Since independence in 1963, Kenya has survived nearly five decades as a functioning nation-state. However, Kenya's independence has always been circumscribed by its failure to transcend its colonial past: its governments have failed to achieve adequate living conditions for most of its citizens and its politics have been fraught with controversy - illustrated most recently by the post-election protests and violence in 2007. The decisions of the early years of independence, and the acts of its leaders in the decades since have changed the country's path in unpredictable ways, but key themes of conflicts remain: over land, tribalism, money, power, national autonomy, and the distribution of resources.

Kenya has experienced a period of high and sustained growth since the mid 1990s, growth that has involved economic transformation away from a heavy reliance on traditional economic activities towards an emerging manufacturing economy. But this process, and the economic and social stability that had come to characterize Kenya, have been severely tested by the post-election violence of 2008. Restoring equitable growth and sustaining the structural transformation of the economy is essential if Kenya is to leave this period behind.

Through the use of satellite data, photographs, graphics and site-specific case studies, this 160-page atlas highlights environmental change in Kenya. It looks at the country's mountains, forests, water bodies and national parks, chronicling the evolution of the country's environment over the last few decades and the ecological challenges and opportunities facing the country.