Africa-Press – Kenya. An Environmental organization is now calling for the reinstatement of the logging ban, a day after President William Ruto lifted it.
Greenpeace Africa’s Community Manager, Tracy Makheti said her organization is alarmed by the new developments.
“During last year’s Mashujaa day celebrations, President Ruto made a commitment to increase the forest cover to 30% by 2032. Greenpeace Africa is perturbed that 8 months down the line the president has made a U-turn on his own words,” she said.
A 90-day ban on logging was initially imposed on February 24, 2018, and later extended to November 24.
It was again extended for a year to facilitate sector reforms.
The ban restricted the extraction of timber from all public and community forests.
The move was meant to give KFS more time to fully implement new measures to protect forests.
The ban was arrived at following the findings of a task force that had been constituted by the government to inquire into forest resource management and logging activities in the country.
The Marion-Kamau-led task force said the board and the management of KFS had been unable to “stem and in some instances have directly participated in, abated and systematised rampant corruption and abuse of office”.
“The Kenya Forest Service has institutionalised corruption and the system is replete with deep-rooted corrupt practices, lack of accountability and unethical behaviour,” the report said.
The task force noted that illegal logging of indigenous trees was a major threat to forests and was rampant in key forest areas.
On Sunday, President William Ruto said his administration has lifted the ban that was imposed six years ago.
Ruto was speaking on Sunday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Molo, Nakuru where he said that mature trees are decaying in the forests yet the country imports timber.
Ruto said that those who import furniture will have to pay tax since he wants furniture made within the country.
“Trees are decaying in the forest while people are struggling to get timber. Do you see the foolishness? We have lifted the ban so that we can harvest mature trees. Whoever imports furniture will be taxed because we want all that to be made in the country,” Ruto said.
Interestingly, Ruto was one of the high-ranking officials who launched the task force that inquired into illegal activities in Kenyan forests.
Ruto launched the Forest Resources Management and Logging Activities Task Force at his Karen office, Nairobi, then as the Deputy President.
During the inauguration of the task force on February 24, 2018, in Karen, Ruto directed the Ministry of Environment and all environment agencies together with counties to ensure the ban was enforced.
Ruto also pledged that the government will implement the recommendations of the task force which among other things, was to determine whether the ban on logging can be extended further and stated that this was not a public relations exercise.
Ruto’s administration is currently pushing to plant at least 15 billion across the country in a bid to restore forest cover in the next 10 years.
Makheti however says:
“There is an evident lack of goodwill in implementing the existing policies on illegal logging. By lifting this ban President Ruto has prioritised profit over people and nature. The ban on logging in public and community forests should not be based on monetary value, but rather on restoring our natural forests with indigenous trees”.
She says the Ministry of Environment and Forestry must upscale the establishment of mixed forest plantations as it will increase forest cover and at the same time increase revenue while building the economy by providing employment opportunities.
“The Ministry should also consider planting indigenous trees in the 8,000 hacters (19,768 acres) bare buffer zones, to help restore biodiversity and increase forest cover,” she said.
Makheti adds:
“As a long-term solution, the Ministry should work to foster collaborative relations with communities living near the forests as well as environmental protection agencies and activists instead of resorting to unsustainable solutions. They should prioritise fast-growing species of bamboo to supplement the wood and timber needs of the country.”
Greenpeace Africa said it will petition Environment CS Soipan Tuya and President Ruto to immediately reinstate the ban on logging in all the community and gazetted forests and also develop a model where NGOs can adopt these spaces to take care of the indigenous trees.
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