The wanton destruction happening on the slopes is just sickening. Wangari Maathai is rolling over in her graves because all her hard work seems to have not entered peoples minds. This deforestation has contributed to the growing number of wildfires on the slopes as ruthless loggers are slashing and burning the land to bring in farmers to grow food.
We’re cutting down trees so fast that we can’t plant new ones fast enough. If the trend continues in 20 to 30 years time Kenya will be a desert and Nairobi will be in a worse shape than Cape Town. To make matters worse were digging too many boreholes and sucking up all the precious groundwater.
Before the tribal idiots ruin the thread. Mount Kenya as a mountain feeds many of the rivers thousands of kilometers downstream. Warm salty ocean air is carried over by winds which get caught up in the mountain because mountain air is cold it creates huge rainstorms and snowstorms on the peaks. This cycle continues because trees absorb this moisture and release it when its dry thus keep the water cycle moving. We have instead chopped the trees and this cycle is then broken and 12 storms just turn to 5 storms less water is felt downstream and we get droughts. https://i.imgur.com/hVUmv24.jpg
This is Kenya’s forest cover that’s rapidly shrinking no seems to be paying attention to the upcoming doom. The Government has seen first hand how bad the famine and drought has become and if we don’t take time to repair the damage then get ready for a Mad Max future.
Nobody cares bro, you are alone on this. I pointed this destruction of forests last week as the reason we are having prolonged dry seasons and some seemingly very intelligent talker said he can’t debate with me coz I will not comprehend. Tukule kiburi yetu.
[ATTACH=full]156646[/ATTACH] On a Sunday in November last year, I decided to kill boredom by walking from Chuka town to the gate on the Chuka side of the Mt. Kenya forest. There I met some two KFS officers and we got talking. We discussed about illegal logging and one thing they told me is that they collaborate with the local community to plant trees in nurseries and give 50% to the community and the rest is planted in the forest. When the 50% is ready for harvesting, they sell to the loggers who make an official application. However, they never sell the indigenous tress. Coming to your thread and the photos, if am not wrong I can see those logs are cypress, which can only mean they are exotic and so I would guess the KFS is right to sell them. I may be wrong though.
nothing will happen until the leaders start feeling the effects of drought eg when they start to struggle to get water. As of now if those loggers are chased away do not be surprised if some buffoon start saying they should stay because rain comes from heaven
That is not a roght thing to do. Because plant compete for space and the destruction of indigenous trees when felling the exotic. We can not turn our forest to some agroforest farms.
Actually you are correct. The trees depicted above are cypress and pine, which are exotic and specifically raised in plantations for timber when mature.
The small logs in the vehicle are plantation thinning, which is a normal forest management system.
Interestingly, the forestry department has a very elaborate tree replanting, thinning and harvesting programme, incorporating the government, licensed sawmillers, the surrounding communities etc. The trees do not come cheap and are normally sold to prequalified, licensed the highest bidders, the log branches and remnants are reserved to benefit the surrounding communities and people with disabilities as firewood.
To be licensed as a sawmiller right now is also very rigorous with a modern high recovery sawmill being a basic requirement.
Actually sawmilling is no longer profitable.
We ought to be making a case for replanting the exotic plantations with indigenous trees which would be beneficial to our environment in the long run.
The controversial Shamba system. The surrounding community is allowed to farm in the new plantations as they tend the young trees. In itself a noble idea if implemented properly.
Very impressive on paper but we all know the situation on the ground is very different mainly due to greed and corruption.
Those licensed loggers aren’t content with pine and cypress, they will cut loads and loads of indigenous trees and bribe those same KWS officers to get them out.
Let’s not pretend like Kenyan judges that we don’t reside in Kenya.