By John Kariuki<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Evelyn Kimathi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Dedan Kimathi Foundation, has expressed deep concern over the ongoing logging activities following the recent lifting of the logging ban in the Mau Complex and other parts of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a heartfelt reflection, Kimathi noted that while the government\u2019s move to allow the harvesting of mature exotic trees may appear procedural, the trend has left her uneasy about the long-term impact on Kenya\u2019s forest cover and climate resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI observe the national trends keenly. I take all national directives as tools to help us better our nation. However, I haven\u2019t found peace in my heart regarding the logging happening in many forests. The worries living rent-free in my head are costing me sleep,\u201d Kimathi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A passionate advocate for environmental conservation and a key supporter of the presidential goal to achieve 30% tree cover by 2032, Kimathi questioned the sustainability of the current harvesting practices. She raised critical concerns about whether permitted sawmillers will only target mature trees, and what safeguards are in place to curb overexploitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy the time the ban closes, what procedures will ensure the tree cover rises beyond the current 12.13% and accelerates towards the 30% target?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kimathi also urged the government and environmental stakeholders to prioritize replacing exotic trees with indigenous species to strengthen long-term carbon sinking and climate change mitigation efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs these questions continue to torment me, I roll my sleeves, urge my team to tighten their boots, and continue planting trees as if all axes and power saws have taken a \u2018forever-leave,\u2019\u201d she remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Thursday, November 6, 2025, Kimathi led a team of 40 youthful volunteers in planting 1,000 indigenous trees in Chemolingot, Baringo County, in partnership with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) under the multi-agency Operation Maliza Uhalifu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She commended the KDF\u2019s environmental soldiers for their discipline and dedication, noting an impressive 98% survival rate of previously planted trees due to consistent watering, mulching, and protection efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo attain 30% tree cover, we must plant more than we harvest,\u201d Kimathi concluded, reaffirming her commitment to driving Kenya\u2019s environmental sustainability agenda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By John Kariuki Evelyn Kimathi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Dedan Kimathi Foundation, has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7706"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7707,"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7706\/revisions\/7707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}