Kenya eyes REDD+ benefits after dialogue highlights importance of bolstering multi-sector collaboration
To assist Kenya in its forest conservation and Paris climate accord goals, the UN-REDD Programme and the African Forest Forum (AFF) organized a national policy dialogue last month for policymakers and industry stakeholders.
The event, held in the East African country’s Machakos County on 27 and 28 February was attended by 26 policy stakeholders from various industries, including agriculture, energy, forestry, finance, climate, land and wildlife..
According to Kenya Forest Service, as of 2021, Kenya’s forest cover was almost 9 per cent of the country’s total land area. This was a raise from about 6 per cent in 2018. Despite this success, the government of Kenya has an ambitious goal of enhancing forest cover further – to a minimum of 10 per cent of the national area by 2030 as envisaged in the Country’s constitution.
As a party to the UNFCCC, Kenya has also committed to contribute to the Global climate change mitigation and adaptation agenda, and has submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in line with the requirements of the Paris Climate change Agreement. The forest sector has been identified as key to the realization of these goals due to its comparatively high abatement potential.
Opening the national policy dialogue, Kenya Forest Service Deputy Director Clement Ngoriareng reiterated the Service’s commitment to work with other local and international players to ensure the country’s forest resources are protected and utilized in a sustainable way.
The dialogue also emphasized the importance of fostering close collaboration among various stakeholders to effectively address deforestation and unsustainable land use practices. It also highlighted the need to promote sustainable development and safeguard natural resources.
Other issues discussed by delegates included the need to make sectoral policies transparent, especially aligning them for effective delivery of environmental services.
The Kenyan government has launched a campaign to grow 15 billion trees in ten years in a bid to hit a 30 per cent tree cover goal. The campaign aims to reduce greenhouse emissions, stopping, and reversing deforestation.
Sustainable tree growing not only helps combat climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide, but it also provides a wide array of environmental, social, and economic benefits. Forests act as carbon sinks, helping to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This has been proven by studies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Key outcomes of the dialogue included:
For REDD+ success, it will be crucial for sectoral policies and strategies with potential impact on Agriculture, Forestry and other Land Use (AFOLU) sectors to be better coordinated to ensure that forest conservation and carbon sequestration goals are not undermined by sectoral expansion objectives.
Policy actors in Kenya were shown the existing opportunities for mainstreaming and integrating REDD+ activities across relevant sectoral policies to contribute to the country’s sustainable development.
Policy stakeholders in Kenya were better informed and understood potential disincentives or constraints at policy and institutional levels, that could negatively affect REDD+ process.
Increasing awareness of REDD+ benefits across sectors, as well as capacity building is required.
Educating policymakers and stakeholders on the value of forests for carbon sequestration can foster support for forest conservation initiatives.
Key policy actors in Kenya were sensitized on sectoral policies and strategies that have potential to influence REDD+ implementation at national level.
As a way forward, a roadmap was developed at the event, with roles, responsibilities, and a timeline for each REDD+ stakeholder for achieving the REDD+ coordination and integration, building on agreed recommendations for harnessing identified opportunities and addressing the constraints.
