Kenya: Green Belt Movement Seeks to Nullify New Forest Act

Nairobi — The Green Belt Movement and civil society group JustAct have moved to court seeking to nullify the recently enacted Forest Conservation and Management (Amendment) Act, 2026, arguing that it weakens constitutional protections for public forests.

In a petition filed before the Environment and Land Court, the two organisations are seeking conservatory orders to suspend implementation of the law pending determination of the case.

They also want the court to stop the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) from processing applications for easements, wayleaves or special user licences under the amended law.

The petition challenges provisions allowing statutory easements and wayleaves for roads, utilities and other public infrastructure through gazetted forests.

The groups argue the amendments could allow the excision and allocation of public forest land for infrastructure projects without adequate constitutional safeguards and weaken the oversight role of the National Land Commission.

They further claim the law was passed without sufficient public participation in both the National Assembly and the Senate.

According to the court filings, implementation of the law could lead to irreversible environmental damage by opening up critical ecosystems, including the Mau Forest Complex, the Aberdares, Mount Kenya, Kakamega Forest, Karura Forest and Ngong Road Forest, to infrastructure development.

"The harm that will follow implementation of Sections 56(2)(da) and 56(2)(db) of the Amendment Act is irreversible. Once roads and utility corridors are permitted into Kenya's gazetted public forests, fragmentation, loss of ecological continuity, disruption of hydrological cycles, and severance of wildlife corridors cannot be remedied by any subsequent court order or monetary award," the petition states.

"A forest ecosystem takes decades to develop; it cannot be recreated merely by replanting."

The petitioners also argue that the amendments effectively overturn an earlier court decision that limited KFS's powers to issue special use licences in protected forests.

In addition, they are asking the court to compel KFS to disclose all licences, approvals, permits, easements and wayleaves issued under the amended law within 10 days.

Read the original article on Capital FM.