The 90-day ban on logging in community and public forests has been extended by a further six months.
This, Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko said, was to allow the sector get back on its feet and to regulate the wanton felling of trees that is threatening Kenya’s ecosystem.
“The government has extended the moratorium on logging … so as to allow for the appointment of the new KFS [Kenya Forest Service] board and the interim reforms implementation committee to be finalised and to undertake immediate measures to streamline the operations of KFS and the management of the sector,” Mr Tobiko said in a statement on Wednesday.
The committee Mr Tobiko referred to was proposed by a taskforce report that looked into the extent of forest destruction.
In its report, the taskforce, headed by the chairperson of the Green Belt Movement Ms Marion Kamau, called for an audit of the KFS board, as well as a lifestyle audit of senior officials in the ministry and the board.
The report, which also called for a review of logging licenses, was presented on May 17, and its recommendations are still being implemented, Mr Tobiko said.