NAIROBI — Kenya’s iconic Green Belt Movement has launched an intense campaign against proposed amendments to the Forest Conservation and Management Act that would, if passed, allow roads, utilities, and other public installations to be constructed inside protected forests. The organisation warns the changes would create a dangerous legal pathway for the gradual destruction of some of Kenya’s most critical ecosystems.
The proposed amendment to Section 56(2) of the Act would give the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) authority to grant easements for infrastructure projects within public forests. The Green Belt Movement, founded by Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai, says the language of public utility and public interest being used to justify the changes is deliberately misleading.
“Kenyans must not be deceived by the language of ‘public utility’ and ‘public installations,'” the organisation said in a strongly worded statement. “This amendment is not innocent. It is a dangerous legal pathway being created to open up our public forests to roads, infrastructure, utilities, commercial interests and eventual destruction through administrative processes disguised as development.”
The organisation points to recent controversies over forest land as evidence of a systematic pattern of encroachment. In 2024, the government attempted to excise 51.64 hectares of Karura Forest for the expansion of Kiambu Road, triggering public outrage, court action, and sustained opposition before the courts halted the planned allocation. The Green Belt Movement says Karura Forest continues to face pressure from attempts to introduce security installations and barracks within the protected area.
Another flashpoint is a proposed 25-kilometre road through the Aberdare Forest ecosystem, which environmentalists say would threaten one of Kenya’s most critical water catchment areas. “The Aberdare Forest is not just a forest. It is the source of rivers, livelihoods, agriculture and water security for millions of Kenyans. Yet infrastructure interests continue to threaten its survival,” the statement read.
Ngong Road Forest has also seen increasing commercial encroachment, including the construction of a luxury hotel and plans to allocate 10 hectares of forest land for a road linking the Bomas of Kenya to Talanta Stadium. The Green Belt Movement says such developments follow a pattern that gradually erodes protected forests until nothing remains.
The organisation has called on Kenyans, civil society organisations, faith groups, students, and environmental activists to mobilise against the proposed legal changes. “Our forests are not empty land waiting to be allocated. They are our water towers, our climate shield, our biodiversity, our heritage and the lifeline of future generations,” the statement said.
The Constitution of Kenya is unambiguous: public forests are held in trust for the people and cannot become corridors for unchecked infrastructure expansion. The Green Belt Movement says the proposed amendment risks weakening these constitutional protections and could open the door to widespread corruption and environmental destruction. “If we remain silent today, tomorrow there may be no Karura, no Aberdares, no Ngong Road Forest and no public forests left to defend,” it warned.