Dilemma of logging ban as saved trees rot away

Following the move, thousands of Kenyans were left jobless.

The impact of the moratorium is, however, far from over as the state stares at losing billions of shillings.

On February 24, 2018, the state imposed a 90-day ban on logging, which was later extended to November 24. The ban, however, remained in place until July 2 last year, when it was finally lifted.

Some sawmillers moved to court, challenging how the plantations were being allocated, but the court has given the greenlight for the harvesting of 5,000 hectares.

Public Forest Plantations cover 150,000 hectares composed of tree species such as pine, cypress and eucalyptus, and make up six per cent of Kenya’s 2.49 million ha of gazetted forests that are under the custody of the Kenya Forest Service.

Due to the ban, various activities, technically known as silvicultural operations, were stopped in various plantation forests, with devastating impacts.

Forest professionals argue that for timber to be of good quality, silvicultural operations, such as pruning and thinning, must be done as guided by technical orders drafted by experts.

Today, the trees are either mature or overly mature, while others are deformed due to a lack of silvicultural operations.

SILVICULTURAL OPERATIONS

During silvicultural operations, deformed and diseased trees that are not suitable for timber are removed. This was not done for the duration of the ban.

This means that thousands of hectares across the country will not fetch as much money as expected.

On August 1 last year, Environment CS Soipan Tuya said an inventory by a multi-agency taskforce between 2020 and 2022 found that 26,000 hectares of plantations in the country were either matured or over-matured.

Timber manufacturers have been shying away from poorly managed plantations as they do not have a return on investment.

Only 5,000 hectares of mature and over-mature trees are set to be harvested, earning the country Sh8 billion.

Thousands of hectares that are mature, overly mature and were affected by the moratorium and need salvaging are not among those set to be harvested, exposing the state to losses running into millions.

Several plantations in Meru, Nyeri, Makueni, Kakamega and Nandi have been severely affected by the six-year ban due to the lack of silvicultural operations.

Meru Forest Station manager Nancy Gacheri said the station has a size of 14,834 hectares, of which 1,135 hectares is plantations.

The Kibaranyaki beat, sub-compartment 1R, which is approximately 10 hectares, has a lot of windfalls.

“It is caused by lack of silvicultural operations that is pruning and thinning,” Gacheri said, adding that the affected trees are aged 21 years.

Gacheri said the moratorium that was imposed hindered them from silvicultural operations that is pruning and thinning.

The trees affected include cypress, which was planted in 2003 and was set to be harvested in 2033. Cypress is harvested at the age of 30.

Some of the trees have dried, with experts warning that it could fuel forest fires.

Paul Oloo, who is in charge of forest inventory in Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties, said pruning is done to remove tree branches and make plantations clean.

Thinning allows the few trees that are of good quality to remain so as to secure a good market and fetch good money.

He said elephants, which are common, knock down some of the trees.

“The soils here are loose, it necessitates the process of windfalls, which are quite common here, especially when there is a lot of rain,” Oloo said.

Oloo said 60 per cent of some of the plantations have been affected by windfalls.

The Mucheene Forest Station also has similar windfalls, denying the state revenue.

Mucheene Forest Station manager Elias Mwamba said they have an area of 10,200 hectares of forest land, of which 2,784 is occupied by plantation.

“We have so many windfalls because of the lack of silvicultural operations that we apply as the tree grows,” he said, adding that there was no application of silvicultural operations.

Mwamba recommended the salvaging of the affected trees to get the little revenue that will fetch instead of going to waste.

“The treatment is important as it helps in increasing the diameter of the tree, meaning we will make more money,” he said.

The plantation affected in Mucheene is around 19 years old, yet they are supposed to be harvested when the trees are 30 years old.

“The best option is to salvage the plantation and replant,” he said.

Mwamba said most trees had broken top, exposing them to disease agents.

COMPROMISED QUALITY

He said the first pruning is done when the tree is aged two years, at age four and the third one depending on the top height.

Meru county forest conservator Wellington Ndaka said the county has a forest cover of 12.7 per cent and the tree cover is 29 per cent.

Ndaka said the plantation in the gazetted forest is 8,800 hectares, while the natural forest is 86,040 hectares.

“Most of the plantations in Mucheene, Meru and Marania forest are affected by windfall, game damage (wildlife),” Ndaka said.

He said in the whole county, more than 9,000 trees have fallen due to windfalls and game damage.

In Mucheene, 4,400 trees have been affected.

Ndaka said windfalls being witnessed are as a result of the lack of thinning and pruning due to the ban, a move that has compromised the quality.

He said the trees need to be salvaged as things will worsen if they are allowed to reach maturity.

“The quality of timber will be very poor, and they are diseased. They are not going to produce quality timber, which was the intention.”

The value now is below 50 per cent of the real value, so it does not make any sense to keep them here anymore. The quality of timber will be very poor and diseased

Ndaka said it does not make commercial sense, adding that the good plantation must be subjected to good practices.

“The value now is below 50 per cent of the real value, so it does not make any sense to keep them here anymore.”

Ndaka said 20 per cent of the plantations have been lost in the county and counting.

A similar trend is evident at Hombe Forest Station in Nyeri county, which has 3,610 hectares with a plantation area of 1,248.1 hectares.

The natural forest in Hombe is 2,369.9 hectares.

Robert Kariuki, the Hombe Forest Station manager, said Kihari 1D, which is 3.5 hectares and was planted in 2006, has been damaged by game, that is, buffaloes and elephants.

