What will it take to save our forests in Kenya ?

Kenya's forests remain a major public concern, especially when we talk about forest cover and tree cover. People often use the two terms as if they mean the same thing. They do not. Forest cover refers to multiple diverse species growing together, including trees and shrubs, within areas gazetted as forests. Native and indigenous species in these forests support the biodiversity of our flora and fauna. Tree cover refers to trees growing outside protected areas, on public and private land, in homesteads, farms and country homes. Today, plantations inside gazetted forests are counted as part of forest cover. I don't think this should be the case. Plantation trees are grown for timber, and they are eventually cut down. They are also mainly monocultures, which means one species grown across a large area, and they support far less biodiversity than a native forest. These plantations are made up mostly of cypress, pine, eucalyptus, and red cedar. These plantations have seen a lot of harvesting recently. This raises important questions for all of us: How can we, as Kenyans, build a sustainable forestry ecosystem that creates jobs? How can we reduce the pressure on our native forests, which provide us with so many ecosystem services? Can commercial plantations be grown outside the gazetted forests? How do we do this with a long-term vision? I believe it starts with us. Watch the full video and share your thoughts in the comments.