The Kenya Forest Conservation and Management Act (2016) is a product of the review of the Forest Act (2015) to align it to the constitution of Kenya. One of the key changes of the Act is the inclusion of county governments in forest management and conservation. Other conspicuous provisions in the act include:
- A forest status report and resource assessment report to be prepared every 2 and 5 years respectively by KFS. A GIS database should also be maintained regularly by KFS
- Any person may petition the variation of forest boundaries
- A public forest strategy formulated every five years
- Allows for more involvement of communities and private sectors in forestry
The act has 11 parts and 2 schedules. The table below is a summary of the 11 parts of the Kenya Forest Conservation and Management Act.
Parts | Key Points |
1. Preliminary | Captures general things about the act such as citation and commencement, interpretation, applications, guiding principles, public forest policy, and public forest strategy |
2. Administration | Kenya Forest Service (KFS) is the body responsible for the management of public forests in Kenya. Some of the key responsibilities of KFS include the implementation of forest management plans, issuing licences, and permits for use of forest resources, establishing benefit-sharing arrangements, and build the capacity of the County government in forestry. The roles of other institutions such as Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI) and Kenya Forestry College are also outlined. County governments are required to implement national forest policies and manage public forests in counties It also outlines the appointment of honorary foresters and the establishment of forest conservation areas and committees |
3. Financial provisions | It addresses the source of funds for KFS, which is mainly from the national treasury It also defines Forest Conservation and Management Trust Fund that seeks to support forestry programmes such as payment for ecosystem services The board prepares the budget at least two months before the end of the financial year (June) |
4. Classification and management of forests | Forests are classified as s public, community, or private. But community and private forests are registered by KFS Community forests upon registration can benefit from Forest Conservation and Management Trust Fund and get technical support from county governments The service can declare a mismanaged community or private forest as a provisional forest Each county to have an arboretum or a green zone 5% of any housing development project should be a green zone With counsel from KEFRI, the cabinet secretary can declare a tree species to be protected No individual can fell, cut, damage, or remove, trade in or export or attempt to export any protected tree species with backing from an EIA, the service can offer a concession to utilize public forests Any person/service or institution can enter into a management agreement for all or parts of a public forest. But no management agreement includes settlements in the forest |
5. Community participation | Outlines the obligations of the community forest association. The association sets out the use of forest resources, methods of biodiversity conservation, methods for biodiversity monitoring, and protection of wildlife. The CFAs are entitled to forest user rights such as collection of forest products, ecotourism and education activities. |
6. Incentives for increasing forest and tree cover | Investors in forests shall share the benefits of their investment with local communities e.g. employment, infrastructure, education Tax and fiscal incentives (by Government) to promote forest conservation and management Promote national tree planting week and the International Day of Forests (21st March) |
7. Licencing and Trade in forest products | The KFS can allow the private sector to participate in sustainable forestry management through licenses, contracts, joint management agreements, or concessions The Service shall publish in the Gazette a chain-of-custody system for the verification of the origin of forest products from the public, community, and private forests |
8. Enforcement and compliance | Chief conservator of forests and forest officers can demand licence and search any person suspected to have possession of forest products. Seizing and detaining livestock found roaming illegally in the forest. Officers of the service above the rank of Sergeant Forest Ranger have the same powers conferred on a police officer under the Criminal Procedure Code and the National Police Service Act, 2011# Officers with paramilitary training can use firearms |
9. Offences and Penalties | Except under licence/permit, the following are illegal activities in a public/provisional forest: illegal harvesting of forest products, importation or exportation of forest produce, illegally marking forest produce, arson of a forest and introduction of exotic genetic material, smoking, livestock grazing, cultivating, and possession of logging equipment. Other offences related to counterfeiting and quarrying are defined. The penalties for each group of offences are also outlined. Any dispute that may arise in respect of forest conservation and management shall be referred to the lowest possible structure under the devolved system of government initially but may be forwarded to National Environment Tribunal for determination if unresolved. An appeal, where applicable, lie in the Environment and Land Court as established under the Environment and Land Court Act, 2011. |
10. Miscellaneous | Gives provisions for the regulations of the act The act aligns with the constitution and international treaties where Kenya is a signatory |
11. Transitional provisions | The Kenya Forest Conservation and Management Act (2016) repeals the Kenya Forest Act (2005) and Timber Act (1972). However, public forests and licences issued before the act are valid. |
Schedules of the Kenya Forest Conservation and Management Act
The Kenya Forest Conservation and Management Act has 3 schedules as follows:
- The first schedule indicates the tenure of office and conduct of the business of the board
- The second schedule outlines the conditions for public participation, and
- The third schedule lists the gazetted public forests in Kenya
Issues with the Kenya Forest Conservation and Management Act
Although the Act aligns forestry regulations in Kenya with the constitution and international treaties, various shortcomings are evident:
- The Chief Conservator of Forests is determined as the person in charge of day to day running of KFS (Section 14(4)). However other instances mention the director-general (Section (35(2b).
- Although the act claims that public forests are managed by KFS, it also contradicts itself by claiming that county governments should manage the public forests under their jurisdiction. The clash with devolution is also evident in the classification of county forests (yet the act initially mention forests could only be public, private, or community). However, there is a feeling that the KFS mandate is public forests, while the counties have a mandate over the community and private forests. This feel is captured by the fact that the Chief Conservator of Forests supervises the implementation of management plans in public forests. In contrast, county governments supervise the implementation of management plans in community and private forests (Section 47,6).
- Although fines and penalties for illegal forest activity have been increased in the act. The penalties are still low for some offences. For instance, the maximum fine for tree poaching is 100,000 Kenya Shillings.
All in all, the Kenya Forest Conservation and Management Act provides a good start point for Kenya in developing sustainable and productive forests. It would be great if some of Kenya’s forests could be regarded as important forests of the world.
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David Okul is an environmental management professional with over 10 years experience on donor projects, conservation, forestry, ecotourism, and community-based natural resources management. When not working on active environmental management projects, I spend my time writing for Silvica on a variety of topics.
