When Kenya lifted its six-year ban on logging, President William Ruto called it a “rational economic decision.” But conservationists like Peter Ngare, Big3Africa’s Editorial Manager, saw it as “a step backward that risks undoing decades of progress against deforestation.”
Now, a new report by the Climate Smart Forest Economy Program (CSFEP) presents a possible counterpoint: a future where timber doesn’t mean destruction — if it’s done differently.
Across East Africa, rapid urban growth has made sustainable construction a pressing challenge. Concrete and steel — the backbones of modern cities — are among the world’s top carbon emitters. Mass timber, engineered from layers of compressed wood, offers a potential breakthrough. It is strong, fire-resistant, and sustainable when sourced from responsibly managed forests.
A CSFEP study with the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics found that four key barriers — structural, informational, psychological, and social — stand in the way of mass timber’s adoption. Yet, the research also highlights an untapped opportunity: East Africa could lead a green construction revolution if it builds confidence in engineered wood.
Critics of the logging ban argue that controlled harvesting could stimulate rural economies and create jobs in the wood products industry. But as Ngare warned in his recent editorial “Ruto’s Logging U-Turn Erases Kenya’s Gains Against Deforestation,” unregulated logging risks dismantling vital ecosystems like the Mau Forest — the “ecological heart” of Kenya’s hydrological system.
The tension lies in how timber is sourced. Without transparent forest inventories, Kenya’s re-entry into commercial logging could spiral into ecological damage and undermine national climate goals.
What if Kenya’s timber revival didn’t mean cutting down natural forests, but rather growing new ones? Programs like CSFEP envision a circular forest economy — where trees are grown sustainably on degraded lands, harvested for engineered wood, and replaced with new growth. This approach could both meet construction needs and expand forest cover, aligning with Kenya’s 15-billion-tree campaign.
But to get there, Kenya must move beyond the rhetoric of “tree planting” toward science-based forestry and circular economy models. Building with mass timber should not justify unchecked deforestation; instead, it should demand smarter forest management, local training, and transparency across supply chains.
Experts argue that Kenya’s timber future depends less on sawmills and more on skills. As the Busara study found, many architects and engineers still distrust wood as a structural material — a mindset rooted in decades of poor-quality construction and lack of education. Reintroducing woodcraft and sustainable forestry training in universities and vocational schools could change that narrative.
As Ngare wrote, “Climate credibility is not built in conference halls, but earned in forests, rivers, and fields.” The question now is whether Kenya can bridge those worlds — turning its forests into engines of sustainable innovation rather than symbols of political contradiction.
