Greenpeace Africa is in solidarity with Friends of Karura Forest following disturbing reports of tree felling and land disturbance inside Karura Forest without clear public communication or consultation.

According to information shared publicly by the Green Belt Movement after engaging the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), the development has been acknowledged by KFS leadership and described as “temporary structures” expected to remain in place until 2032. However, the scale of tree clearing, site preparation, and ground disturbance observed on site raises serious concerns about whether this undertaking is truly temporary, or something more permanent and expansive.

Karura Forest is protected public land governed under a participatory forest management framework. Public participation is not optional; it is a constitutional requirement and a legal obligation under the Forest Conservation and Management Act. Yet no public participation process preceded the commencement of these works. The legally recognised Community Forest Association – Friends of Karura Forest – was reportedly neither informed nor consulted before indigenous trees were felled.

Greenpeace Africa is deeply concerned by the pattern this represents. In recent years, Kenya’s forests have faced increasing pressure – from controversial logging decisions to infrastructure encroachments in protected areas. At the same time, the government has committed to expanding forest cover and planting 15 billion trees. These commitments ring hollow if protected indigenous forests can be cleared without transparency, environmental scrutiny, and public oversight.

Several urgent questions now demand answers:

  • Was an Environmental Impact Assessment conducted prior to the initiation of this project?
  • If so, where is the public disclosure, and was it subjected to public participation as required by law?
  • On what legal basis was tree clearance authorised inside a protected urban forest?
  • Why was the Community Forest Association not formally engaged before works commenced?
  • Why establish accommodation facilities and a two-million seedling nursery within an ecologically sensitive forest when alternative KFS headquarters land exists?

Karura Forest is not merely a site for operational convenience. It is a biodiversity sanctuary, a climate buffer for Nairobi, and a symbol of people-led environmental protection rooted in decades of citizen resistance and stewardship.

Greenpeace Africa calls upon the Kenya Forest Service to:

  • Immediately halt ongoing tree clearance and construction activities pending full public clarification;
  • Publicly disclose all approvals, environmental assessments, and planning documents related to this project;
  • Convene a transparent public participation process involving Friends of Karura Forest and the wider public;
  • Provide clear assurances that Karura’s protected status and participatory governance model will be upheld.

Forests in Kenya are held in public trust. They cannot be reconfigured through silence.

Kenyans deserve full transparency about what is happening inside Karura Forest.