Ruto lifts nationwide logging ban, pledges Kenyan-made furniture revolution
With mature trees now available for local sawmillers, Ruto aims to boost the timber industry, empower Kenyan youth and end decades of furniture import dependency.
President William Ruto has announced the lifting of the nationwide logging ban, allowing only the harvest of mature trees, in a bid to put idle timber to commercial use.
Speaking at Molo Technical and Vocational College in Elburgon, Nakuru County, on Monday, President Ruto said the move aims to revive local timber production and reduce dependence on imported furniture.
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"We shall reopen the timber factories here in Elburgon. I have told my Minister of Trade, Mr Lee Kinyanjui, that importing furniture from China must end. We will use our wood to make furniture," said Ruto.
"Furniture in Kenya will use timber from here, and our Kenyan youth will create that furniture."
He added that mature trees would soon be made available for purchase by local sawmillers nationwide.
However, the President emphasised that the decision does not authorise uncontrolled logging. He said he plans to meet regional sawmillers on Tuesday to establish clear rules for sustainable timber harvesting.
President Ruto had first lifted the logging ban, which was instituted by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2018, in June 2023. However, the High Court blocked the move two months later after the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) filed a petition citing insufficient public participation.
"Orders are granted, staying the government directive on the revocation of the gazette notices previously issued for degazettement of forest areas/designating areas as forests and the reintroduction of the shamba system," Justice Oscar Angote ruled at the time.
It remains unclear whether the latest announcement will face similar legal challenges.
Recent data from the country’s Economic Survey shows that timber sales from government forests more than tripled last year, rising to 618,800 cubic metres from 159,400 cubic metres in 2023 following the temporary lifting of the six-year logging ban.
The report also indicates that forestry and logging contributed 2.1 per cent of Kenya’s GDP in 2024, up from 1.8 per cent the previous year, while the sector’s value increased to Sh344.2 billion from Sh277.4 billion.
Despite the higher timber output, the survey notes that Kenya’s total forest area has remained unchanged at 5.226 million hectares over the past four years, maintaining a national forest cover of 8.8 per cent.
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