By Bernard Gitau @benagitau

Kenya is eyeing Sh 1 billion for its role in offsetting an estimated 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. According to the Forest Status Report – 2024, Kenya has an estimated 6.4 million acres of gazetted public forests and 2.7 million acres of forests in community land. By conserving existing forests and promoting sustainable forest management practices, the country can prevent the release of stored carbon and maintain its capacity as a carbon sink. Under the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) for international reporting, Kenya has monitored and tracked greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2022. According to the report, the process is crucial for assessing the country’s progress in reducing emissions within the sector, as well as meeting its international climate commitments.

The annual emissions from various land-use change categories from 2001 to 2022 reveal that the largest emissions stem from the conversion of forestland to cropland, followed by the conversion of forestland to grassland. In a bid to involve various stakeholders in the restoration of degraded forest areas, the government launched the ‘Adopt-A-Forest Initiative’ in 2015, an innovative concept that enhances the planting and growing of trees across the country. This process involves partners adopting a portion of a forest for rehabilitation, protection, and management for a period ranging from 3 to 5 years. To date, KFS has entered into a framework of collaboration with over 100 partners – both state and non-state actors leading to a total of 54,698.68 hectares of forest areas being adopted for restoration.