This archive report was first published on 21 November 2019.
On November 21, 2019, the Kenyan government announced that it would extend a ban on logging in community and public forests by 12 months.
The current ban was set to expire on November 24, 2019, but Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko stated that the government would instead map and take stock of the acreage of public forest plantations in the country.
A multi-agency team will be constituted to undertake an independent mapping, verification, and valuation of all mature and over-mature forest plantations, with a report to be submitted to the government within four months.
The initial ban was imposed in response to public outcry over excessive logging in public forests, and was initially set to last three months to allow for an audit of the Kenya Forest Service's management of forests.
However, following revelations of corrupt dealings and illegal logging by state officers, the government further extended the logging ban.
The ban has elicited criticism from sawmillers, who claim that it has crippled their businesses.
Despite this, the government has moved to lift the ban on privately owned commercial forests in a bid to allow the timber industry to continue running.
The latest ban comes at a time when the Kenya Forest Service and Environment ministry are running a tree-planting campaign to raise the country's tree cover to ten percent.
