The Kenyan government announced a national holiday for planting trees. But it comes a few months after Kenya lifted the ban on logging.
On November 13, all Kenyans will plant trees. This unusual project is part of a recent government announcement: A surprise public holiday to reforest the country.
The cabinet secretary of interior, Kithure Kindiki, announced the new measure via X (ex-Twitter), following a cabinet meeting chaired by President William Ruto.
“The government has declared a special holiday on Monday, November 13, 2023, during which the public across the country shall be expected to plant trees as a patriotic contribution to the national efforts to save our country from the devastating effects of climate change,” stated Mr. Kindiki.
This decision is part of the government’s ambitious plan to plant 15 billion trees by 2032.
Between 2001 and 2022, Kenya lost almost 375,000 hectares of forest, equivalent to an 11% decrease in forest cover since 2000, according to data provided by Global Forest Watch.
Kenya authorized logging again
However, last July, President William Ruto, often praised abroad as one of Africa’s ecological champions, incurred the wrath of climate change campaigners by lifting the ban on logging, which had been banned in Kenya since 2018.
This decision, which worried environmental associations, was intended to encourage job creation and the development of sectors dependent on forestry. “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.”
This decision came less than a year after the President’s announcement to increase Kenya’s forest cover by more than 30% by 2032. Since then, logging has contributed 1.6% of Kenya’s GDP in 2022, with forests covering 8.8% of the country, according to government data.
Data from Global Forest Watch suggest that forestry activities are a minor cause of deforestation, compared to the much greater role shifting agriculture plays.
A study carried out by the United Nations Environment Program in 2012 showed that economic losses due to deforestation far exceeded the income generated by forestry activities.
Deforestation is said to have deprived Kenya’s economy of 5.8 billion shillings (68 million dollars) in 2010 and 6.6 billion shillings in 2009, far exceeding the 1.3 billion shillings injected annually by logging at the time. According to the same study, Kenya’s five water towers — Mau Forest Complex, Mount Kenya, Aberdares, Mount Elgon and Cherangani — supply rivers and lakes with filtered rainwater and provide over 15,800 million cubic meters of water per year, representing over 75% of the country’s renewable resources.
However, between 2000 and 2010, deforestation reduced water availability by around 62 million cubic meters per year.
Kenya’s economy is highly vulnerable to water supply. Inflation exceeded 10% three times between 2000 and 2010, each time due to drought combined with rising crude oil prices and weak exchange rates.