CS Duale issues first ban as Environment boss, halts export of raw veneer
Wood veneers stacked to dry.
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has banned the export of raw wood veneers, a decision that comes barely a fortnight after a Nation exposé on the sale of immature eucalyptus abroad.
In a letter to newsrooms, Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale asked the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) not to issue a no objection letter for export.
A no objection letter is simply a permit.
It is the mandate of the KFS to issue no objection letters as stipulated in the Forest Conservation and Management Act, 2016.
This means that anyone who will be exporting raw veneers from today will be doing so illegally.
“This suspension is a resolute measure in support of the National Landscape and Ecosystem Restoration Strategy,” said CS Duale.
The strategy which was crafted last year aims to increase tree cover in the country by 30 percent from the current 12.2 percent by the year 2032.
This means that the government has to restore about 10.6 million hectares of degraded ecosystems and landscapes across 11 key intervention areas around the country.
“Recent reports have highlighted the premature harvesting of immature trees of farmlands, a practice that threatens the success of the government reforestation efforts. By halting the export of raw veneer, the government intends to curb this practice,” explained CS Duale.
The move also follows an uproar from the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) which wrote a letter to both the country’s Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service, Mr Felix Koskei, as well as CS Duale.
KAM wanted the Ministry to review the current policies and regulation of eucalyptus and grevillea trees in Kenya, arguing that foreign actors are using raw materials that are yet to mature.
Nation’s exposé revealed that local timber manufacturers foresee exotic tree species being next in line for destruction as foreign businesses gain access to planted government forests without following the due tendering process.
