Environment Cabinet Secretary, Soipan Tuya, cancelled licences issued to a private company for the harvesting and exportation of Baoban trees to the US.
In a statement dated Monday, November 21, the CS directed her ministry to review the permits in line with an earlier directive issued by President William Ruto.
She further instructed the contract between the company and the people of Kilifi to be regulated to determine the amount of money given back to the community should the process be approved.
Various reports indicated that one baobab tree was being sold for Ksh300,000.
"It has been agreed that the baobab trees should not be exported until the adequate authority, as well as benefit sharing formula in line with the Convention for Biodiversity (CBD) and Nagoya protocol, are obtained and executed," read the statement in part.
The CS also directed investigative agencies to probe various government officials who irregularly issued licences to the private company despite contrary court orders.
"We determined that in the pendency of the access permit approval by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), the private company went ahead and started uprooting the said trees irregularly.
"Consequently, NEMA went to court to stop the uprooting process. Seemingly undeterred, the private company obtained a NEMA Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) license, irregularly issued by the County Director of Environment in Kilifi County," CS Tuya directed.
Further, she stated that her ministry would create a hotline for Kenyans to report such matters, further lauding the citizens and the media's watchdog role.
She maintained that the government was keen on implementing Ruto's 15 billion tree-planting pledge following public criticism of the exports.
Reports that the rare trees were being harvested and exported sparked an uproar among Kenyans who questioned whether the move aligned with the President's climate change agenda.
Consequently, the head of state urged Tuya's ministry to investigate the matter.
"There must be adequate authorisation and an equitable benefit-sharing formula for Kenyans. Further, the exercise must be in line with the government’s agenda of planting 15 billion trees in the next 10 years," the President directed then.
