In a bid to protect the environment and ensure sustainable forest management, a group of environmental experts under the Green Thinking Action Party (GTAP) are now calling on President William Ruto to reconsider the decision to lift the logging ban in state forests.
The ban, which was implemented in 2018, was instrumental in curbing illegal logging activities that had devastating effects. The logging ban was initially put in place due to the rampant illegal logging that was degrading the nation’s public forests.
The task force, chaired by Dr. Isaac Kalua, who also Chaired the Kenya Water Towers Agency at the time, worked diligently to assess the situation and propose recommendations for sustainable forest management. Their report, comprising 26 recommendations, was presented to then Deputy President William Ruto, who expressed his commitment to implementing the suggestions, acknowledging the difficulty of some decisions but emphasizing their necessity.
However, the party says that certain key factors remain unchanged since the ban was first instituted. Heavy rainfall patterns have persisted, with five consecutive failed rain seasons magnifying the need for fully grown trees to support water retention and ecological balance.
One of the major challenges highlighted by Dr. Kalua is the urgent need to expand Kenya’s forest cover. Currently, the country loses 50,000 hectares of forest annually, while the replacement rate falls short. With each Kenyan utilizing the equivalent of three fully grown trees per year, a staggering 150 million trees are consumed annually, far exceeding the country’s timber production.
To combat this, Dr. Kalua suggests importing timber from African countries with a forest cover of more than 50 percent until Kenya’s own forest cover surpasses this threshold.
The party is also emphasizing the importance of fully implementing the 26 recommendations put forth by the task force. This includes the employment of additional forest rangers to safeguard forests, particularly if legal logging were to resume, and the establishment of a dedicated forest regulatory body to ensure transparency and accountability in the industry.
As the debate arises, the future of Kenya’s state forests hangs in the balance, awaiting a decision that will shape the country’s environmental progress for years to come. The logging ban was initially put in place due to the rampant illegal logging that was degrading the nation’s public forests.
However, the GTAP team emphasizes that certain key factors remain unchanged since the ban was first instituted. Erratic rainfall patterns have persisted, with five consecutive failed rain seasons exacerbating the need for fully grown trees to support water retention and ecological balance. Additionally, the full implementation of the task force’s recommendations, which are crucial for sustainable forest management, is yet to be realized.
One of the major challenges highlighted by Dr. Kalua is the urgent need to expand Kenya’s forest cover. He suggests the importing of timber from African countries with a forest cover of more than 50 percent until Kenya’s own forest cover surpasses this threshold.
The party also emphasizes the importance of fully implementing the 26 recommendations put forth by the task force. This includes the employment of additional forest rangers to safeguard forests, particularly if legal logging were to resume, and the establishment of a dedicated forest regulatory body to ensure transparency and accountability in the industry.
