Towards a Greener Future: NRT Coast Co-develops Forest Management Plans and Agreements in Tana River County

Stakeholders display signed the Participatory Forest Management Plans (PFMPs) and Forest Management Agreements (FMAs) in Lower Tana Delta Community Conservancy, Tana River County.

NRT Coast engages in forestry activities aimed at terrestrial forests, which are vital water catchment areas with high biodiversity.

These activities include registering Community Forestry Associations (CFAs) and aligning them with conservancy governance structures, mapping and monitoring forest conditions, protecting and managing forests, establishing tree nurseries, undertaking tree planting exercises, and developing Participatory Forest Management Plans (PFMPs).

The formulation of PFMPs is mandated by law to ensure sustainable conservation, management, and restoration of public forests, mitigate the effects of climate change, and improve forest cover and livelihoods of communities living near forests through sustainable utilization of forest-based products.

In October, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and Chara, Mpozi, Kipini, and Kilelengwani CFAs signed PFMPs and Forest Management Agreements (FMAs), achieving a monumental milestone in forest conservation that granted the members of these CFAs rights to use Chara, Mpozi, Kipini, and Kilelengwani Forests for socioeconomic purposes, such as beekeeping, manufacturing herbal medicine, and crab farming, while still preserving them.

The CFA members converged at Chamwanamuma Village to witness the signing of the PFMPs and FMAs. The PFMPs were drafted by the KFS in collaboration with the Tana River County Government, Lower Tana Delta Community Conservancy, NRT Coast, The Nature Conservancy, the Kenya Forestry Research Institute, and Nature Kenya. To ensure successful PFMP development and implementation, numerous village barazas (community meetings) were also held to obtain views from community members.

Chara, Mpozi, Kipini, and Kilelengwani Community Forestry Associations (CFAs) members sign Participatory Forest Management Plans (PFMPs) and Forest Management Agreements (FMAs) in Lower Tana Delta Community Conservancy, Tana River County.

“We are eager for the PFMPs to be implemented and for the community to be involved in the protection, sustainable management, and restoration of the natural ecosystem in order to enhance livelihoods and conserve biodiversity,” said Kuso Ahmed, NRT Coast’s Deputy Regional Director, when he spoke at the event.

The Deputy Chief Conservator of Forest, Beatrice Mbula, presided over the signing of the documents. She encouraged the community to carry on planting trees in line with the national goal of growing 15 billion trees by 2032, and urged the KFS to continue partnering with CFAs in forest conservation and protection.

NRT member community conservancies are engaged in forestry activities aimed at terrestrial forests, which are vital water catchment areas with high biodiversity.