In an unprecedented step, President William Ruto, on Sunday, June 2, 2023, lifted a ban on logging instituted by his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta six years ago.
The President, who address gathering in Molo Constituency, regretted that the ban had contributed to the dwindled fortunes of the region.
Ruto, one of Africa's climate crusaders, noted that there would be strict measures to curb desertification resulting from lifting the ban.
According to President Ruto, who has been in office for less than a year, only mature trees would be cut as it was not logical to have Kenyans living in poverty while they were decaying in the forests.
“People are struggling on where to get timber, yet trees are decaying in forests.
“We have lifted the ban so that we can harvest mature trees,” the President stated.
To ensure Kenya profited fully from the exercise, he noted that the government would heavily tax business people importing furniture.
Ruto further noted that the trees cut would be replaced by the 15 billion his administration planned to plant in 10 years.
However, his directive sparked uproar, with climate change enthusiast Sue Buku lamenting that it was ill-informed and would lead to deforestation.
“So sad to see the ban on logging being lifted. I was hiking in Kamweti Forest on Mt. Kenya a few weeks ago, and the sight was disheartening.
“Having been there in December 2020, the scenes of the trails and forest were shocking,” she remarked while showing the current state of Kamweti Forest.
Uhuru's administration imposed a nationwide logging ban in 2018, outlawing timber harvesting in all public and community forests.
At the time, the Environment Ministry noted it was reassessing and rationalising the entire forest sector in the country in an effort to save main water towers.
