Professionals in the forestry sector have lashed out at the government for failing to promote plantation forests in the country.
Forestry Society of Kenya National chairman Benjamin Wamugunda said it is wrong to import timber yet the country has potential.
“Forestry should not be looked at from the museum and antiquities angle that trees are beautiful, trees are for rain, trees are used by human beings. This country cannot afford not to use its trees,” Wamugunda said.
The chairman addressed the media at Nairobi Arboretum flanked by other members of the society.
On Tuesday, Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Sanitation Soipan Tuiya presided over sandalwood burning exercise at DCI headquarters.
The exercise followed a court order issued by senior principal magistrate Boaz Ombewa of Kahawa law courts.
The 13.5 tons of sandalwood worth Sh54 million was seized from Samburu East, Wamba area.
Tuya said the move was symbolic and demonstrated the commitment and teamwork aimed at breaking illicit networks that seek to benefit from the growing illicit trade in sandalwood trees and its product.
Wamugunda at the same time said it was wrong for the state to burn 13.5 tons of sandalwood.
He said it was wrong for the state to demonise exotic trees such as eucalyptus, saying the tree has the potential to change fortunes if handled well.
“Plantation should be accorded the same attention as indigenous trees. We have witnessed chaos as a result of a timber shortage in the country,” Wamugunda said.
Wamugunda said the Affordable Housing initiative by the state will have a huge demand for timber.
The state aims to bridge the annual gap of 250,000 homes by activating projects across the nation.
Under the National Development Plan, Vision 2030, the government targets to provide 200,000 housing units annually for all income levels.
With only 50,000 new housing units supplied every year, Kenya faces a shortage of about two million housing units.
An analysis of the demand and supply of wood products by the Environment ministry in 2013 showed that Kenya had a wood supply potential of 31.4 million cubic metres.
This is against a national demand of 41.7, leaving a deficit of 10.3 million cubic metres.
The study showed that timber, poles, firewood, and charcoal supply stood at 7,363,414 cubic metres, 3,028,907 cubic metres, 13,654,022 cubic metres, and 7,358,717 cubic metres respectively.
The demand for timber, poles, firewood and charcoal stood at 5,262,624 cubic metres, 3, 1,409,482 cubic metres, 18,702,748 cubic metres and 16,325,810 cubic metres respectively.
Forecasts for a 20-year period indicated a 20.0 per cent increase in supply and a 21.6 per cent increase in demand by the year 2032 which signifies a gradually increasing deficit.
According to the Kenya Forestry Research Institute CEO Joshua Cheboiwo, Kenya was importing 42,000 cubic metres per year of hardwood from Congo.
Cheboiwo told the Star on phone, Thursday that the importation of hardwood sometimes hit a high of 60,000 metric tonnes and a low of 20,000 to 30,000 cubic meters.
“Due to the ban on logging, we import between 25,000 to 30,000 cubic metres of softwood from Uganda, Tanzania and sometimes Malawi,” Cheboiwo said.
Wamugunda said the Society will embark on informing the public on the science and the practice of growing eucalyptus, its socio-economic benefits as well as environmental.
“Our members from research and academia have undertaken extensive research and have held a series of discourses that we shall revisit for the purpose of keeping abreast of new and emerging issues," he said.
Wamugunda said the ban that was instituted in 2018 worsened the timber situation in the country.
A 90-day ban on logging was initially imposed on February 24, 2018, on all public and community forests and later extended to November 24.
It was again extended for a year to facilitate sector reforms.
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.
Forest plantations in the country cover 335,000 acres of gazetted reserves.
Most plantations are in five major water towers — Mt Kenya, Aberdares, Mau Forest Complex, Cherangani Hills and Mt Elgon.
Harvesting of matured trees from plantations, however, ceased in 2018 when authorities imposed a moratorium on logging, which was one of their biggest sources of revenue for the state and the KFS.
Since 2018, matured trees in plantation areas have been rotting away, while some are over-matured.
Wamugunda termed the ban as wrong prescription and biased saying it was knee jerk reaction to what was considered as haphazard tree felling.
The Society is an internationally recognised entity that promotes quality and robust forestry professional practice and scientific principles in the management of forest resources.
Wamugunda said Kenya should not be importing electricity poles from outside the country as she can provide enough poles locally.
He said the issues ailing the forest sector require professional guidance and strategic leadership that the society will provide.
On forest fires that have been raging in various forests in the country, Wamugunda said studies have pointed out that wildfires and human-induced fires are becoming health issue where smoke contribute to the direct death of 339,000 people annually and a 10 per cent increase in hospital admission.
In the state's bid to increase the country’s tree cover to 30 per cent by 2032 at a cost of Sh600 billion, the society said there is a need to closely monitor the planted seedlings.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)