Kenya's Indigenous Peoples and REDD

Summary

Kenya had a vast forest cover in the early 1980's to mid 1990's before degradation and deforestation commenced. The country has many forests, most of which are gazzeted by the government. Some of the forests include; Mt. Kenya, Mt.Elgon Forest, Aberdare forest and Cherangany forest.  National forest cover is currently about 2%.  Following the introduction of permits for logging purposes, it has been argued that indigenous communities have been marginalised and excluded from the decision making process. Making sure that the voices of local communities and indigenous communities are heard is vital for the successful implementation of REDD policies.