Some 150 logs have fallen in the forest due to game damage.

“Most trees were not thinned,” Kariuki said, adding that plantations, which are meant to fetch revenue, must be managed well.

“Beyond the economical lifespan, they will die even naturally.”

Kariuki said the community around and practising Plantation Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme (Pelis) played a crucial role in protecting trees.

Once such communities moved out after trees years when the trees have formed a canopy, the trees are exposed to wildlife.

He said the plantations need fencing to protect them from wildlife.

Kariuki said 90 sub compartments in Hombe alone have been affected.

He said plantations should be removed as they are not economically viable.

Nyeri assistant county forest conservator David Maundu said the county has 45 per cent tree cover and 40 per cent forest cover.

Maundu said the county has total gazetted forest area of about 115,435 hectares, of which the planation is about 13,000 hectares (11 per cent of the total gazetted area), while the natural forest is 102,000 hectares.

Plantations in Makueni are suffering from a similar fate.

Mbooni Forest station manager Edward Nyamai said the station is comprised of 11 forest blocks scattered far apart, with a total area of 1,992.7 hectares.

Plantations cover an area of about 1,006 hectares, while natural forest covers about 946 hectares.

Cypress, pine and eucalyptus are the main plantation species.

“Many trees have been affected by windfalls, especially during rain seasons. We have the cypress that fell recently,” Nyamai said, adding that pines and cypress are the most affected.

He said some blocks have also been affected by forest fires. He cited Katende and South Mbooni.

He estimated the losses to be more than Sh15 million.

Nyamai said fallen trees, as well as those impacted by the moratorium, need to be salvaged. In one plantation, more than 500 trees had fallen.

BIOLOGICAL ROTATIONS

Martin Mutie, the Makueni county forest conservator, said his county has a gazetted forest area of 15,004 hectares, of which 17,000 hectares is under community forest.

Mutie said more than 3,400 hectares are under planation forest in four forest stations: Mbooni, Makueni, Nthangu and Kilungu.

“From the 3,400 hectares of plantations, more than 750 hectares of plantations are either mature or over matured and being affected by windfalls,” he said.

“We need to remove the windfalls as they are fire hazards.”

Mutie said the windfalls are a result of physical, silvicultural or biological rotations as many of the plantations were planted many years ago.

He said the old trees should be replaced with new ones with active photosynthesis that can sequester carbon.

Mutie said out of 3,400 hectares under plantation, more than 780 hectares have been affected by windfalls and fires, which have affected almost 400 hectares in Mbooni.

Plantation forests in Kakamega have also been affected.

Kakamega county acting forest conservator Brenice Wanyonyi said the Malava Forest Station’s entire forest covers an area of 718.8 hectares.

Malava 3H, covering an area of 4 hectares under cypress trees planted in 2004, has a poor establishment of plantation.

“The reason is that it was initially established under Plantation Establishment and Livelihood Improvement Scheme (Pelis),” Wanyonyi said adding that almost two hectares are empty.

“Because of the government regulations, Pelis had been stopped in implementation, that is why we have gaps. Community members had been stopped from doing cultivation in the plantation.”

Wanyonyi said the plantation is now almost empty and needs to be salvaged.

Lugari Forest Station has also been affected by windfalls, as is Nandi.

Nandi county forest conservator Dennis Kerengo said the gazetted forest area in Nandi is 61,339 hectares, of which 85 per cent is indigenous.

The plantation forest is 3,469 hectares.

The moratorium affected pruning and thinning, which has caused windfalls.

“A lot of things have stagnated, such as the maintenance of our roads. Revenue collections have also gone down,” he said.

While welcoming the harvesting of 5,000 hectares, KFS chief conservator Alex Lemarkoko said all the necessary arrangements have been made.

From the 5,000 hectares, KFS will fetch Sh8 billion.

Lemarkoko said systems have been put in place to reduce the human factor.

He said plantation management systems and accounting have been integrated and are now done online.

MIXED IMPACTS

Lemarkoko said the moratorium had mixed impacts, both positive and negative.

“On the positive side, Kenyans have been shown that it is possible to grow their own trees and sell,” he said.

Lemarkoko said the ban allowed the service to plan and put in place systems following the recommendations of a task-force that interrogated illegal forest activities.

On the negative side, the ban prevented KFS from practising forest management in plantations.

Lemarkoko said the ban affected the relationship between KFS and key stakeholders, such as saw millers and community forest associations.

He said the lack of silvicultural activities, such as thinning and pruning, has compromised the quality of end-products from plantations.

The windfalls are exposing plantations to fires.

“We have been relying on products from outside the country, which are of low quality,” Lemarkoko said.

The CCF said experts from KFS should be allowed to do their work professionally as plantations must be managed well to fetch good money.

Meanwhile, Kenya has continued importing timber from its neighbours.

Lemarkoko said the country has a wood supply capacity of 31.4 million cubic meters against the national demand of 57.6 million cubic meters, leaving a deficit of 26.2 million cubic meters.

“As the economy grows, the deficit will increase,” he said.

The CCF said the 5,000 hectares of mature and over-mature plantation will produce 2.049 million cubic meters.

Lemarkoko said the market may not be able to absorb 5,000 hectares allowed due to five-year disuse of machinery and lack of capital.

Head of Biodiversity at KFS James Mwangombe said Pelis does not affect biodiversity and has instead helped boost food security.

“We need to balance human needs and conservation,” he said.

Wangombe said studies have shown that the productivity of plantations is five times more when compared to indigenous.