President William Ruto has defended his decision to lift the logging ban, which was blocked on Wednesday by the Environment and Land Court.
The court issued stay orders revoking the gazette notices issued for the de-gazettement of forest areas, preventing the state from issuing licences and permits to fell trees.
Addressing the media from State House, Ruto clarified that tree harvesting will not affect the government’s greening plan of planting 15 billion trees over ten years.
He confirmed that the state has taken affirmative action to coordinate harvesting and will maximise the value gained from using resources, particularly those in commercial plantations.
“What we are doing is that we are going to make sure that the exercise does not lead to what we have seen in the past and it is the reason why this year we have hired an extra 1,500 officers including wardens to make sure that we take full charge of the exercise around our forests,” he said.
“There is no single coin that is going to come from the harvest of commercial trees that’s going to go outside and make sure that we drive our plan but we are going to issue a statement in that direction.”
In the case, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) filed a court petition to challenge the president’s decision to lift the logging ban.
They argue that the directives issued have not provided scientific reasons, research, policy directives, or specific environmental assessment impact, nor have they done public participation in the areas likely to be affected by the state’s removal of the ban on logging activities.
The lawyers’ group claims that reckless action completely disregards the critical role that forests play in mitigating climate change, preserving biodiversity, and safeguarding vital ecosystems.
Furthermore, they contend that the government is endangering the delicate balance of nature by promoting deforestation and threatening the livelihoods of countless communities that rely on the forests for sustenance.
The case is scheduled to be mentioned on August 14.
While lifting the logging moratorium, which had been in effect since 2018, Ruto expressed optimism that it would create jobs for both youths and businesses.
