Contain fires before Kenya loses coveted forest cover

NAIROBI, KENYA: The current forest cover stands at 6.99 per cent of the land area. These forests produce vital oxygen and provide homes for people and wildlife. Many of the World’s most threatened and endangered animals live in forests, and people rely on benefits forests offer, including food, water, traditional medicine and shelter.

Currently forests around the country are under threat from forest fires, more than 6,000 hectares of forests have been destroyed by fire amid nationwide drought, jeopardising these benefits. The recent forest fires witnessed in major forests including Maasai Mau, Kimonde, Menengai, Mau, Koibatek and Taita Taveta forest are due to community error as most of them occurred on forest adjacent to community farm lands. These recent massive forest fires have done major damage that won't heal on its own. This impacts on people’s livelihoods and threatens a wide range of plant and animal species. Thousands hectares of forest have been lost this season, and this calls for proper audit by the Kenya Forest Service (KFS).

Forests play a critical role in mitigating climate change because they act as a carbon sink—soaking up carbon dioxide that would otherwise be free in the atmosphere and contribute to ongoing changes in climate patterns. Forest fires undermine this important carbon sink function. To avert future forest fire Kenya Forest Service should move with speed to develop county specific Transition Implementation Plans (TIPs) for smooth transfer of devolved forestry functions, this will increase forest cover towards 10 per cent, deepen national government engagement with county governments, private sector and other stakeholders.

Kenya Forests Working Group (KFWG) has been working to protect forests for more than 20 years. With a focus on Forest reserves gazetted or not gazetted and sustainable forestry. KFWG works with governments, Kenya Forests service, civil society organizations, private sector, communities and other stakeholders to promote participatory forest management for responsible forest management practices, combat illegal logging, and reform trade policies and protect forested areas.

Jackson Bambo is the National Coordinator, Kenya Forests Working Group