Outcry Following Kenya's Lifting of Six-Year Ban on Logging

Barely a year after he took office, President William Ruto lifted the ban Kenya imposed on logging to conserve water six years ago. The reversal, according to Ruto, was motivated by a need to create jobs for young people in the East African country, reports Felix Maringa for Deutsche Welle.

Ruto also said Kenya would continue with its plan to plant 15 billion trees in 10 years. Climate activists, however, say the lifting of the ban - which helped raise the country's forest cover by 3% - amounts to a major setback.

The country's environment cabinet secretary, Soipan Tuya, reiterated Ruto's argument, saying people who have waited since 2018 to harvest trees in commercial forests now have an opportunity. Logging will be controlled and supervised to ensure loggers do not extend their activities beyond the areas marked for commercial logging, the cabinet secretary said.

Greenpeace Africa activist Tracy Makheti said the government has erred in rushing to allow people to cut trees, given that there are other means to create jobs for youth.

When the ban on logging was imposed in 2018, Kenya's forest coverage was at about 5.8%.

In 2022, the government launched an ambitious plan to plant 15 billion trees. The campaign dubbed #JazaMiti aimed to improve forest coverage beyond the current 8.8%.

An online petition opposing the logging ban decision has garnered close to 40,000 signatures. The Greenpeace Africa campaign dubbed "Hands off Kenya's Forests."