Kenya’s current forest cover stands at 7.6 % — R Infographics Case Study

According to KeNRA (Natural Resources Alliance of Kenya), from an international view, Kenya is a low forest cover country considering that it has less than 10 per cent of the total land area classified as forest as recommended by the United Nations. The country’s forest cover is now said to be at 7% having increased by 5.3% since 2013. A report by the environment cabinet secretary Judy Wakhungu earlier this year attributed this to the rehabilitation of over 400,000 hectares of degraded public land, which is part of the government’s strategy to combat desertification. Wakhungu according to The Star Newspaper said only 1.7% of the land was covered by forest in 2013. The government of Kenya says it has partnered with more than 10 African countries and donors to push the tree cover to 10 per cent by 2020.

Total Land Area →Land Area vs Tree Cover in 2018;

Primary forest loss and tree cover loss: Kenya;

The annual loss of primary forest cover and tree cover for Kenya by year

Tree Cover Loss;

According to https://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/archive/Kenya.htm, “Tree cover threshold” is used for defining the tree cover area. For example, 75% includes only areas with more than 75% tree cover, whereas 10% includes all areas with more than 10% tree cover. 75 % of tree cover reflects a dense canopy.

With the enactment of the Forests conservation and Management Act 2016 administered by the Kenya Forest Service, there is hope for continuous growth of more forest cover as it requires county governments to adopt and implement policies in adherence to the Act as provided under section 21, which requires them to prepare annual reports for the service on forestry activities, KENRA concludes.