Satellite Land Monitoring System (SLMS)
National forest cover, forest types, land cover and the satellite data and methods behind them.
National Land Cover
SLEEK, launched in 2013 to support the national GHG inventory, produced nationwide land cover / land use maps for 1990, 1995, 2000, 2002–2015 and 2018 from Landsat 4, 5, 7 and 8 imagery, using a consistent, technically rigorous process. The maps serve two purposes: activity data for MRV, and the area of each land class and its change, tracked spatially to understand the drivers of deforestation and degradation.
How the maps are made
- Selection of the best cloud-free (≤20% cloud) Landsat scenes, preferring the dry season
- Cloud and shadow masking
- Terrain illumination correction using a DEM and the sun position
- Spectral stratification zones based on Kenya's agro-ecological zones
- Random Forest classification with training data from ground truth surveys and Google Earth (more accurate than maximum likelihood in tests)
- Mosaicking, with cloud gaps filled by multi-temporal processing in a conditional probability network (CPN)
- Eight-neighbour filtering to the 0.5 ha minimum forest area (about 6 Landsat pixels), then zoning by forest stratum
Maps are produced every two years. Details: Technical Manual for Land Cover Change Mapping in Kenya (Ministry of Environment and Forestry, 2019).
Land use and land cover in 2021, by county
Compare counties: share of each land use (click a row)
| County | Forest land | Cropland | Grassland | Wetland | Settlements | Other land |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baringo | 6.0% | 8.8% | 80.8% | 3.1% | 0.1% | 1.3% |
| Bomet | 24.1% | 65.8% | 4.0% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 5.4% |
| Bungoma | 15.5% | 64.9% | 10.8% | 7.3% | 1.4% | 0.1% |
| Busia | 0.6% | 61.1% | 8.2% | 26.0% | 1.4% | 2.7% |
| Elgeyo-Marakwet | 20.4% | 29.9% | 47.0% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 1.5% |
| Embu | 11.3% | 53.4% | 30.5% | 3.1% | 0.7% | 1.1% |
| Garissa | 11.2% | 0.0% | 87.5% | 1.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Homa Bay | 3.2% | 48.6% | 12.4% | 34.6% | 0.7% | 0.6% |
| Isiolo | 5.2% | 0.0% | 93.1% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 1.5% |
| Kajiado | 6.5% | 1.9% | 82.5% | 6.0% | 0.4% | 2.6% |
| Kakamega | 6.9% | 79.6% | 5.4% | 3.9% | 1.7% | 2.4% |
| Kericho | 20.4% | 61.8% | 13.2% | 0.3% | 0.7% | 3.5% |
| Kiambu | 18.1% | 51.4% | 21.1% | 0.3% | 7.0% | 2.1% |
| Kilifi | 22.2% | 11.4% | 59.4% | 1.7% | 0.4% | 4.9% |
| Kirinyaga | 23.4% | 62.6% | 9.9% | 0.2% | 1.6% | 2.3% |
| Kisii | 15.0% | 77.9% | 2.1% | 0.3% | 3.4% | 1.4% |
| Kisumu | 1.5% | 66.2% | 2.4% | 25.2% | 3.7% | 0.9% |
| Kitui | 15.6% | 19.7% | 62.6% | 1.8% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Kwale | 4.5% | 30.7% | 60.9% | 2.2% | 0.2% | 1.4% |
| Laikipia | 9.8% | 8.1% | 78.2% | 2.2% | 0.2% | 1.5% |
| Lamu | 32.1% | 3.9% | 55.3% | 2.7% | 0.1% | 5.9% |
| Machakos | 2.6% | 57.9% | 33.6% | 1.7% | 1.6% | 2.6% |
| Makueni | 5.3% | 49.5% | 43.8% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Mandera | 8.1% | 0.0% | 85.9% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 5.8% |
| Marsabit | 1.5% | 0.1% | 86.3% | 6.9% | 0.0% | 5.2% |
| Meru | 12.6% | 36.8% | 45.4% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 3.8% |
| Migori | 0.3% | 69.7% | 8.8% | 19.3% | 1.0% | 0.8% |
| Mombasa | 19.1% | 31.2% | 13.5% | 1.0% | 32.9% | 2.3% |
| Murang'a | 16.4% | 56.4% | 21.0% | 0.7% | 1.5% | 3.9% |
| Nairobi | 13.6% | 8.2% | 32.1% | 0.8% | 39.0% | 6.3% |
| Nakuru | 10.6% | 52.2% | 31.1% | 3.6% | 1.9% | 0.6% |
| Nandi | 16.6% | 69.7% | 9.2% | 3.1% | 0.7% | 0.7% |
| Narok | 13.9% | 30.3% | 55.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Nyamira | 11.8% | 79.4% | 3.3% | 1.4% | 2.6% | 1.5% |
| Nyandarua | 26.0% | 58.7% | 10.8% | 1.7% | 0.7% | 2.1% |
| Nyeri | 40.6% | 38.2% | 17.2% | 0.1% | 1.1% | 2.9% |
| Samburu | 23.1% | 0.2% | 62.4% | 0.9% | 0.0% | 13.4% |
| Siaya | 0.3% | 51.1% | 13.9% | 31.6% | 0.8% | 2.2% |
| Taita Taveta | 3.4% | 2.0% | 93.3% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Tana River | 9.9% | 0.4% | 89.3% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Tharaka-Nithi | 18.1% | 50.6% | 29.6% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| Trans Nzoia | 13.1% | 68.8% | 11.9% | 4.5% | 1.2% | 0.5% |
| Turkana | 8.6% | 0.0% | 57.7% | 4.5% | 0.0% | 29.1% |
| Uasin Gishu | 6.7% | 71.5% | 6.7% | 8.8% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Vihiga | 11.0% | 75.6% | 7.3% | 0.9% | 3.4% | 1.7% |
| Wajir | 0.3% | 0.0% | 97.2% | 1.2% | 0.0% | 1.3% |
| West Pokot | 8.8% | 5.0% | 84.9% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 0.5% |
2021 assessment classes from WorldView imagery. The national GHG inventory uses a different method (sample-based, Landsat); its land figures are under Land Cover Change.
Source: Ministry of Environment and Forestry, National Forest Monitoring System in the Republic of Kenya, Version 1 (Draft), February 2021. Chapter 5.1.1.
Source: 2021 National Forest Resources Assessment, Kenya Forest Service (WorldView very high-resolution imagery).