Kenya’s decision to lift 6-year ban on logging can be disastrous, say environmentalists

The decision by the Kenyan government to lift a six-year ban on logging will have far-reaching environmental implications, according to experts.

President William Ruto, an emerging fierce climate change advocate globally, said the decision was prompted by the need to open up economies of areas that depend on forest products.

“Mature trees are now rotting in forests, while locals suffer due to lack of timber and non-timber products. That’s why we have decided to lift the ban to allow forest products traders to do their business, even as we continue with our drive to plant 15 billion trees,” said President Ruto.

For a while, forest communities have been petitioning the government to lift the ban, claiming that their livelihoods had been impacted negatively.

They have often complained that they can no longer access forest products such as timber, honey, forest litter, fruits, mushrooms, seeds, resins, gums, medicinal plants and agricultural crops in agroforests.

Arnold Ng’etich, a timber merchant and saw miller, was among many stakeholders who welcomed the move.

“The president’s directive will breathe life into our small, sleepy towns like Molo, Njoro and Elburgon that used to thrive due to forest products, especially timber. The once-vibrant towns might take time to spring back to life, but we hope for the best,” said Ng’etich.

Environmentalists, including the founder and chairperson of Green Africa Foundation, Isaac Kalua, have decried the directive. Illegal loggers and charcoal burners will take advantage of the directive to ruin forests, they said.

The move will also derail plans to increase forest cover, even as the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) clarified the directive and how they intend to oversee controlled logging, Kalua said. 

KFS, which announced a while back that they had incurred a loss of over Ksh 4 billion in revenue, said lifting the ban on logging in gazetted forests was informed by expert advice, including an inventory of forest plantations that confirmed available stocks.

“Lifting the ban will lead to massive destruction of the forests, eroding all the gains made. We respectfully call upon the president to reconsider his decision. There is a need for the government to establish an entity for overseeing legal logging,” said Isaac Kalua, casting doubts on the capacity of KFS to oversee controlled logging effectively. 

KFS aims to harvest a maximum of 5,000 hectares per year from public and community forests to ensure the State and investors benefit from their investment in forest plantations.

Plans are already in place for overseeing controlled logging, including issuing plantation harvesting licenses to saw millers and other interested parties, the government agency said.

“KFS has automated the process of issuance of Plantation Harvesting licenses, which will now be done through the County Forest Conservators. Payment of taxes has also been automated to ensure compliance with tax regulations,” read part of statement made by the body.

Interested parties must present entry certificates to Forest Station Managers before they are allowed to harvest trees or collect non-timber products.

Upon completion, the loggers or any other interested groups will be issued exit certificates as evidence of compliance with all the set requirements. Reforestation will begin to take place immediately, said KFS.

“Only mature trees will be harvested. Exotic species have a rotation period of 25 to 30 years, after which they begin to rot if not harvested. An e-registration of saw millers has also been undertaken to create room for the prequalification of applicants into various categories,” further read the statement.

Besides activists and environmentalists faulting the decision, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has sued the Attorney General, the Ministry of Environment Cabinet Secretary and KFS.

In the case filed before the Kenya National Environmental Tribunal, LSK stated that the government did not conduct public participation and that any scientific reasoning did not back the move. 

“This reckless action completely disregards forests’ crucial role in mitigating climate change, preserving biodiversity and safeguarding vital ecosystems. By allowing logging to resume, the government is endangering the delicate balance of nature, promoting deforestation and threatening the livelihoods of communities that rely on the forests for sustenance,” said LSK in court documents.

Further, LSK said it was ironic for the State to lift the logging ban while Kenya targets to plant over 15 billion trees over the next ten years to restore 26.2 million acres of degraded land and increase forest cover to 30 percent.

Despite the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Soipan Tuya, clarifying that lifting the logging moratorium only applies to commercial plantations and not indigenous forests, the debate continues to rage. Environmentalists and others continue to doubt the government’s ability to enforce controlled logging.

“A ban on logging has existed in the country since 2018. At that time, it was a response to rampant illegal activities and high degradation of our ecosystems. We have lifted it following expert advice and a plan to control logging. We are also keen on sustainability,” CS Tuya reiterated.

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