INVESTING IN TREES AND LANDSCAPE ... - PROFOR

BOX 2.5. WESTERN KENYA TEA LANDSCAPES: ECO-CERTIFICATION AND FOREST RESTORATION
Kenya is the world’s third largest producer of tea (TCC 2010) and the number one exporter of black tea.
Tea plantations cover hundreds of thousands of hectares and employ about 3 million people (FAOSTAT),
with concentrations in the highland areas of western and central Kenya (see figure below); about 60
percent of tea is grown by small farmers. Conventional tea production has posed significant threats to
ecosystem services in Kenya because of conversion of forest lands to tea and the associated biodiversity
loss, soil erosion on steep slopes, water pollution from agrochemicals, and overexploitation of woodfuel
for tea drying. An initiative in Kericho, in western Kenya, aims to restore ecosystem functions of large tea
landscapes; it is led by private sector companies with some support from civil society.
The tea landscape of Kericho includes smallholder agroforestry, production of commercial tree products,
forest patches with native species, riparian vegetation, and wetlands. Of the land leased to Unilever,
11 percent is natural forest cover (Unilever Tea Kenya 2005). Kericho’s tea plantations are close to the
Mau forest complex, an important area for biodiversity, and Unilever has supported some activities there
(seedling donations, support to Friends of the Mau Watershed). Smallholder farmers are participating in
activities on over 13,000 hectares. Unilever has been working in Kericho since 1999; as the world’s largest
purchaser of black tea (buying around 12 percent of the world’s supply annually), the company—and the
standards it chooses to adopt for its tea production—can have significant effects on ecosystems and
local economies.
Recently, Unilever brought in the Rainforest Alliance (RA) to promote sustainable tea production. RA helps
tea farms and processing facilities achieve a set of social and environmental benchmarks necessary to
receive RA certification. This certification, in turn, can increase the marketability and profitability of tea
for farmers and processors alike. Of Unilever’s tea purchases, 25 percent came from sustainable sources
in 2011. The company is committed to achieving 100 percent certification of its major tea brands by 2015
(Unilever 2010). Certification requires sustainable production practices in tea fields, sustainable fuel
sources, protection/extension of natural areas, and riparian forest protection and planting.
Growing trees in tea plantations in Kericho, Kenya
(continued)
Chapter 2. WHERE DO PRIVATE MARKET INCENTIVES CONVERGE WITH LANDSCAPE RESTORATION GOALS?
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