Emerging Values of Forests: The Case of Kenya

Abstract

Kenyan gazetted forests cover a mere 1.7% o(the country's surface area which is far below the recommended 10% forest cover (or ecological stability. Hence, forest management approach is (or environmental and biodiversity conservation. This approach is likely to compromise the PFM objeaive o( improving livelihoods o( the Forest Adjacent Communities (FAC). The methodology involved a case study o( five sites, representing various ecological zones and cultural diversity in Kenya. Tools used included semi-structured questionnaires and Rapid Rural Appraisal. These were complemented by focused group discussions and in depth interviews. Emerging values o( forest range from water (or irrigation and sale, to ecotourism, dry season grazing and non-resident cultivation among others. PFM however (aces challenges and constraints. Timber and pole exploitation have been banned and firewood collection has been (acing resistance from special interest groups like bird watchers who view this as destruction o( habitat (or specific taxa, some o( which are endemic. There(ore, PFM in most forests in the country is likely to be shunned by the community who view the forests as their bridge to improved livelihoods. This bleak future (or Kenya's PFM has been brightened by ever emerging values o( which have witnessed communities' link forest management through PFM to: butterfly (arming, Aloe vera (arming, and silk moth (arming, among many other livelihood improvement activities that have been linked to their participation in forest management Resultant community capacity building coupled with organizational development has resulted in PFM community based organizations access forest management, community livelihoods project funds which the communities are using to further enhance their well-being status and ability to manage the forests better. Thus, the emerging forest values are a blessing to PFM implementation in Kenya without which it would be a challenge to introduce PFM in most forests in the country.