Long Journey to Koguta’s Restoration.

KenGen PLC, through the KenGen Foundation, is pulling all the stops to ensure the national target of 10 per cent forest cover is achieved through the re-afforestation of Koguta, a gazetted forest in Nyakach sub-county. Part of the company’s Sondu Miriu and Sang’oro Power Stations are located within the forest.

Koguta Forest covers an approximate area of 400 hectares, with the hills of Nyakach Escarpment being its main distinctive feature. It is divided into five zones namely Thurdibuoro, Andingo, Apondo, Sang’oro and Mbugra.

The fight to protect the country’s forests is at the very heart of KenGen’s sustainability agenda. Koguta Forest was heavily degraded during the construction phase of the power plants through the clearing, trampling and cutting of trees, excavation of soil and other geological formations leading the company to marked it as an area of interest citing the rapidly declining environment.

Through the KenGen Foundation, the company partnered with Kenya Forest Service (KFS), East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL), Oxygene Communication Limited, Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI), Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), local administration, Community Forest Associations (CFA) groups and the community in a joint afforestation exercise that saw 10,000 trees planted in 2019. An additional 10,000 trees from the company were planted with the CFA through KFS.

The major threats to Koguta Forest can be attributed to increasing human population pressure and changing societal needs resulting in change in settlement patterns and sedentary livelihoods, expansion of croplands and encroachment involving clearing indigenous forests for subsistence and large scale agriculture. Others include illegal logging, charcoal production and firewood collection, and increased grazing. This problem is compounded by the fact that the forest cover in Kisumu County is below 1% against the minimum Kenyan Constitution requirement of 10% of total land cover.

The company’s social charity network, the KenGen Employee Giver Initiative – Western Region planted a further 1,000 trees in the forest in late 2020, and the KCFA was issued with 6,000 seedlings for the continuous rehabilitation of the forest.

KenGen has an established tree nursery in Sondu Miriu, which raises approximately 50,000 tree seedlings each year for issuance to the community living around its operation area. This has seen an increased tree planting in the area and has lead to improvements in tree cover within the area the forest is located.

The best guardians of the forest are those who make their living from it. Underscoring the importance of working together with communities living around Koguta to conserve and restore the forest, KenGen’s Environment and Sustainable Department distributed a further of 2,000 tree seedlings during the year for planting on private farmlands owned by CFA members. The small woodlots developed on these farms have reduced the pressure on Koguta’s resources.

In the fight against climate change, the urgency of reducing deforestation, restoring and regrowing forests and protecting intact ecosystems in areas with low historic rates of deforestation is well understood.

Forests are also known to help improve soil fertility through nutrient cycling, reduce soil erosion and sediment loads in river water, and help regulate local climatic conditions. Koguta Forest helps in controlling siltation of Sondu Miriu River.

When forests are managed responsibly, communities that live in and around them can cultivate thriving businesses out of a rich assortment of non-timber forest products. One natural climate solution that can and should be used in conjunction with strong initiatives to stop deforestation is planting trees in such areas. That’s why the KenGen Foundation approaches sustainability as a journey, providing communities with a roadmap from conservation to restoration.