the road section passing through the Aberdare Forest Reserve and National Park.
The road project in Nyeri and Nyandarua counties, according to the environmental and social impact assessment study report is 97.8km-long.
The main section starts at Ihithe, takes a south-westerly course through the Nyayo Tea Zone and enters the Aberdare National Park.
The road then emerges from the park at about 33km (Mutubio Gate).
From this gate, the road descends through a series of hairpin bends to Kahuruko.
The stretch between Mutubio Gate and Kahuruko, which is about 10km, is tarmacked.
From Kahuruko, the project road continues to descend and ends at its junction with the C69 Road at Ndunyu Njeru.
Other road sections included in the project include Njengu-Treetops Gate-Amboni, the Ihithe-Kiamutiga- Mukarara, the Ark Gate Access, the Munyaka-Koinange-Heni-Mwendandu and the Njoma-Weru road sections, totalling 46km.
The EIA licence says the width of the road will be reduced to 25 metres in sections crossing Aberdare Forest Reserve and National Park and associated works in the Nyayo Tea Zone, Aberdare Forest Reserve and National Park and surrounding spar roads in Nyeri and Nyandarua counties.
The licence is valid for 24 months, the time within which the project shall commence.
“The offset and compensation plan shall be authorised and supervised by the lead agencies responsible for the conservation and management of the national water towers, forests and wildlife,” the conditions state.
“The implementation monitoring shall be reported to the authority on an annual basis, through environmental audit reports in line with sections 68 and 69 of the EMCA [Environmental Management and Coordination Act], 1999.”
An environmental impact assessment is a critical examination of the effects of a project on the environment.
It identifies negative and positive impacts of any development activity or project and how they affect people, property and the environment.
EIA also identifies measures to mitigate the negative impacts while maximising the positive ones. It is basically a preventive process.
It seeks to minimise adverse impacts on the environment and reduce risks.
If a proper EIA is carried out, the safety of the environment can be properly managed at all stages of a project.
Kenha will submit to Nema the detailed designs and drawings for the proposed tunnels, underpasses, viaducts and overpasses in Aberdare.
This, Nema says, is part of mitigation measures to avoid or minimise the potential adverse impacts of the road on sensitive ecological areas.
Moorland, bamboo, montane forests and wildlife species and their migratory dispersal, and key habitats must be reported to Nema for approval and compliance monitoring prior to starting construction works.
Before the work commences, Kenha will have to obtain a special use permit from the Kenya Forest Service and authorisation from the Kenya Wildlife Service prior to the beginning works.
This is in line with the Forest Conservation and Management Act of 2016 and the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act of 2013.
Kenha will also ensure the section crossing the key wildlife conservation area is aligned with the Aberdare Ecosystem Management Plan and the National Wildlife Conversation Policy.
Kenha will, in partnership with KWS, KFS and Kenya Water Towers Agency, undertake a detailed inventory of wildlife and plant species and quantify the opportunity cost of the road to the ecological functions and ecosystem services in Aberdare.
The inventory and opportunity cost will be published for public disclosure purposes.
Conservationists and scientists have said the road project is likely to have devastating impacts on the fragile ecosystem.
But despite massive opposition, Nema gave the project a clean bill of health.
The authority is said to have been under pressure from senior state officials to clear the project.
The licence says Kenha will ensure the construction and operation of the road shall not compromise or degrade the integrity and functions of the Aberdare ecosystem.
Aberdare is one of the major water towers in the country.
It says Kenha will establish the carbon footprint of the project construction and operation phases, including emissions from vegetation clearance, construction material sourcing and transport, and vehicular emissions.
The licence says Kenha will ensure the road design is climate-proofed against climate change risks such as flooding, landslides and extreme weather conditions such as mist and fog.
The road design speed must comply with national park road speeds of not more than 50km/h to safeguard against wildlife road kills.
Nema director general Mamo Mamo will be notified of any transfer, variation, or surrender of the licence.