Why Karura Forest is under siege

President William Ruto rarely misses an opportunity to remind the world that he is a champion of climate change, a defender of forests and a crusader of reforestation.

From international summits to local forums, he positions himself as a leading voice on climate action, the leader determined to rescue the environment, restore degraded landscapes and increase Kenya’s forest cover.

At the centre of that is the government’s ambitious pledge  to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, a flagship initiative meant to restore degraded landscapes.

But trees are getting a different message. They are being felled in protected forests and in fragile ecosystems with a determination that contradicts the President’s rhetoric.

Nairobi’s iconic Karura Forest has not been spared.

The announcement by the government on clearing three acres of the forest for propagation of tree seedlings and National Youth Service barracks has sparked outrage.

“For us to meet our 1.5 billion within a year, we need a lot of seedlings. We need to mobilize and strategize in all the forest stations so that they can produce from two to 10 million,” said Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Deborah Barasa on Monday.

She dismissed claims that the government intends to put up a housing project in the forest.

However, she also confirmed that temporary accommodation for NYS personnel will also be constructed at the site.

However, members of the Friends of Karura Community Forest Association, the legally recognised co-manager of the forest, said the destruction of mature trees to create space for nurseries or other facilities contradicts the logic of conservation.

“We fully adhere and contribute to the President’s 15 billion trees initiative but are opposed to hiving off recreational forest land for this purpose. It seems ill-advised when there is a much better, conservation-friendly alternative at the expansive KFS (Kenya Forest Service) HQ (136acres) and its biotech centre.”

They wondered why NYS needs to be located within the forest while the headquarters is about five kilometers from Karura.

Critics question why KFS failed to carry out public participation or involve Friends of Karura.

“Urban settlement deep inside the forest is completely unnecessary and a threat to the natural environment,” FKF asserted.

The Green Belt Movement also opposed the ongoing development.

“KFS leadership confirmed the development but indicated that the structures being put up are temporary containers intended to remain in place until 2032,” said Job Mwangi, the advocacy manager.

“However, the scale and nature of the ongoing works on the ground appear inconsistent with what has been described as temporary installations. The clearing of indigenous trees and site preparation activities suggest a more permanent and expansive undertaking.” 

The group wondered why KFS ignored the statutory role of community forest associations, which were created "to safeguard community participation and ensure shared governance of public forests".

Karura Forest has a special place in Kenya’s environmental history; a forest long protected through years of public struggle.

In the 1990s, attempts to allocate parts of the forest for private development triggered widespread protests led by the late Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement.

It was a defining moment in the country’s environmental movement. Today, the forest spans more than 1,000 hectares and serves as a vital ecological refuge for the rapidly expanding city of Nairobi.

But more than two decades after those battles were fought, the forest is again under threat. Environmental activists worry that forests countrywide have in the past three years faced rapid decimation.

In a previous communication, KFS said the construction of the NYS barracks in all forest stations across the country was necessary.

“The partnership between KFS and NYS is meant to provide labour and boost tree seedling production to support realization of the national strategy of growing 15 billion trees by 2032 for realization of 30 per cent tree cover.” 

They indicated that the barracks are being set up in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and they consist of prefabricated metal containers.

Already, the government has restricted the public from accessing or filming the ongoing construction inside Karura.

Conservationists say the ecological and social value of Karura lies in its restoration and protection as indigenous forest, not in converting it into an accommodation and operational zone.

“What was the rationale of establishing a nursery intended to produce two million seedlings within Karura Forest? Why should such a large-scale nursery be situated in an ecologically sensitive urban forest instead of closer to the sites where the seedlings are intended to be planted?” says Green Belt.

The government also wanted to hive off 51.64 acres of the forest for the expansion of Kiambu Road but the court stopped the plan.

The steady thinning of forests raises questions on his administration's intention to protect the environment. The outcry on destruction of Karura forest comes at a time when the forests have been under threat.

While KFS serves as a custodian of forests, the Green Belt Movement emphasised that forests in Kenya belong to the people and that they are entitled to transparency, accountability and fidelity to the law in management of the forests.

He questioned why the government needs to spend public funds to put up facilities whereas the KFS has enough space for expansion.

Instead of clearing the forest, Mwangi said the government should have improved all the KFS facilities in all the forest stations, which are in a dilapidated state, to accommodate the workers.

“With restrictions on access to the site, we really don’t know what is going on inside the forest. We are even sure if it’s three acres or it could be more. This is the time we all need to rise up and fight for our forest,” he added.

The environment advocates also raised questions why the government failed to produce a plan for the project to the relevant stakeholders.

“This whole thing is marred with secrecy. It worries us that even the legal CFA is not allowed into the project. Who will protect the forest on behalf of the people?” he added.

Mwangi told The Standard that there have been five  attempts on Karura Forest but the courts have stopped projects meant to be put up in the forest.

Initially, the government had issued a Special User License to Assup Enterprises to build a hotel inside the forest but the court stopped the project.

The government also wanted to hive off 51.64 acres of the forest for the expansion of Kiambu Road but the court also stopped it.

Later the track to the current contested site was quietly tarmacked without informing the CFA before curtailing the Association's operations through finances.

“We will go to court because whatever is going on in Karura is wrong and needs to be stopped. There is an onslaught on our forests. And it is not a mere coincidence and we need to pay attention to what is happening,” Mwangi added.

Professor Karanja Njoroge, former chairman of Friends of Karura CFA cast doubts on the development saying it’s not ecologically feasible stating that there could sinister motive.

“We are partners and they would have called us and inform us. We have a joint forest management committee but they did not bring this matter to us and we are wondering why. Is it that they are not doing what they are using? He posed.

Prof Njoroge added that there are more than 300,000 seedlings planted by FKF and another 900,000 planted by KFS and they’re manned by less than 10 people.