Kenya To Enhance Its Forest Resource Assessment Capability

Kenya To Enhance Its Forest Resource Assessment Capability

A link between Kenya’s forestry institutions and their counterparts in Finland is set to enhance Kenya’s capacity to carry out forestry resource assessment. The initiative being implemented by the Kenya Forest Service will involve the Department of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing, Kenya Forestry Research Institute and Moi University.

“The intension is to tap the advanced forest resource assessment capabilities and remote sensing technologies in Finland to enable the forest sector in Kenya undertake more accurate forest resource inventory and biomass assessment to guide forest management planning”, notes Head of Climate Change Response Programme, Mr. Alfred Gichu.

This initiative will also support the Forest Resource Assessment (FRA) reporting to the Food and Agriculture Organization, development of the National Forest Accounting and also support the country in participating in emerging processes like the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation.

“Kenya Forest Service will be able to capture the real value of forest resources and their contribution to the economy”, says Mr. Gichu

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is a set of steps designed to use market/financial incentives in order to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from deforestation and forest degradation. Besides reduction in green houses gases, REDD initiatives will also accrue other benefits such as biodiversity conservation, water conservation and poverty alleviation.

The Service is spearheading the local initiatives in carbon trading in the forestry sector and has actively taken part in global discussions to develop an enabling policy framework and positive incentives.

Mr. Gichu says persons and communities, who would wish to participate in the carbon market, should obtain information from the Service as it’s always necessary to provide accurate information and expectations from the market.

He says most of the REDD initiatives are performance based and delivery of carbon is done upfront before payment. There are however opportunities for upfront payments which could be pursued.

Read more on Forest Carbon Partnership on; http://www.forestcarbonpartnership.org/fcp 

Report by C.Ngunjiri (REDD Communications Officer)