By Dayo Yusuf
Kenya's decision to lift a six-year-long ban on logging in the country has had environmentalists warning about the risk of staking all the gains of afforestation in one fell swoop.
The concerns mostly revolve around whether the East African nation's denuded green cover has been replenished enough for logging to resume, or how the authorities intend to throw open the forests.
"If we should start logging in this country, it should happen maybe 15 years from now, when the trees that we have planted have matured enough, and we have a better forest cover," environmentalist George Mwaniki told TRT Afrika.
"We are way below the recommended tree cover, and based on that, we should be encouraging more planting and not cutting down trees," he advised.
The "take-it-easy" refrain has grown louder since President William Ruto first announced during a church service that the government's move to lift the ban on logging in gazetted forest plantations would help create jobs in a country that needs them now more than ever.
"We can't have mature trees rotting in forests while locals suffer due to lack of timber. That's foolishness," President Ruto said. "This is why we have decided to open up the forests and harvest timber – so that we can create jobs for our youth and expand business."
Many see the decision as being counterintuitive to the country's efforts to combat deforestation.
Climate change expert John Kioli's main concern is how this will be implemented.
"Who will monitor if tree harvesting is being done in the right way? How will we monitor that the trees cut are mature? Why are we opening all the gates?" he said. "It would have been a strategic move had we tried this out in one county first to see how it works. If the plan works out, you could open up forests in other parts of the country."
Formula in the works
The Kenya Forest Service, which oversees all forest activities in the country, has come out in support of President Ruto's move.
"A detailed harvesting security plan on access, control and supervision of actual harvesting and reporting has been put in place," it said on its Twitter handle. "As part of the plan, entry certificates are presented to forest station managers before removal of any forest produce."
The agency said it would control the time when harvesting is done and when it ends. "Upon completion of the felling and withdrawal of materials, exit certificates are issued as evidence of compliance with all requirements."
The government is also expecting to garner taxes from logging activities.
According to the forestry department, the lifting of the ban on logging in gazetted forests was based on an inventory of plantations compiled through multi-agency documentation.
Environmentalist Mwaniki sees this as a two-sided saw. On one hand, Kenya needs to meet its timber needs internally, while on the other hand, it has to be wary of environmental degradation.
"Most of our neighbouring countries do not have forest plantations. Yet, we are spending a lot of money every year buying from them timber supplied by indigenous forests," he said.
"If you look at Africa as a whole, then it makes sense for us to cut timber from forest plantations here than to import form outside, which would save us a lot of money. But, generally, it's a bad idea if you examine it purely on the basis of the country's current forest cover."
Another environment expert, Dr John Recha, insists that all relevant institutions and stakeholders must be involved in the process to avoid a disastrous free-for-all.
"The challenge with lifting the logging ban without involving key institutions like the Kenya Forest Service will be that unscrupulous traders will take advantage of that to clear existing trees and forests," he told TRT Afrika.
A landmark study of Kenya's high-elevation forests by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), shows that the economic cost of deforestation in the East African country exceeds national gains from forestry and logging by a ratio of more than 4:1.
Dr Recha spells out the potential pitfalls. "Further loss of trees and other vegetation will contribute to causes of temperature increase, enhanced desertification, and a number of problems for the indigenous population."
All in all, both schools of thought have tabled valid points on why or why not to go ahead with logging.
As Kenyans ponder the conundrum of going for economic benefits and cutting down trees after a six-year hiatus, those more sensitive towards the future of the planet will keep pushing for a total ban on deforestation.
But the more likely winners of this debate would urge controlled logging as, one way or another, some of these trees might stand no chance of being saved anyway.
