Institute For Culture And Ecology Condemns The Proposed Erasure Of Section 34(2) Of The Kenya Forest Conservation And Management Act 2016​

Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE) has condemned the proposed deletion of the section 34(2) of the Forest Conservation and Management Act 2016, terming the move as outrageous and unacceptable. “This move is outrageous and aims at undermining the efforts by various stakeholders to protect and conserve public forests in Kenya. The intention by National Assembly’s Procedure and House Rules Committee will take us back to where we were in the 1990s and 2000 where Kenya Forests were facing extinction.” Observed Martin Muriuki, ICE’s Executive Director. In a press statement addressed to all Media Houses in Kenya, noted that by by intending to strike off section 34(2) of the Act, the National Assembly’s Procedure and House Rules Committee has showcased their insensitivity to the protection of public forests, an act that is not only selfish but risks exposing the forests to wanton destruction and encroachment as witnessed in the 1990s and 2000. hence threatening the existence of biodiversity and other critical resources harbored there. He further urged all stakeholders to join hands and fight this vice and pledged the organization’s solidarity with Kenya Forest Service in securing Kenya’s public forests. “The Institute for Culture and Ecology(ICE) therefore supports the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) in calling for urgent cessation of any activities aimed at deletion of section 34(2) of the Forest Conservation and Management Act 2016.” He noted.