Kenyan manufactures have unveiled a strategy to sustainably expand forestry businesses in the country.

The Forestry Business Sustainable Action Plan sheds light on interdependences of the forestry industry and other economic sectors for the country’s socioeconomic development, while preserving ecosystems.

Speaking at the launch, Kenya Forest Service (KFS) Chairman Peter Kinyua said that his organization is looking to fill in forestry business supply chain gaps in the country.

“To reduce the gap between demand and supply in the forestry sector, we are providing technical expertise to private farmers to increase the quality and quantity of trees. We have also partnered with various stakeholders, including the business community, in restoring and managing urban forest parks.”

Kinyua also added, “These initiatives shall offset carbon footprints and contribute to environment sustainability and climate change mitigation. These programmes have been replicated in public urban green spaces in Nairobi and is set to be replicated in other counties across the country.”

On his part, the chairman of the manufacturers body, Mucai Kunyiha, noted that the Plan is a local industry initiative towards restoring and replenishing the environment, and not just making profits.

“The Forestry Business Sustainable Action Plan is an initiative of uKAMilifu, our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) arm that houses our social impact programmes. The plan provides insights on the extent to which the forestry sector strategies and programmes have been implemented, and level of sector-actors collaboration and coordination towards enhancing sustainability of the forestry sector, and areas of improvement.”

Kenya Association of Manufacturers Chairman Mucai Kunyiha speaks at the launch of the Forestry Business Sustainability Action Plan

Mr. Kunyiha called for the development of policies for sustainable forestry business, saying “Knowledge management, smart forest approaches, multi-stakeholder engagement, innovation for sustainable use of resources, standardization of timber and wood products and lifting of the ban on logging shall drive sustainable forest business growth, whilst conserving our environment.”

Kenya’s forest cover is 7.4%, lower than the threshold of 10% set by the country’s constitution. Kenya Forest Research Institute Senor Deputy Director for Research and Development Jane Njuguna expressed the institute’s commitment to increasing the country’s forest cover, for sustainable economic development.

“We have developed and deployed various technologies and innovations to enhance production, processing and distribution of tree seeds in the country. Most of these are ready to be commercialized by the private sector investors under various investment policy and legislations to cater for SMEs and large corporations to serve various users ranging from large scale to small scale operators.”

The Forestry Business Sustainability Action Plan for Kenya was commissioned as part of an inquiry into seeking ways to enhance the sustainability of Kenya’s forestry sector through a multi-stakeholder approach. 

It mirrors global and regional best practices, with the main intent of guiding sector interlinking businesses to develop tailored sustainable actions that support the forestry sector in Kenya.   

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