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Wednesday, January
14, 2004
2 communities allowed to stay in
state forests
Standard Team
The Dorobo and Ogiek communities
have been allowed to remain in State forests.
Environment assistant minister
Wangari Maathai said they were the only people categorised as
"hunters and gatherers" of food, and as such would be
allowed access to public forests.
Prof Maathai said other people
occupying public forests illegally must move out within the new
March deadline.
"The Dorobos and Ogiek are the
only people in this country who are hunters and gatherers and the
rest will have to move," Maathai said in Nyeri.
She, however, said the Government
was considering retaining the shamba system of farming in its
efforts to rehabilitate forests.
The minister said the option of
employing people to plant trees in forests had proved too
expensive for the Government.
The world-renown environmentalist
has been agitating for a ban on the shamba system, where people
are supplied with tree seedlings to tend as they cultivate in
forests.
Yesterday, Maathai beat a retreat
and said the system was viable.
She, however, said those allowed to
cultivate would be vetted.
She also announced that the
Government would employ more foresters, saying a list — that
includes some of the officers sacked last year — had been drawn.
Over 800 foresters and senior
ministry officers were sacked last year and all the gazetted
forests placed under the provincial administration.
"There has been a big vacuum
caused by the sacking of the officers and we need to re-employ
some urgently," said Maathai, adding that the officers would
first be vetted.
She said the recruitment would be
done in a transparent manner.
MPs attending a two-day workshop in
Mombasa last week urged the Government to ensure the exercise was
transparent and without bias.
At the same time, provincial
administrators have been accused of colluding with loggers to
plunder forests.
"The provincial administrators
are no better than the corrupt officers we sacked as they have
been sneaking in loggers," Maathai said.
Meanwhile, farmers occupying public
forests in the North-Rift region have appealed to the State to
reconsider its decision to evict them.
Led by Mr Joseph Bore, they said
they only cultivated there when the trees are young.
Bore said most farmers in Kaptagat,
Bukar, Tumeiywo and Kibonge forests in Keiyo District had not
harvested their crops since the eviction notice was issued.
And the Narok County Council has
warned that it will evict more than 10,000 squatters in forests
under its jurisdiction.
The clerk, Mr Stanslas Ondimu, said
yesterday that most people posing as squatters had fraudulently
acquired tittle deeds for the forest land.
Ondimu was speaking after he led a
team of journalists, conservationists, head of NGOs and
councillors to Sasumwani forest in Mau area which has been invaded
by squatters and loggers.
The council rangers intercepted
over 1,000 of white podo trees that were being smuggled out.
Link : http://www.eastandard.net/archives/January/wed14012004/headlines/news1401200415.htm
Copyright
© 2004 . The Standard Ltd
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