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Forest Cover Change & Loss

Forest loss and gain, deforestation, degradation and land cover change, nationally and for every county.

Open Forest Cover Change & Loss

Deforestation

Deforestation is the conversion of natural forest (montane and western rain, mangrove and coastal, or dryland) to cropland, grassland, wetland or settlement, whatever the management system. Planned felling in public plantations is not deforestation; it is counted under sustainable management of forests.

Area deforested per year by stratum
0400k200kNet 369k2002–2006Net 266k2006–2010Net 383k2010–2014Net 337k2014–2018Average 339k ha/yr
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Net average 2002–2018: 339k ha/yr
Read gross change with care. The annual gross areas are large compared with Kenya's forest area because dryland forest and wooded grassland are often confused in the maps, and the change maps' own accuracy is only 30–52% (Quality & Transparency › Uncertainty Assessment). Net change and the FRL averages are more robust than single-epoch gross figures.

Source: Ministry of Environment and Forestry, The National Forest Reference Level for REDD+ Implementation, December 2019 (Kenya’s FRL submission to the UNFCCC). Chapters 2.2.2 and 3.1.3.