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Thursday November
01, 2001
State in big
rush to clear forests
By
JAMES KARIUKI
and GATONYE GATHURA
The
Government is in a big rush to clear huge sections of forest in
the Rift Valley for what it calls resettling of squatters and
harvesting of mature trees.
So
much is the urgency that the Government has expressed concern over
the slow pace at which forest land excised last year is being
cleared to allow resettlement.
A
meeting convened earlier this week by the Rift Valley Provincial
Commissioner, Mr Peter Raburu, recommended that the clearance of
the excised forestland should be completed by December.
Consequently the administration wants the chief conservator of
forests to license more saw-millers to harvest trees in the
excised forests. Currently, the main sawmillers are Rai Ply,
Chepkoiyo and Timsales. They are each given 100 acres of land to
clear.
The
meeting noted that the acreage given to individual sawmillers was
too high to ensure expeditious clearance of the land.
Mr
Raburu wondered why only a few companies were licensed while other
saw millers' applications were rejected. He said that sawmillers
should be given small portions of land where they can clear and
remove forest produce within the shortest time possible.
But
this call is raising a storm among environmentalists. "It is
curious that after 10 years the Government has just realised how
important it is to settle people displaced in the 1991 tribal
crashes," says an environmentalist.
Conservation
groups working on the ground argued that the rush was to reward
groups and individuals just before the next general election.
"In
Mau East, one of the key water catchment areas, politicians,
university lecturers and senior Government officials have been
allocated forest land of 10 to 50 acres each. A former forest
officer has allocated himself a Government house in the forest
while a former District Commissioner is also a beneficially,"
a source told Horizon
Mr
Raburu brushed off a directive given by the PS in the Ministry of
Natural Resources and Environment banning logging from the said
forests.
"How
does he act on allegations that are baseless? He should rely on
reports from the district environmental management committees
only. Orders banning logging are unfair," he said.
Mr
Raburu said that in future licences issued by the chief
conservator of forests and the PS would not be honoured if their
decisions were reached without consulting the environment
committees.
The
Laikipia District Commissioner, Mr Abdullahi Leloon, had
complained that conflicting directives from the PS had adversely
affected clearing of excised forest land in Marmanet.
The
meeting also blamed the PS and the chief conservator of forests
for the delay in harvesting of mature trees.
Baringo
District Commissioner Mr Albert Lenayapa accused the chief
conservator of forests of failing to approve the harvesting of
trees in various forests in the district, saying the Government
would lose millions of shillings if the recommendations made by
the environment committees took too long to be implemented.
He
observed that recommendations sent to the ministry took months to
be approved, thereby delaying the Government's plans to issue
logging licences.
Eastern
Mau Forest, which is a source of livelihood for the Ogiek people,
will lose 50 per cent of its land. The forest is an important
catchment area for Molo River, which flows into Lake Baringo;
Njoro River, which is crucial to the survival of the big flamingo
population in Lake Nakuru; Ewaso Nyiro, which is the main source
of water supply to Narok town; and Nyangores, a tributary of the
Mara River that supports wildlife in the sprawling Maasai Mara
National Reserve. The Mara River is itself part of the headwaters
for Sondu, on which the survival of the Sh12 billion Sondu-Miriu
Hydro Electric Power station depends.
Link : http://www.nationaudio.com/News/DailyNation/Supplements/horizon/08112001/story2.htm
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