Submissions on the Draft Forest Policy 2020

Natural Justice submitted a series of recommendations to the Kenyan government regarding the Draft Forest Policy 2020. The organization argues that the draft unfairly portrays local communities as the primary drivers of forest degradation while ignoring the impact of multinational corporations and government infrastructure projects. They propose integrating a human-rights based approach, recognizing indigenous land tenure and traditional governance, and ensuring that conservation funding reaches the community level. Additionally, they call for greater transparency in the policy's formulation and the inclusion of independent monitoring to address conflicts of interest within the Kenya Forest Service.

• The document argues that the Draft Forest Policy 2020 incorrectly frames indigenous and forest-dwelling communities as the primary causes of forest degradation, failing to account for the role of "unsustainable development projects by Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and government agencies."
• Natural Justice identifies specific large-scale infrastructure projects that have led to forest clearance and biodiversity loss, including the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), the Nairobi Expressway Project, and the Lamu Port South-Sudan Ethiopian Transport Corridor (LAPSSET) Project.
• The submission highlights a specific instance in Nakuru County's Menengai Forest where 1,500 acres of indigenous trees were cut down to be replaced by eucalyptus under the PELIS system, which the author describes as a "relatively abused scheme."
• The organization proposes that the policy explicitly recognize the role of indigenous communities in conservation, noting that "most of the world’s remaining biodiversity hotspots are within territories occupied by indigenous and local communities."
• Natural Justice criticizes the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) for conflicts of interest, citing the shrinkage of Ngong Forest from 7,231.6 acres in 1978 to 1,330.3 acres due to excisions involving KFS officials and political leaders.
• The submission recommends that financial resources for forest management, including those from market-based mechanisms like REDD+ and the Green Climate Fund, should "trickle down to the community level" to ensure those performing the actual conservation work are supported.
• The document advocates for the inclusion of SDG 16 in the policy to promote "peaceful and inclusive societies" and a "human rights based, inclusive and participatory approach to natural resource conservation and management."

APA

Natural Justice (2020). Submissions on the Draft Forest Policy 2020. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NJ_Comments-on-the-Forest-Policy-2020_3-July-2020-2.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. Submissions on the Draft Forest Policy 2020. 2020. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NJ_Comments-on-the-Forest-Policy-2020_3-July-2020-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Natural Justice |title=Submissions on the Draft Forest Policy 2020 |date=17 July 2020 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NJ_Comments-on-the-Forest-Policy-2020_3-July-2020-2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{naturaljustice2020submissions, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{Submissions on the Draft Forest Policy 2020}}, publisher = {Natural Justice}, year = {2020}, month = jul, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NJ_Comments-on-the-Forest-Policy-2020_3-July-2020-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }