Description

The goal of increasing forest cover to the 10% threshold espoused in the constitution can be achieved if various partners work together. It requires concerted efforts from among others youth groups, community-based organizations, NGOs and private sector. Previously in an attempt to stem the decline of forest resources, the Kenyan government, through its Vision 2030, Rural Development Strategy, 2001 –2016; Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERS); Strategy for Revitalization of Agriculture, 2004-2014; Forest Act, 2005, and statements on the implementation of a Green Revolution in Kenya (AGRA, 2012), had emphasized the need to manage, protect and conserve forests. This was aimed at maintaining a base for water, food, wood and nutritional security. These initiatives were anchored in several laws and policies aimed at revitalizing the forest sector as envisioned in the Vision 2030.

Currently, the Constitution of Kenya requires a minimum tree cover of 10% of the total land area. This vision is not likely to be attained without urgently addressing illegal forest destruction and other issues. In this regard, the Kenyan government declared a moratorium on harvesting of timber on all public and community forests for 90 days with effect from 24 February 2018. The purpose of the moratorium was to allow for reassessment and rationalization of the entire forest sector in the country. The government through a presidential declaration also intends to achieve the 10% tree coverage by 2022 through planting of 360 million trees annually. However, statistics from the Kenya forestry services indicate they were only able to propagate and plant 70million trees across the country in 2018.