The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Forestry and Climate Change (CS) Soipan Tuya has said forestry has been listed as one of the value chains.
While speaking at a Narok hotel during the fourth Medium Term Plan (MTP) dissemination forum, Tuya said that the government is revitalising the forestry industry away from what it has traditionally been so that forestry can be seen creating jobs and addressing food security, adding that is the plan behind the 15 billion tree planting programme.
The CS said 20 percent of the trees to be planted under the government’s 15 billion tree planting programme are fruit trees that would speak to food security and nutrition value for the population in the country.
Tuya said the government has a responsibility through her ministry to provide unlimited supply of tree seedlings for fruits, fodder trees, and other various species that need to be planted in specific areas.
On the other hand, the CS said the government embraces participatory forest management so that the communities living near the forest have clear guidelines under the Forestry Management Act in terms of user rights for communities.
However, Tuya has made strong directives to forest officers, starting with the with the chief conservators of forests, regional forest conservators, and county forest conservators, down to the forest station managers, regarding the allowed activities within the forest.
The CS noted that Narok County has been greatly affected by the allowed activities within the forest. Adding to that, there are laws and regulations on the allowed activities within the forest.
She said that the activities that can be carried out within the forest are regulated by law, especially grazing and grass harvesting.
The CS said that they have delegated forest management to the community forest association, whereby the people who take responsibility are the forest officers, to make sure each community forest association understands the rules and regulations on grazing.
“For example, we have the regulations to be mapped out; we cannot have free-range kinds of activities within the forest, especially now that we are doing 15 billion trees for the areas under restoration; grazing is not compatible,” said Tuya.
The CS has directed all the forest officers to sit together with the community forest association to map out and zone the areas that are compatible with control grazing.
She also said there is a limited carrying capacity for livestock that must be enforced to the letter because it is limited; it can only happen within the areas that are not undertaking restoration activities.
By John Kaleke
