Kenya Lifts Six-Year Ban on Tree Cutting Despite Environmental Concerns

(Patria) - Kenyan President William Ruto announced the lifting of the nearly six-year ban on tree cutting, despite concerns from environmental activists, AFP reported.

Ruto said the move was "long overdue" and aimed at creating jobs and
opening up sectors of the economy that rely on forest products.

"We cannot allow mature trees to rot in forests while local people suffer from a lack of wood. That is nonsense," he said at a church service in Molou, a town about 200 kilometers northwest of the capital Nairobi.

Ruto, who has positioned himself at the forefront of African efforts to combat climate change, said the government would continue with plans to plant 15 billion trees over 10 years.

The end of the ban is likely to delight sawmills and timber traders who protested that it led to massive job losses. The moratorium was imposed by the previous government in February 2018 on public and community forests with the aim of curbing illegal logging and increasing forest cover by 10 percent.

But Greenpeace Africa warned that the decision would have "catastrophic environmental consequences."

"In Kenya, forests are home to rare and endangered species, and millions of local people depend on
these forests, relying on them for food and medicine," a petition against the move stated last month.

"Since the Kenyan government imposed the logging ban six years ago, significant progress has been made in protecting forests and fighting the climate crisis," it said.

"Lifting the ban will undo all our hard work, as it will open the door for commercial and
illegal logging solely for profit. Our forests will be at the mercy of sawmills that do not care about the consequences," they added.

Forestry and logging contributed 1.6 percent to Kenya's economy last year, according to
government statistics, which also said total forest cover
stood at 8.8 percent in 2022.