Conserving Kenya's threatened trees
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Status of project
Ongoing -
Region
Global -
Country
Kenya -
Topic
Tree Conservation -
Type
Programme
Kenya’s threatened trees
Kenya has 1,111 native tree species, 47 endemic species, and 144 globally threatened species. 12.9% of the country’s native trees are threatened with extinction, which is cause for concern. Kenya has expressed a big interest in tree planting and policies which are focused on trees, and this has created an opportunity for many organizations, from the government level to civil society and the private sector, to start paying attention to the need to plant trees. Despite the large interest, there is still the lingering challenge of species diversity and planting the right trees in the right place.
Conservation planning workshop
In October – November 2020, BGCI and the IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG) hosted a series of virtual workshops in collaboration with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to effectively plan conservation action for Kenya’s threatened tree species. Planning contributors who attended the workshops included representation from more than 30 organisations including government (national and local), NGOs, and academic institutions. Five workshops were held: two focused on priority actions at the national level; three focused on developing priority actions for two Kenyan regions (the coastal forest and the Taita Hills), which host a high density of threatened tree species.
Conservation action plan
Based on the outputs of the workshop, a national conservation action plan has been published and provides a roadmap to future conservation activities in the country. The conservation action plan is underpinned by a vision and five goals which outline the broad operational themes for conservation activity for Kenya’s threatened trees over the next 20 years.
Vision
By 2030, it is a matter of national pride to be conserving Kenya’s threatened trees, reflected in government policy, protection of trees, restoration of forests, provision of nature-based benefits to communities and resilience to climate change.
Goals
- Goal 1: Key sites occupied by a high number of threatened tree species are identified, protected and restored.
- Goal 2: Genetically representative and duplicated ex situ conservation collections are established for all threatened tree species, acting as an insurance against extinction (including in botanic gardens, farms, private plots and landscaping).
- Goal 3: Knowledge and understanding of threatened tree species is increased, and all data and information is stored and tracked in a central system, facilitating coordinated conservation action.
- Goal 4: Kenyans, including local communities and key conservation delivery agencies, have a sense of pride and responsibility towards protecting the country’s threatened trees and are acting as custodians.
- Goal 5: Threatened tree species are sustainably utilised as alternatives to exotic species, providing timber and Non Timber Forest Products.
Kenya Threatened Tree Consortium
As a result of the workshops, a Kenya Threatened Trees Consortium has been established to guide and mobilise action for Kenya’s threatened tree species. This is jointly coordinated by the Kenya Forest Service and the BGCI Africa office, who host meetings of consortium members and are tracking conservation efforts for each threatened tree species. This approach also facilitates capacity building and sharing of resources, development of joint funding applications and projects, and, so far, more than 50 threatened tree species are covered by the collective action of the group.
