Rampant encroachment and grazing of animals in government-owned forests have been cited as the major challenges facing the management of forests in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
Presenting a report to the Court Users Committee, Elgeyo Forest Station Manager Inspector Joseph Mahiri said the encroachment was not only along forest boundaries but also in areas under the Plantation Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme (PELIS) where farmers extend cultivation of food crops to riparian and natural forest land.
Mahiri told the committee chaired by Iten Senior Principal Magistrate Gladys Adhiambo that there was overgrazing of animals, saying the forests can no longer contain the number of animals, noting that some residents had even constructed animal pens in forests.
The inspector therefore called on all environmental stakeholders to partner with the KFS to sensitise wananchi on the carrying capacity of animals within forests, saying this was also affecting re-afforestation efforts.
The magistrate called on the National Land Commission to furnish the courts with a map showing the boundaries of all gazetted forests in the county to help determine encroachment cases.
Inspector Mahiri called for the improvement of infrastructure within the forests to enable patrols, saying poor roads, especially when it rains, coupled with the terrain was another challenge facing KFS.
He also cited illegal logging of cedar and podo, especially trees in the forests within the Marakwet region, and called for stiffer sentences from the court to deter the vice.
The officer added that while people were compensated by the government to move out of the forests, illegal human settlements were still rampant, especially in the Embobut and Sing’ore forests, where there were more than 300 families who had settled in the forest.
By Alice Wanjiru
