NFMS Definitions & Data Standards
Definitions, data dictionary, standards, classifications and methods.
NFMS Definitions
Forest
Kenya's national forest definition for REDD+ and the NFMS: land with a minimum canopy cover of 15%, a minimum area of 0.5 ha and trees with the potential to reach a minimum height of 2 m at maturity in situ. Perennial tree crops such as tea and coffee are not forest, even where they meet these thresholds.
The definition was chosen to let many stakeholders take part in incentivised forestry, include all of Kenya's forest types from montane to dryland, give consistent data for the reference level with available technology, balance monitoring costs against result-based incentives, and stay consistent with the national forest agenda. It is also used for the Third National Communication and other international reporting.
Forest strata
Kenya's forest is divided into four strata: three ecological strata based on climate and altitude, and a management stratum of KFS plantation forest. The three ecological strata are further divided by canopy cover.
| Forest stratum (first level) | Canopy classes (second level) |
|---|---|
| Montane & western rain forests & bamboo | Dense (≥65%), Moderate (40–65%), Open (15–40%) |
| Mangroves & coastal forests | Dense (≥65%), Moderate (40–65%), Open (15–40%) |
| Dryland forests | Dense (≥65%), Moderate (40–65%), Open (15–40%) |
| Plantation forest land | Plantation forest managed by KFS (not divided by canopy cover) |
Land-use categories (NID 2024)
- Forest land: tree crown cover ≥ 15%, area ≥ 0.5 ha and tree height ≥ 2 m (or able to reach 2 m), including areas managed for forestry not yet at that height and temporarily destocked areas. Perennial tree crops such as coffee and tea are not forest, even if they meet the thresholds.
- Cropland: land managed for agriculture, including agroforestry where trees are below the forest thresholds. Perennial cropland: tea, coffee, sugar cane, cotton, sisal and agroforestry. Annual cropland: treeless fields such as mechanised wheat and maize, irrigated rice and small-scale crops with a season of one year or less.
- Grassland: rangelands and pasture that are not forest or cropland. Wooded grassland: woodland with tree canopy ≥ 10% that does not qualify as forest, mainly wildlife rangelands. Open grassland: grassland without trees, including areas used by nomadic pastoralists. Grassland covers over 70% of Kenya.
- Wetland: land covered or saturated by water for all or part of the year (lakes, dams, reservoirs, rivers) with associated vegetation such as papyrus and reeds. Vegetated wetland and open water.
- Settlements: developed land, including transport infrastructure and human settlements where buildings exceed 50% of the land use.
- Other land: bare soil, rock, ice and unmanaged land not in the other five categories.
Source: Ministry of Environment and Forestry, National Forest Monitoring System in the Republic of Kenya, Version 1 (Draft), February 2021. Chapter 3.1 and 3.2.
Source: Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Kenya's Third National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Document 1990–2022, December 2024 (Kenya’s national inventory report to the UNFCCC). Box 6.1 and Chapter 6.2.1.