Republic of KenyaKenya Forest ServiceKenya NFMS-FIPNational Forest Monitoring System – Forest Information PlatformHealthy Forests • Resilient Ecosystems • People and Nature • Data for Action

Restoration & Tree-Growing Reports

Tree-growing programme, seedlings, survival, landscape and mangrove restoration.

Tree-Growing Programme Progress

10%Forest cover targetConstitution and Vision 2030, by 2030
≈207,000 haNeeded every yearfrom 2019 to reach 10% by 2030
5.1 M haRestoration commitmentBonn Challenge and AFR100, by 2030
≈137,000 haPublic plantation zoneonly 56,000–65,000 ha stocked

Kenya has committed to restore 5.1 million ha of degraded landscapes by 2030 (about 392,000 ha a year) under the New York Declaration on Forests, the Bonn Challenge and AFR100. Reaching 10% forest cover from 5.85% in 2018 requires adding about 207,000 ha of forest each year. Such a rate would turn Kenya's forests from a net source into a net sink.

Public plantations hold a replanting backlog: between 2002 and 2018 more was harvested (4,178 ha/yr) than replanted (3,296 ha/yr), and only about half of the land set aside for public plantations is stocked.

Public plantations: area harvested vs replanted per year
010k5kNet 7k2002–2006Net 7k2006–2010Net 7k2010–2014Net 8k2014–2018
Click to show or hide

Where Kenya stands: tree cover by county, 2021

The Constitution sets a target of at least 10% tree cover. In 2021 tree cover (forest plus trees outside forests) was 12.13% nationally; ten counties are still below 10% and are priorities for tree growing.

Map: tree cover by county, 2021 (WorldView)
Loading counties…

Click a county on the map to see its 2021 figures.

2021 was mapped from WorldView imagery; all other years from Landsat. The 2021 figures are therefore not directly comparable with 2010–2018.

Tree cover by county, 2021
10% target
Nyeri
45.2%Lamu
44.1%Vihiga
35.9%Kirinyaga
30.4%Elgeyo-Marakwet
29.9%Meru
29.6%Embu
29.3%Murang'a
27.8%Kilifi
27.8%Nyandarua
27.6%Tharaka-Nithi
27.0%Bomet
26.8%Kisii
26.6%Nandi
26.2%Samburu
25.6%Mombasa
23.8%Kericho
23.2%Nyamira
22.8%West Pokot
20.1%Narok
20.1%Kitui
20.1%Bungoma
20.0%Kiambu
19.7%Kakamega
18.2%Baringo
15.7%Nakuru
15.5%Trans Nzoia
15.2%Kwale
14.0%Nairobi
13.8%Garissa
12.7%Makueni
12.5%Laikipia
11.2%Kajiado
10.9%Turkana
10.9%Migori
10.8%Homa Bay
10.4%Tana River
10.4%Kisumu
8.8%Busia
8.4%Uasin Gishu
8.0%Taita Taveta
6.9%Isiolo
6.7%Machakos
6.0%Siaya
5.3%Wajir
4.5%Mandera
3.6%Marsabit
2.1%

37 of 47 counties have at least 10% tree cover. Click a county to open its profile. Bar colour shows tree cover (%): red/orange below 10%, green above.

Source: 2021 National Forest Resources Assessment, Kenya Forest Service (WorldView very high-resolution imagery).

Source: Ministry of Environment and Forestry, The National Forest Reference Level for REDD+ Implementation, December 2019 (Kenya’s FRL submission to the UNFCCC). Chapters 1.2.1, 5.5 and 5.7.

Suggest what this section should contain