State risks losing Sh30bn over logging ban as trees rot

Most trees in plantation areas are rotting away, while some are over-matured.

“There is nothing we can do for now,” a senior official with the Kenya Forest Service told the Star in confidence.

The official revealed that a multi-agency team that had been put in place to go around the country assessing trees ready for harvesting had disagreements.

The move followed a revelation by a task force report that the harvesting of trees in plantation areas was riddled with corrupt practices.

It is understood that senior officials from KFS disagreed with members of the multi-agency team on modalities to be followed in assessing trees for harvesting.

Versed with knowledge of tree management including harvesting procedures, KFS officials felt that the members of the multi-agency team did have the clue on how to go about the assignment.

The standoff between members of the multi-agency teams led to slow progress in the assessment.

But even as the members of the multi-agency squared out over their differences, trees of unknown value were rotting.

The ongoing rains pounding various parts of the country have not helped.

A 90-day ban on logging was initially imposed on February 24, 2018, on all public and community forests and later extended to November 24.

It was again extended for a year to facilitate sector reforms.

The ban restricted the extraction of timber from all public and community forests, a move that was meant to give KFS more time to fully implement new measures to protect forests.

This complicated matters for Kenya as the country had an annual wood deficit of approximately 1.3 million meter cubic by 2013 where it could only meet 70 per cent of its timber demand sustainably.

The government gazetted a task force to look at the challenges facing the forest sector on February 26, 2018.

In November 2020, former Environment CS Keriako Tobiko partially lifted the ban on logging.

“Having considered the recommendations of both the board of management of the Kenya Forest Service and the multi-agency team on mapping, verification and valuation of mature and over-mature forest plantations, the government has decided that the moratorium on logging in public and community forests imposed since 2018 shall continue. But will be varied or modified to allow for harvesting and disposal by KFS of mature and over-mature forest plantations for an area not exceeding 5,000 hectares,” he said.

Tobiko had said the harvesting and disposal of forest plantation materials will be supervised by a multi-agency team.

He said the process will be done in a manner that is open, transparent, and accountable and ensures value for money.

“The details and particulars of the forest areas to be harvested and the terms and conditions applicable thereto including replanting conditions, shall be published in due course.” 

But even as the state was preparing to harvest, saw millers moved to court citing unfair play in the allocation process.

Economist Xn Iraki told the Star on phone that the government was not getting revenue due to the moratorium.

“Agroforestry should be opened up so that people do not rely on the government. People should plant trees as prices have gone up,” he said.

Iraki said the private sector should invest in tree plantation in order to reap benefits and compete for the available market with the state.

He said the state was also losing foreign exchange.

However, Iraki said, the water towers have since been protected as a result of the moratorium.

The task force on illegal forest activities found out that the board and the management of KFS had been unable to “stem and in some instances have directly participated in, abated and systematised rampant corruption and abuse of office.”

“The Kenya Forest Service has institutionalised corruption and the system is replete with deep-rooted corrupt practices, lack of accountability and unethical behaviour,” the report said.

The task force noted that illegal logging of indigenous trees was a major threat to forests and was rampant in key forest areas.

Cedar, according to the report, was the most targeted species.

The report recommended immediate investigations and possible prosecution of all criminal-related findings of the task force touching on former board members and KFS staff.

The decision was to help the country restore its depleted forest cover after a public outcry.

The task force unearthed serious malpractices in the sector and made various recommendations.

Forest plantations currently cover about 334, 992 acres in gazetted reserves of Kenya.

The plantations include Pine, Cyprus, and Eucalyptus.

Most plantations are located in five major water towers: Mt Kenya, Aberdares, Mau Forest Complex, Cherangani Hills and Mt Elgon.

KFS normally plants eucalyptus trees away from water bodies as they consume a lot of water.

When trees mature, the KFS carries out an audit and its plantation team marks the trees for sale to the registered saw millers who are about 800.

Buyers deposit money in a National Treasury account and are issued with receipts.

Millers take the receipts to forest station officers and harvest the mature trees under supervision.

KFS protects 6.4 million acres of gazetted forests and another 420 million acres under counties.

The task force report found out that KFS has been using a direct allocation process to award forest materials to saw millers since 2017.

Prior to that, there was an open tendering process to select, award and grant saw millers timber-logging rights.

The direct allocation procedure being practised by KFS is unfair, inadequate, and inappropriate. The task force also uncovered incidences of its abuse.

Undertake a complete overhaul and paradigm shift in the way the commercial forest plantations are managed by KFS from plantations establishment, management, harvesting, valuation and disposal for optimal productivity and increased revenue generation.

The task force found out that most forest plantation areas are located in critical water catchment areas; some forest plantations are located deep inside the indigenous forests in high-altitude areas. The zonation between the indigenous forests and forest plantation areas was not clear. Many forest plantation compartments are not planted with trees, it was reported that some of the harvested compartments have not been replanted with trees for the last 20 years.

In a 2018 study on the valuation of ecosystem services in the Mau Forests Complex, Cherangani Hills and Mt Elgon, the annual contribution of the plantations to the national economy was estimated at Sh10.7 billion against a total economic value of the three water tower ecosystems estimated to be Sh339 billion.

In another study conducted in 2011 in the Aberdare forest, the annual contribution to the national economy of the ecosystem services provided by that mountain forest ecosystem was estimated at Sh59 billion.

KFS irregularly allocates trees to certain saw millers. For example, Buffalok Limited and Mawaka Limited receive allocations from KFS on a regular basis.

At block 1B in Malagat, Buffalok Limited was allocated over 2,600 trees in September 2017 against 80 trees for small millers.

In November, hardly two months after, Buffalok Limited was allocated again over 3,000 trees in block 13F in Makutano.

The task force also found out that there was poor record keeping and allocation of forest blocks in certain cases resulting in a double allocation of trees by KFS.

For example, in block 5A in Kuresoi, one can easily be allocated trees, which are non-existent as they have already been allocated to someone else.

The task force report said there is undervaluing of trees in the Kinale area (Aberdares) such that the government does not get the true value from the plantations.

It was also reported that saw millers harvest more trees than what has been allocated to them by KFS.

This was also reported in Elgeyo Forest Station where KFS staff colluded with saw millers.

Compartment 4C: 221 trees declared at Sh6,090 per tree for a total value of Sh1,345,890.

However, the actual number was 1400 trees valued at Sh8,526,000.

This represents a loss in revenue for the government of Sh7,180,110.

Compartment 10A: 3,000 trees were declared at Sh10, 017 per tree, for a total value of Sh30,051,000. However, the actual number was 9,475 trees valued at Sh94,911,075.

This represents a loss in revenue for the government of Sh64,860,075, Compartment 10H: 7,800 trees declared at Sh8,500 per tree, for a total value of Sh66,300,000.

However, the actual number was 14,700 trees valued at Sh124,950,000.

This represents a loss in revenue for the government of Sh58,650,000; Compartment 5A: 2,200 trees declared at Sh13,485 per tree, for a total value of Sh29,667,000.

However, the actual number was 5,200 trees valued at Sh70,122,000. This represents a loss in revenue for the government of Sh67, 155, 300.

This amounts to a total loss of Sh197,845,485 in four forest plantation compartments alone.