- The engagement of CFAs has helped to increase the forest cover in some of the counties.
- Forest laws also allow CFAs with various forest user rights, such as firewood and controlled grazing.
When Moinanic Enepopoya was born in early 1960s, the Entarara Forest in Kajiado county was dense with lush undergrowth and gigantic trees towering into the sky.
Deep in the dense Entarara forest, the Maasai community asked ‘Ngai’ to sustain their lives.
They would ask for water to quench their thirst, to clean the air they breathe, to bless the trees that provided shade, and the animals that gave them company and source of livelihood.
Their prayers were done under a tree called ‘Oretiti’ among the Maa.
Occasionally, the community would also give sacrifices here.
The forest also provided them with traditional medicines to cure various ailments.
Today, the 43 acres forest under the County government, is a pale shadow of it's past.
“I want to see this forest restored due to its benefits,” Enepopoya says with her trembling hands clutching firmly onto her walking stick.
In the recent past, majority of the trees in the forest were over 100 years old. Today, only a handful of them remain.
Enepopoya, who says she was born before 1962 but can't remember the exact date, adds that the forest not only hosted a diverse species of flora and fauna, but its canopy created a cool and soothing micro-climate in a very hot area.
For her love of the environment, Enepopoya has attended all the Community Forest Association meetings that are held every Monday.
She normally sits under the shade as the over 150 members of the CFA deliberate on the best way forward to salvage the forest.
After the meeting, she is normally briefed on the deliberations before she slowly retreats to her nearby home.
Enepopoya says she is happy every time she listens to birds chirping in the forest.
Kamurita Nasotokini has also seen it all having been born in the area in 1952.
Nasotokini said all his Maasai ceremonies have been conducted in the forest.
“As from 1965 to 1969, land was subdivided and everyone got their share. Then, the forest was very dense. We had gigantic trees here but they have been destroyed,” he said.
Nasotokini said the forest needs to be restored to its pristine state.
“We used to have several wildlife species that have since moved following the destruction,” he said.
He said the species included black and white Colobus monkey, porcupines, among others but have since moved to Loitokitok forest and Mt Kilimanjaro.
In fact, the forest was called ‘Ilkeek Lorkoroin’ the Maasai name for the black and white Colobus monkey.
Nasotokini said there was enough water for domestic and livestock use from the nearby catchments in the forest.
The forest has been dense but just like other water towers in the country, it has experienced human encroachments.
The Entarara Forest was later rescued in 2017 when the then county council stepped in.
The council stopped all the farming activities and removed encroachers paving way for the restoration efforts.
The farmers were growing tomatoes, onions, french beans and water melons under irrigation to boost their livelihoods.
In 2019, a host of stakeholders launched some of the efforts to restore it.
The Ministry of Environment, the National Environment and Management Authority, the Kenya Forest Service among others planted over 10,000 trees in approximately seven acres that had been recovered.
In 2022, World Wide Fund for Nature stepped in and has been providing tree seedlings for restoration efforts.
WWF-Kenya coordinator for the Amboseli-Chyulu sub-landscape and the lead for a large-scale forest landscape restoration project Dr John Kioko said they partnered with the county to form the Entarara Community Forest Association.
In the CFA, women and the youth are the majority.
Some of the income generating activities lined up for the forest includes bee keeping and ecotourism.
Already, the county has deployed three officials to prevent further encroachment and destruction of the forest.
Kioko said the restoration efforts have started paying off.
“The social economic survey that has already been done will be integrated into PFM,” Kioko said.
The communities adjacent to the forests form and register CFAs and develop a Participatory Forest Management Plan that is executed through the signing of a Forest Management Agreement between the Service and the CFA.
The engagement of CFAs has helped to increase the forest cover in some of the counties.
Forest laws also allow CFAs with various forest user rights, such as firewood and controlled grazing.
The CFAs are also involved in re-afforestation and rehabilitation programmes, which entail the establishment of tree nurseries, planting and other silvicultural operations through contractual engagements.
Participatory Forest Management is being developed.
The participatory forest management model in Kenya was adopted through the previous Forests Act, 2005, as a forest management tool.
The aim is to engage forest-adjacent communities and other stakeholders in the co-management of forests in a way that communities benefit.
Peter Kanai, the Senior Assistant Chief Entarara sub-location said when forest destruction occurred, rains diminished, subjecting residents to long treks for water.
“In between 1982 up to 1984, rains used to start from this forest,” he said.
Kanai who also doubles up as a CFA member said he has been mobilising seedlings to restore the forest.
He also appealed to the adjacent land owners to grow more trees, especially fruits in their farms to protect the environment and enhance their livelihoods.