Forest Policy, 2014.

The overall Goal of the present cross-sectoral Policy is sustainable development, management, utilization and conservation of forest resources and equitable sharing of accrued benefits for the present and future generations of the people of Kenya. In particular, the objectives of this Policy are to: a) Increase and maintain tree and forest cover of at least ten percent of the land area of Kenya; b) Establish an enabling legislative and institutional framework for development of the forest sector; c) Support forestry research, education, training, information generation and dissemination, and technology transfer for sustainable development; d) Promote public, private and community participation and partnership in forest sector development; e) Promote investment in commercial tree growing, forest industry and trade; f) Enhance management of forest resources for conservation of soil, water biodiversity.The guiding principles of the Policy are as follows: a) Public good: This implies that any action taken in any forest shall be regulated to safeguard public interest; b) Ecosystem approach in an integrated manner for the benefit of the people of Kenya; c) Sustainable Forest Management (SFM): for the current generation without compromising similar rights of future generations; d) Good governance; Public participation; f) Polluter and User Pays; g) Commercialization of forestry activities: Forestry operations shall be undertaken in a business manner; h) Ecologically and fragile areas: i) Research, education and knowledge: j) Livelihood enhancement; k) Indigenous knowledge and intellectual property rights: l) International and regional cooperation.Part 8 establishes linkages with other sectors arguing that the forest sector is closely linked to wildlife, agriculture, housing, national security, water, tourism, industry, energy, education among others. In addition, the sector is closely influenced by private sector, communities and the civil society. In Part 1 it is underlined that also poverty reduction is an important issue in this Policy.With a view to the implementation of the present Policy, Part 9 establishes that the Government shall develop an Implementation Plan for the Policy, with the participation of forest sector stakeholders. The Implementation Plan will designate the roles and responsibility of all parties. The Implementation Plan will also include a set of performance indicators and measures to assess progress towards the effective conservation and management of forest resources in Kenya.The text of the Policy consists of: Introduction (1); Key Issues and Challenges in Forestry Development (2); Policy Goal, Objectives and Guiding Principles (3); Sustainable Management of Forests (4); Forest Products and Industries (5); Forestry Research and Education (6); Legal and Institutional Framework (7); Implementation (8).