The sector mandate is to ensure that Natural Resources are utilized sustainably for provision of quality goods and services based on secure land tenure system &coordinated development. This sector is composed of; natural resources coordination office, environment & wetlands, district forestry services and lands & physical planning. The types of vegetation in the district include; grasslands, herbs, shrubs, woodlands, forests, however, there is decreasing vegetation cover due to human activities. There is need for mapping of vegetation cover to get the actual coverage. There is catchment degradation that has polluted waters of these ecosystems.  In some areas, river banks have been encroached on by crop cultivators although efforts to conserve them have been made.

The sector has development partners like UWA, WWF, NFA, Eco- Trust etc. which conduct activities like revenue sharing, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation & mitigation strategies, livelihood improvement, management of central forest reserve, tree planting and carbon trade. In general, the district is experiencing high rate of deforestation, un coordinated urban developments, low rate of re-afforestation and medium rate of afforestation across all the sub counties due to increase in population. The sector plans to develop physical development plans for upcoming urban centers, intensify physical planning sensitization programs, recruit more staff and sensitize communities on importance of maintaining natural resources.