KFS turns to benchmarking as Kaptagat forest fencing faces local resistance

After a series of futile community sensitization on the need to fence the rehabilitated Kaptagat forest block in Elgeyo Marakwet County, the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has embarked on benchmarking missions to Mt Kenya region to educate the local community on conservation and livelihoods best and sustainable practices.

This follows skepticism from the community over the planned fencing of Kaptagat forest and attempts to persuade them to accept the forest protection mechanism was opposed.

The community held the opinion that they will lose their user rights in the forest once it was fenced off.

And for two weeks a team of over 200 community members from across the areas bordering Kaptagat forest had extensive tour of Mt Kenya fenced forests as well as visiting model farms were sustainable smart agriculture with annual returns running into millions is being practiced.

Kaptagat integrated conservation chairman Joseph Lagat said  the benchmarking exercise was aimed at helping the community from Kaptagat to learn how best they can conserve the environment at the same time have sustainable livelihoods from the forests.

“The benchmarking tour was primed as an eye opener for community whose economic lifeline has been pegged in the forest which was sadly ebbing due to unchecked human activities which are not limited to overgrazing, illegal logging and even waste dumping,” he said.

The chairman said when livelihoods schemes are introduced to communities bordering the forests and the forest is fenced human-wildlife conflict reduce, there is steady regeneration of degraded areas and reduction in illegal activities inside the forest.

“The benchmarking will also help demystify controversial issues surrounding the anticipated fencing of Kaptagat forest and give the community a preview of the livelihood options they stand to benefit,” he said.

The benchmarking tours that started at Naivasha Eburu Forest in Naivasha where KFS Coordinator for Community Forest Association (CFAs), Joselyne Ndambu, said the country has 235 CFAs, most of which are benefiting from forest resources in a better way because of controlled access.

“Through this benchmarking exercise we expect community members from Kaptagat to learn how CFAs in other areas are benefiting from forests that are controlled through fencing,” said Ndambu.

She said many CFAs, like those in Ngong Forest, are running successful projects within the forest, and fencing was a major boost as it helped control access and enhanced security for projects undertaken by CFAs.

“Fencing does not deter communities from accessing and using forests but is only a measure to control and safeguard the forest ecosystem. Kaptagat community will be fully involved in sensitization and public participation before fencing is done just the same as what was done on other fenced forests,” she noted.

The Kaptagat landscape is part of the Cherangany and Elgeyo Hills ecosystem is among the five water towers in the country and is a critical watershed area providing to major towns and communities in North Rift, Western and Nyanza regions.

Over the years, however, the ecosystem bringing together five forest blocks (Kessup, Sabor, Penon, Kaptagat and Kipkabus) diminished at an alarming rate due to unbridled human activities including illegal logging, overgrazing and complicity of Kenya forest officials in the implementation of sustainable forest management mechanisms conspired in depletion of the protected area.

In July 2025 while opening Etio dam in Elgeyo Marakwet county, President William Ruto rallied the community to support forest fencing saying the initiative a was aimed at strengthening conservation of the key water tower.

“There is a lot of degradation in the forest despite rehabilitation efforts and fencing will enhance forest restoration. The community will have access to use the forest and no one should think otherwise. We have plans to fence all forests in the country,” said the President then.

Locals expressed optimism over the programme terming it a sure bet in restoring the degraded forest and have also improved their livelihoods through the introduction of cash crop and dairy farming.

Kaptagat forest CFA Chairman Vincent Chelimo said fencing is a critical step toward safeguarding the fragile ecosystems and its biodiversity.

“The successes realized in Aberdare, Mau and Mount Kenya forest demonstrates that fencing can significally protect water catchments, and create conditions for natural regeneration of degraded areas. On the flipside CFAs can be economically empowered as result of established ecotourism facilities like those in Embu where the community is minting millions of shillings through nature parks which are in plenty at Kaptagat forest,” observed the CFA chairman.

He said through the forest management Act there are provisions for community participation in forest use and people need not worry since the community enjoys 16 user rights.

“We have seen there are more benefits from the forest after it was fenced than before and if the same is replicated at Kaptagat ecosystem then our livelihoods will change for the better and the forest use will be better managed,” exclaimed  Ms Anne Jepkoech a CFA member from Kessup forest station.

She said the benchmarking opened their eyes in that even in fenced forest block they visited they saw animals grazing, community fetching firewood and even farmers cultivating crops in the forested areas.

“There has been a lot of misconception about the issue of fencing but I can say without doubt the community will still enjoy their user rights normally and importantly jobs will be created. There are a lot of scouts manning the gates and acting as guides and also if ecoldges are established more employment opportunities will be available for the community,” she added.

Another resident, Ms Salina Cheruto who was relying on the forest for livelihood but embraced avocado farming is now reaping the benefits from the sale of the fruits was exuberant for embracing alternative livelihood a while ago.

“I embraced avocado farming in 2019 and I am excited that I earn over Sh30, 000 every month from the sale of the fruits. Initially, we relied entirely on the forest to eke out our living but it was unsustainable and detrimental to environmental conservation. We applaud the programme because we have seen the forest restored and our livelihoods improved,” she said.

She said the surrounding households have now diversified into coffee, tea, macadamia and pyrethrum farming as a livelihood scheme in turn easing the pressure exerted on the forest courtesy of the programme.

Ministry of Environment and Forestry through Forestry Secretary George Tarus said there are deliberate and sustainable rehabilitation mechanism ongoing in Kaptagat forest and the community has not been left behind.

“It is pleasing to note there is ongoing rehabilitation and community empowerment dubbed Kaptagat Integrated Conservation Programme under the patronage of Treasury Dr Chris Kiptoo and it is aimed at conserving the forest and increase household income,” he said,

He explained that under the program more than 28,000 households mainly who live adjacent to the forest will benefit from it.

“We have enhanced the livelihoods improvement programme through distribution of seedlings of high value crops like avocado, macadamia, coffee, mangoes, pyrethrum as well as dairy cattle. This will in turn ease pressure exerted on the forest for livelihood sustenance,” Tarus said.

Tarus said they would ensure each of the targeted households has at least an acre of fodder to feed the livestock and also an acre of cash crop through an agroforestry system that also provides biogas use.

 “To address the forest destruction there must be deliberate efforts to attack the drivers of that degradation and one such driver is poverty within the neighbourhood communities,” he said.