Conservation of forests gets boost as 26 field vehicles acquired

The protection and conservation of Kenya's forest resources have got a shot in the arm following the acquisition of 26 field utility vehicles on Thursday.

Chief Conservator of Forests Julius Kamau flagged off vehicles that are being supported by Green-Zones Development Support Project Phase II financed by African Development Bank.

AfDB contributed $50 million (about Sh5.5 billion), while the government provided $5 million (about Sh547 million).

The goal of the project is to improve forest conservation and community livelihoods for sustainable forest management in Kenya.

"Conservation, management and protection of gazetted forests require heavy-duty field utility vehicles," Kamau said.

"In line with this, Green Zones Phase II has boosted the capacity of forest stations by procuring 26 vehicles which are today being distributed to forest stations in Aberdares, Mau and Mt Kenya ecosystems," he said.

The CCF oversaw the flagging off at Kenya Forest Service headquarters in Karura.

He said the 26 units of field utility vehicles are part of a fleet of 61 vehicles invested by the project over the last two years in its quest to revamp KFS transport infrastructure capabilities.

Earlier, phase 1 of the project had procured 36 vehicles which are still being used by KFS field officers.

The CCF said the investments being made will contribute to the actualisation of the project goal of rehabilitating a total of 833,979.375 acres (337,500 Ha) of degraded natural forest.

This, he said, is part of the KFS Strategic Objective of rehabilitating 1,235,525 acres (500,000 Ha) of degraded natural forest areas as outlined in its third Strategic Plan (2018-22).

"Indeed, the project will significantly contribute to the country’s climate change resilience through conservation, livelihood support and contribution to food security," Kamau said.

"It will also revamp KFS infrastructure base and enhance efficiency in service delivery."

In 2018, the government sought financial support from AfDB to support the conservation agenda through Green Zones Development Support Project Phase II.

The first phase of the project was implemented by KFS and Nyayo Tea Zones Development Corporation between 2006 and 2014.

The aim of the initial phase was to improve forest cover, biodiversity conservation and contribute to reduce poverty.

On December 3, 2019, AfDB board approved Green Zones Phase II in a move that was aimed at consolidating the gains of phase I.

KFS manages 6.4 million acres of forests and helps counties manage another 4.2 million acres. It is, however, underfunded.

KFS is under pressure to increase the forest cover from the present 7.2 per cent to 10 per cent by 2022, a move that needs at least two billion trees to be planted at a cost of Sh48 billion.

It is expected that the project will significantly contribute to the food and nutrition security agenda, affordable housing, universal health coverage and manufacturing.

(edited by Amol Awuor)