A lobby has started an online petition to stop the implementation of a proposed amendment to the Forest Act.
The Save Our Forests Initiative started an online petition on the Change.org platform to seek signatures to stop Members of Parliament from making the amendments.
The amendments to the bill will see the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) removed from its role of excision and alteration of protected forest boundaries.
“This will open up the forests for grabbing and we will not only lose our water catchment areas but it will be a step backwards in the climate change fight,” the lobby said.
They said that the Act was put there to protect forests after a section of leaders ruined this delicate ecosystem in the 90s and early 2000s that saw obscene overexploitation of the forests.
If this happens, the lobby said, water shortages will be rampantly triggering a scramble for the resource, human-wildlife conflicts will get worse.
The proposed amendments have not had a great reception since they were made in parliament.
The Kenya Forest Service came out to term the amendments as sinister.
PROTECTING PUBLIC FORESTS
In a previous article of the Star, KFS board chairman Peter Kinyua said that the section proposed for amendment protects public forests from boundary variations and excisions that would otherwise endanger forests and their rich biodiversity.
KFS said that they see ill motive in the proposed amendments as it is coming at a time various MPs have been agitating to have sections of protected forests hived off and handed to landless electorates.
“Some of the forests targeted include portions of Mau Complex, Ngong Road, Kamiti, Kiambu, Ngong hills, and Mount Elgon,” it had said.
The petition targets over 25,000 signatures, which so far has garnered over 18,267.
The lobby is calling on Kenyans to sign the petition to compel lawmakers to be more, mindful and protect the future of the country.
“By leaving the forests alone completely and lobbying for laws that will see an increase in forest cover and protect the environment, we will have a better future for coming generations,” said the lobby.
