Food Sovereignty and Livelihoods: Mining operations in the proposed area pose significant risks to the human rights of local fishing communities, including their right to food sovereignty and sustainable livelihoods. Pollutants such as titanium oxide (TiO2) in marine ecosystems could contaminate food sources, adversely impacting marine life and exposing humans to health risks through consumption (Frontiers, 2024). The failure to investigate these risks disregards the community’s right to health and safety, undermining their ability to sustain themselves and protect their traditional way of life.

It has been documented that many displaced community members and farmers have been adversely affected by Base Titanium mining operations in Msambweni, further aggravating livelihoods.

Right to Health: The mining process exposes nearby communities to respirable Elongated Mineral Particles (EMPs) and rutile dust, which the World Health Organisation associates with severe health outcomes, including systemic inflammation, respiratory diseases, and cardiac issues. These health threats disproportionately affect marginalised communities with limited access to healthcare, violating their right to health. Furthermore, the economic burden of ill-health deepens poverty, exacerbating inequalities and violating commitments to uphold Sustainable Development Goals on health and well-being, and eliminating poverty. The failure to address these risks prioritises profits over the fundamental rights of vulnerable populations.

Threats to Wildlife and Human-Wildlife Conflict: Increased noise, traffic, and land vibrations disrupt wildlife behaviour, leading to territorial displacement and an escalation of Human-Wildlife Conflict. Displacement also risks disease transmission between wildlife and humans, posing further threats to the health and safety of nearby communities. These impacts constitute a violation of the community’s right to a safe and sustainable environment, critical for their well-being and livelihoods.

Cultural Heritage and Identity: The proposed mining area includes irreplaceable cultural heritage sites, such as the Ungwana Bay Ruins and the Old Sultan's Palace, dating back to 1200 AD. Destroying these sites erases the cultural identity of Indigenous communities, violating their right to cultural heritage and self-determination (see 4.5.2 - Social and cultural values). The influx of external workers risks eroding cultural norms and values, further marginalising these communities. Documented cases of prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases at other mining sites highlight the risks to public health and social cohesion, compounding the violations.

Displacement and Dispossession: Any forced displacement for the project would violate the community’s rights to land, housing, and livelihood security. The transfer of land to the government after the project would disregard the community’s long-term rights to ownership and self-determination, amounting to a strategic and systematic disempowerment of vulnerable populations.

These cumulative impacts represent serious human rights violations, undermining the dignity, health, culture, and livelihoods of the affected communities.

Kenya’s forests, long undervalued for their critical ecological functions, face escalating threats from deforestation and now potential mining. These ecosystems are indispensable for regulating climate, supporting biodiversity, providing clean water, and sustaining indigenous cultures. With Kenya enduring severe droughts, protecting forests is vital for climate resilience. Globally, forests could mitigate between 4.1 and 6.5 GtCO2e annually by 2030, underscoring their importance in combating climate change.

Mining and associated infrastructure, such as roads and power lines, exacerbate habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss. These developments increase accessibility, driving hunting, logging, artisanal mining, charcoal extraction, and small-scale agriculture—all direct threats to ecosystems and climate resilience.

The proposed prospecting area is a crucial carbon sink, hosting intact forests and Mangrove Forests, including eight of the nine species found in Kenya, such as Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata. These ecosystems stabilize carbon storage, absorb a quarter of global anthropogenic carbon emissions, and regulate hydrological regimes, generating rainfall and strengthening drought resilience across the landscape.

Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs) in the area are home to endangered and endemic trees like Euphorbia tanaensis and Triclulia emetia, as well as medicinal plants. Mineral-sand mining would result in the direct loss of these critical species, further endangering biodiversity and undermining ecosystem health.

The destruction of these forests would also threaten the region's capacity to adapt to climate change, impacting local and global efforts toward resilience. Given these critical ecological and climatic roles, granting mining licences in such ecosystems would result in irreparable damage, undermining Kenya’s environmental and climate goals.

Protecting these forests is not only essential for biodiversity and local livelihoods but also for ensuring Kenya's broader climate resilience and global ecological responsibility.

The proposed prospecting area in Kenya falls within a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), a globally recognised site critical to the persistence of biodiversity. This marine-sensitive zone includes beaches where all five endangered sea turtle species nest, Important Marine Turtle Areas, shark and ray nurseries, and breeding grounds for finfish, molluscs, and crustaceans—vital to local livelihoods and economies. Additionally, the area is an Important Bird Area (IBA), supporting endemic and endangered bird species, and serves as a stopover along the Eurasian Flyway, essential for migratory birds.

The site encompasses an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) under Kenya's Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act, 1999. It contains giraffe migratory corridors and an elephant corridor linking the Coastal and Tsavo landscapes, vital for mitigating human-wildlife conflict and preserving genetic health. The location also borders a Ramsar wetland site of international importance and a proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site, hosting diverse frog species, key bioindicators sensitive to pollution (see UAF map).

The area is a stronghold for the endangered Coastal Topi, a species endemic to Kenya. The loss of this ungulate would disrupt seed dispersal, prey availability, and overall ecosystem health. Additionally, it supports lion prides, including the first collared lion on East Africa’s coast. Removing these apex predators could trigger a trophic cascade, destabilising the ecosystem.

Despite these ecological values, no Species Environmental Assessment Guidelines (SEAGs) exist, and baseline studies for critical species, like frogs, remain absent. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is essential to evaluate and mitigate potential threats. The national government must uphold its obligations under the Ramsar Convention and prioritise the preservation of this biodiverse region. Moving forward with prospecting risks irreparable harm to endangered species, ecosystems, and the communities relying on them. Protecting this area is imperative for Kenya’s natural heritage and global biodiversity.

The proposed mining project poses severe risks of human rights violations by undermining Kenya’s Constitution (2010), which guarantees its citizens the right to a clean and healthy environment (Article 42). Mining activities threaten present and future generations' rights by causing environmental degradation, contrary to the Constitution's mandate for environmental protection. The lack of transparency, accountability, and public participation in such projects violates Article 10, which underscores national governance principles.

Key legislations like the Water Act, 2002 and the Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) prohibit activities harmful to protected areas, ecosystems, and water reserves. Mining, being water-intensive, risks depleting vital water sources, disrupting ecological functions, and violating these protections. Additionally, the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act (2013), which ensures the sustainable use of wildlife, is undermined by the presence of extractive industries in wildlife-sensitive areas.

Cultural and historical rights are also at stake. The National Museums and Heritage Act (2006) protects sites of cultural significance, several of which lie within the proposed mining area. Destruction of these sites would erase local heritage, violating communities' rights to cultural preservation and identity.

At an international level, Kenya is bound by treaties that recognise environmental protection as a human right. The Rio Declaration and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirm that a healthy environment is integral to human well-being. The Ramsar Convention obligates Kenya to conserve wetlands like the Tana Delta, a designated Ramsar site, yet the project threatens its ecological character.

Kenya’s commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Kunming-Montreal Agreement, including the "30 by 30" initiative, are at risk. Mining activities in sensitive ecosystems undermine these global goals, alongside national obligations under Kenya’s Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan.

The project also contradicts Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, which aim to mitigate climate change. By degrading forests and ecosystems, mining hampers climate resilience and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on climate action (SDG 13), life below water (SDG 14), and life on land (SDG 15).

The cumulative impacts represent violations of environmental, cultural, and socio-economic rights, eroding global and national human rights obligations.