Kenya: The Chief Conservator of Forests, Julius Kamau, has inspected the ongoing construction of a forest rangers camp at the Lusoi Hill Forest in Laikipia County.
The construction of the camp is through a partnership between KFS and the Co-operative Bank to enhance the conservation of the 259.5 Ha forest situated at the border of Laikipia and Nyeri counties.
Once complete, the camp will host a forest station office and ranger housing units together with all other amenities required for a fully fledged camp.
During the inspection, Mr Kamau pointed out the need to safeguard forest ecosystems urging forest adjacent communities to remain alert and support KFS in protecting forests against forest fires during this dry season.
The CCF was accompanied by the Central Highlands Conservancy’s Regional Commander, Mr Patrick Ithinji.
And yesterday Julius Kamau Chief Conservator of Forests, visited and inspected the ongoing construction of a KFS Resource Centre by the Green Zones Development Support Project (GZDSP-II) at North Kinangop forest station in Nyandarua County.
The resource centre will be a centre of excellence aimed at enhancing the conservation, sustainable management, and protection of the vast forest station (6811 Ha), which forms part of the larger Aberdare forest reserve, one of Kenya’s five water towers.
During the visit, the CCF confirmed that the facility, once completed, provides a fully functional office to the forest station manager, including a conference hall where forest-adjacent communities will benefit from tailored courses on governance and financial development skills to foster the KFS model of participatory forest management (PFM) where communities join to form a community forest association (CFA) under which they’ll derive user rights in the forest through a Forest Management Agreement and a PFM-plan signed between CFAs and the Service.
While inspecting an already complete gatehouse and the facility’s green energy (solar) connectivity, Mr Kamau also noted the ecotourism potential of North Kinangop forest, which offers scenic views and an over 21 km jungle walk trail across different vegetation types within the forest.
In an engagement with a section of community members, the CCF appealed for their support and collaboration in remaining alert during the current dry season when wild forest fires pose the highest risk of forest destruction.
Mr Kamau was hosted by the forest station manager Mr Daniel Mburu.
