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To: Soipan Tuya, the Cabinet Secretary, Environment, Climate Change & Forestry

HANDS OFF OUR FORESTS! Don’t lift the ban on logging public & community forests in Kenya

Thank you so much for your unwavering support in this crucial campaign. Unfortunately, the ban on logging in public and community forests was lifted on July 2nd, 2023, but our mission is far from over.

Let us unite our voices, with Greenpeace Africa, as we demand the Kenyan Government to reinstate the ban on logging in public and community forests!
Take action NOW >> https://act.gp/3rCyUWf

In just ONE MONTH, the Kenyan government is set to fully lift the ban on logging our forests in July 2023, after imposing it 6 years ago. This decision will allow sawmillers to harvest mature trees from both public and community forests, which could result in devastating consequences to our environment in this crucial time of the climate crisis.

After Kenya surpassed its 10% minimum tree cover target in June 2022, lifting the ban will only undo all the significant progress we have made, by opening these community forests to commercial and illegal logging, hell bent on clearing our forests for profit.

The Kenyan government is literally putting profit over its people and nature by lifting this ban. The same government that only a few months ago in February 2023, approved the export of Adansonia digitata species of baobab from Kilifi, Kenya to Georgia, USA. An indigenous species native to Africa! As much as Kenya setting a target of 15 billion trees to be planted by 2032 seems like a step in the right direction, addressing the climate crisis not only lies in the planting of new tree seedlings, but also maintaining our existing trees. The negative impact of cutting down mature trees outweighs the positive impact of planting new trees.

Why is this important?

Forests offer important benefits that are crucial to our planet’s survival through; purifying the air we breathe, providing water catchment areas to prevent erosion and providing a buffer to extreme climate change. In Kenya, our forests are home to rare and endangered species such as the mountain bongo, the African forest elephant, and the black rhino. Our forests are also vital for the livelihoods of millions of local communities dependent on them for food and medicine.

Kenya is one of many African governments giving the green light to the cutting down of forests in Africa; from clearing the Congo Basin Rainforest for development of oil blocks, to illegal distribution of permits and exportation of timber in Mali. We must bring an end to the constriction of the lungs of Africa, our forests.

We cannot stand by and let this happen. We must urge the Kenyan government to stop the lifting of the ban on logging.

Sign the petition and join me in sending a strong stance to Soipan Tuya, the Cabinet Secretary, Environment, Climate Change & Forestry that we will not stand by and watch as our forests get destroyed!

Source:

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/realtime/2023-04-16-government-to-harvest-mature-trees-from-july-says-ps-kimani/ Kenyan governments lifts moratorium on logging forests

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Two-baobab-A-digitata-trees-in-a-sisal-field-in-Kilifi-Kenya-showing-differences-in_fig5_290448251 Baobab Native to Africa

https://kenyanwallstreet.com/government-approves-export-of-baobab-trees/ Kenyan government approves export of Baobab

http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/Acts/2016/No._34_of_2016.pdf Forest Act 2016

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/national/article/2001447088/kenya-makes-strides-in-tree-and-forest-cover Kenya surpasses minimum forest cover

https://us.eia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/EIA_US_Mali_Timber_report_0422_FINAL.pdf illegal exportation of timber in Mali

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/congo-auctions-30-oil-blocks-amid-environmentalists-warning-3895480 Auctioning off oil blocks in DRC

https://www.citizen.digital/news/government-bans-logging-191860 Kenya bans logging of forests

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2023-04-07-state-targets-to-plant-60-million-trees-this-rainy-season/ Kenya target 15 billion trees by 2032

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Updates

2023-07-19 12:59:23 +0200

Thank you so much for your unwavering support in this crucial campaign. Unfortunately, the ban on logging in public and community forests was lifted on July 2nd, 2023, but our mission is far from over.

Let us unite our voices, with Greenpeace Africa, as we demand the Kenyan Government to reinstate the ban on logging in public and community forests! Take action NOW >> https://act.gp/3rCyUWf

2023-07-05 20:02:04 +0200

10,000 signatures reached

2023-06-12 10:59:12 +0200

5,000 signatures reached

2023-06-03 05:43:01 +0200

1,000 signatures reached

2023-06-02 12:54:24 +0200

500 signatures reached

2023-06-01 18:44:46 +0200

100 signatures reached

2023-06-01 16:03:40 +0200

50 signatures reached

2023-06-01 14:28:55 +0200

25 signatures reached

2023-06-01 09:45:32 +0200

10 signatures reached