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The Kakamega rainforest land has been encroached on and turned into farmland, an environmental impact assessment report indicates.
There are plans to fence it off to prevent further encroachment and destruction.
Residents have occupied Ikuywa and Shiru settlements while the government has set up Shikusa Borstal Institution and the Kenya Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) showground on the forestland. The Nyayo Tea Zone area is also within the forest.
Speaking while receiving the report on Monday, Kakamega Deputy Governor Philip Kutima said they will conserve the country’s only remaining tropical rain forest at all costs.
“We are glad residents have been receptive to the entire process as highlighted by this report,” he said.
The report, which is awaiting approval of the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema), says the forest has been adversely affected by human activities.
Kutima said the majority of residents of Kakamega and Vihiga counties living around the forest want the forest to be fenced off to prevent further encroachment and destruction.
“The activities include food and firewood collection, grazing, fetching water, charcoal burning and logging,” he said.
The Kakamega and Vihiga county governments have allocated Sh100 million and Sh30 million, respectively, towards the fencing of the forest, Kutima said.
He directed a team of experts to see to it that all stakeholders, including MCAs and residents, were involved in the implementation process.
Peter Njiiru, an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment lead expert, said the demand for land due to the increase in the population is also a threat to the forest and its inhabitants.
Environment Chief Administrative Secretary Mohammed Elmy said the forest is key to mitigating the effects of climate change in the region.
Kakamega Trade, Industrialization and Tourism executive Kassim Were said his ministry plans to establish a snake park and an eco-lodge in the forest to promote tourism once the electric fence has been erected.
"We have also thought of introducing nature trails and cable cars in the forest so that tourists can have a spectacular aerial view of the entire forest and its ecosystem," he added.
The report recommends that residents be allowed to continue using the forest even after fencing, the connection of water pipes from the forest to the homesteads around the forest, provision of access gates to the forest and a coordinated management of the use of the forest resources.