• KFS board chairman Peter Kinyua says there have been 95 per cent reforms in the service after a task force identified various flaws that facilitated corruption.
• Kinyua said with support from the private sector, ills at the service could be done away with.
Image: HANDOUT.
The Kenya Forest Service has lashed out at the private sector for encouraging corrupt practices.
KFS board chairman Peter Kinyua said the private sector was facilitating corruption.
"If there is no inducement on our staff, things won't go wrong," he said.
Kinyua said there have been 95 per cent reforms in the service after a task force identified various flaws that facilitated corruption.
He said with support from the private sector, ills at the service could be done away with.
The chairman said it will be hard to influence the allocation of matured trees as a multi-agency team is being involved.
Kinyua said the processes at the service have gone digital, adding that KFS was leveraging on technology to weed out the ills.
The chairman said 860 forest investors have expressed interest in the e-registration targeting wood-based raw materials.
Kinyua spoke on Monday at Kempinski, Nairobi, where manufacturers unveiled a strategy to sustainably expand forestry businesses in the country.
In 2018, a damning report on the state of forests and logging revealed how the forests' custodian - the Kenya Forest Service - had destroyed swathes of precious trees countrywide.
The report said the board and management of KFS were unable to stem, and in some instances, have directly participated in systemised rampant corruption and abuse of office.
By so doing, the report said, the two institutions oversaw wanton destruction of forests, water towers and the environment.
"KFS has institutionalised corruption and the system is replete with deep-rooted corruptive practices, lack of accountability and unethical behaviour," the report said.
Following illegal activities in Kenya's forests, the government instituted a moratorium.
A 90-day ban on logging was initially imposed on February 24, 2018, and later extended to November 24.
It was again extended for a year to facilitate sector reforms and was expected to cease this month.
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.
In 2020, Environment CS Keriako Tobiko partially lifted the ban.
The harvesting and disposal of forest plantation materials will be supervised by a multi-agency team.
The process will be done in an open, transparent and accountable manner that ensures value for money.
The Forestry Business Sustainable Action Plan sheds light on the interdependence of the forestry industry and other economic sectors for the country’s socio-economic development, whilst preserving ecosystems.
Kinyua said KFS is looking to fill in forestry business supply chain gaps in the country.
“To reduce the gap between demand and supply in the forestry sector, we are providing technical expertise to private farmers to increase the quality and quantity of trees. We have also partnered with various stakeholders, including the business community, in restoring and managing urban forest parks," he said.
Kinyua added, "These initiatives shall offset carbon footprints and contribute to environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation. These programmes have been replicated in public urban green spaces in Nairobi, and is set to be replicated in other counties.”
KAM chairman Mucai Kunyiha said the plan is a local industry initiative towards restoring and replenishing the environment.
“The Forestry Business Sustainable Action Plan is an initiative of uKAMilifu, our Environmental, Social and Governance arm that houses our social impact programmes.
"The plan provides insights on the extent to which the forestry sector strategies and programmes have been implemented, and level of sector-actors collaboration and coordination towards enhancing the sustainability of the forestry sector, and areas of improvement,” Kunyiha said.
Kunyiha called for the development of policies for sustainable forestry business, saying, “Knowledge management, smart forest approaches, multi-stakeholder engagement, innovation for sustainable use of resources, standardisation of timber and wood products and lifting of the ban on logging shall drive sustainable forest business growth, whilst conserving our environment.”
Kenya Forest Research Institute senior deputy director for Research and Development Jane Njuguna said her organisation is committed to increasing the country’s forest cover.
“We have developed and deployed various technologies and innovations to enhance the production, processing and distribution of tree seeds in the country," she said.
The Forestry Business Sustainability Action Plan for Kenya was commissioned as part of an inquiry into seeking ways to enhance the sustainability of Kenya’s forestry sector.