THE UNIVERSITY OF LEIPZIG

Although Kenya’s policy and legal framework provides for a firm foundation for sustainable
management of national biodiversity, there are shortfalls in formal and informal institutional
mediation which leads to cracks during implementation. The result is the continued
degradation of biological diversity in Kenya. Since this study is interested in identifying the
different notions and institutions regarding biodiversity in Kenya, our analysis of the
following acts will rightfully highlight the same. We shall augment this analysis with selected
literature on this subject matter.
The last section of this chapter discusses issues related to biodiversity management including
an evaluation of the demand responsive approaches, the role of international interests in
biodiversity restoration as well as the re-evaluation of formal rule design and mediation.
The Forests Act, chapter 385 of the laws of Kenya
This law was established as an act of parliament to protect the country’s forest biodiversity in
terms of forest flora and fauna. The Forests Act, Captor. 385 of Laws of Kenya was first
enacted in 1962. It was subsequently revised in 1982, 1992 and 2005. The Act defines a forest
as “an area of land declared under section 4 to be a forest area.” The Act addresses
preservation, protection, management, enforcement and utilization of forests and forest
resources on Government land. The Forests Act is also applicable to Forest Reserves. This
Act interprets biodiversity to mean the variability among living organisms from all sources
including ecological complexes of which they are part and the diversity within and among
species and ecosystems. According to this Act the forests and woodlands are construed to be
the natural habitats for biodiversity. The Act, thus defines a forest as: land containing a
vegetation association dominated by trees of any size, whether exploitable or not, capable of
producing wood and other products, potentially capable of influencing climate, exercising and
influence on soil, water regime and providing habitat for wildlife and includes woodlands.
This same Act also defines forestry as the act of tendering, utilizing, establishing and
protecting forest and tree resources and therefore includes the processing and use of forest and
tree products. Lund defined a forest as an ecological system dominated by trees and other
woody vegetation. Forest communities are characterized by complex interactions between
woody and herbaceous flora, fauna, soils and other physical factors. 539 The International
Conservation Union (IUCN) defines forests as tree dominated landscapes. 540
According to the current Forests Act, Forest Reserves are land areas that have been surveyed,
demarcated and gazetted. They can be gazetted either from Trust Land or from unalienated
government land. Forest Reserves on government land are managed by the Forest
Department, while those on Trust Land are managed by local authorities. By 1994, gazetted
forest reserves on government land amounted to 1,359,254 ha, while gazetted forest reserves
on trust lands totalled 328,136 ha. This amounts to about 20% of the total area gazetted as
539
Lund, H. 2006. Definitions of Forest, Deforestation, Afforestation, and Reforestation'. Gainesville, VA:
Forest Information Services.
540
IUCN. 1996. Forest Cover and Forest Reserves in Kenya: Policy and Practice. Nairobi: IUCN.
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