Alex Lemarkoko is the new Kenya Forest Service Chief Conservator of Forest.
KFS Board announced that Lemarkoko’s appointment is with effect from August 2, 2023.
“This follows a successful interview process that was conducted by the KFS Board on July 31,” KFS said in a statement.
KFS protects 6.4 million acres of gazetted forests and another 420 million acres under counties.
The board said Lemarkoko has a wealth of experience since joining the former Forest Department in 1991.
“He has served in various capacities, starting as an Assistant District Forest Officer and later on he was promoted to District Forest Officer and served in about 10 counties.”
He later moved to the KFS headquarters Forest Protection and Security function.
“Due to exemplary performance, he rose through the ranks to the position of Commandant in charge of Protection and Security.”
Lemarkoko holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from Moi University and a Master of Arts in International Studies from the University of Nairobi.
He is also a graduate of the National Defence College, Kenya.
Lemarkoko has also undertaken several short courses and has a wealth of experience representing KFS in various local and international Forestry forums.
Lemarkoko is also a focal point for Africa Cross border timber trade and Forest Management Forum.
He is also a member of the Forestry Society of Kenya.
Lemarkoko was appointed in an acting capacity as the Chief Conservator of Forests in February 2023.
This was after the term of Julius Kamau, the former CCF came to an end.
During the handover ceremony, Kamau said the service had reclaimed over 135,907 acres of encroached forest land through a human rights-based approach.
Kamau who took the helm of KFS on April 26, 2019, said approximately 28,000 hectares (69,189 acres) of previously unstocked forest plantation areas, had been re-stocked with the support of the Forest Adjacent Communities, through the Plantation Establishment Livelihood Improvement Scheme.
The new CCF takes over even as the government intends to raise country’s tree cover.
The state intends to plant 15 billion trees in the next 10 years at a cost of Sh600 billion.
This means that each year, the budget is approximately Sh60 billion.
The 15 billion tree campaign translates to 30 trees per Kenyan per year over the next 10 years.
The state hopes that by 2032, the country’s tree cover will have hit 30 per cent from the current 12.13 per cent.
Statistics from the state show that the forest cover increased from 5.9 per cent in 2018 to 8.83 per cent in 2021, while the national tree cover stands at 12.13 per cent above the constitutional target of 10 per cent.
Results generated from the National Forest Resources Assessment 2021, show that the country has 5,226,191.79ha of national forest cover, which represents 8.83 per cent of the total area.
KFS also recently employed 2,700 rangers to bolster conservation and management work and it is in the process of employing another 600 foresters.
