Kenya logging ban lifted and eucalyptus felling
- No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
- Government and regulators Government of Kenya: Forest cover 8.83% and tree cover 12.13%.
- International bodies FAO: About 6.7%.
- Communities and civil society Critics (not named in the sources reviewed): Cover is 6 to 7%.
Kenya lifted its 2018 logging ban in July 2023 and a court set the decision aside in October 2023. A 2024 report cited six million eucalyptus trees in six months, while the government set a target of 15 billion trees by 2032.
Headline of an Eastleigh Voice article citing KEFRI; recorded in the sources reviewed as felled, not independently verified.
Status As of 2024: the lifting of the logging ban was set aside by a court in October 2023; a report cited six million eucalyptus trees in six months of 2024.
What happened
Kenya introduced a logging ban in 2018, with a stated target of 10% tree cover. In July 2023 President William Ruto lifted the ban. A court set that decision aside in October 2023; Africanews reported it as the court halting the lifting of the logging ban.
On 13 November 2023 the government held a national tree-planting day with a target of 100 million seedlings in one day, within a goal of planting 15 billion trees by 2032. the sources reviewed found no record of the number actually planted.
In 2024 Eastleigh Voice published an article headlined 'Six million eucalyptus trees in six months', with KEFRI given as the source. the sources reviewed's summary records the figure as six million eucalyptus trees felled in the first half of 2024.
The government gives forest cover as 8.83% and tree cover as 12.13%. Critics put cover at 6 to 7%, and FAO at about 6.7%. In the Mau Forest, tree cover fell by 19% (533 km2) between 2001 and 2022.
- 2018Logging ban introduced; target of 10% tree cover
- 2023July: President Ruto lifts the logging ban; October: a court sets the decision aside; 13 November: national tree-planting day, target of 100 million seedlings, goal of 15 billion trees by 2032
- 2024Eastleigh Voice (citing KEFRI): six million eucalyptus trees in six months, recorded in the sources reviewed as felled in the first half of the year
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Lifted the 2018 logging ban in July 2023.
Set the lifting aside in October 2023; Africanews reported the court halting the lifting of the ban.
Forest cover 8.83% and tree cover 12.13%.
About 6.7%.
Cover is 6 to 7%.
How it looked
Shown
- We will plant 15 billion trees (goal to 2032).Government of Kenya
- Tree cover of 12.13%.Government of Kenya (official figure)
Recorded
- The 2018 logging ban was lifted in July 2023 and a court set the lifting aside in October 2023.
- Forest cover of 8.83% and tree cover of 12.13% (official); FAO about 6.7%; critics 6 to 7%.
- Mau Forest lost 19% of its tree cover (533 km2) between 2001 and 2022.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2023-10Claimant wonChallenge to the lifting of the logging banCourt (not named in the sources reviewed) · Administrative · Not named in the sources reviewed → Government of Kenya
A court set aside the July 2023 decision to lift the 2018 logging ban in October 2023. Africanews headlined the ruling as the court halting the lifting of the ban.
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
- Disputed How much of Kenya is covered by forest and trees?
Figures
- Insufficient Trees felled: Eucalyptus, first half of 2024; Eastleigh Voice headline citing KEFRI, recorded as felled in the sources reviewed.
Accounts
- Disputed Did the logging ban remain lifted after July 2023?
Record
- None on record The number of seedlings actually planted on 13 November 2023 was not found in the sources reviewed.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: the six million eucalyptus figure is recorded as trees felled in the first half of 2024; the headline alone does not say who felled them.
- Disputed National forest and tree cover figures conflict: 8.83% forest and 12.13% tree cover (official), about 6.7% (FAO), 6 to 7% (critics).
Did the harm stop?
Not recorded in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not recorded in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Connected cases
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