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- Is amended by 24th Annual Supplement
- Is amended by Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2018

LAWS OF KENYA
FOREST CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT
CAP. 385
- Published in Kenya Gazette Vol. CXVIII—No. 107 on 9 September 2016
- Assented to on 31 August 2016
- Commenced on 31 March 2017 by Forest Conservation and Management Act Commencement
- [Amended by Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2018 (Act No. 18 of 2018) on 18 January 2019]
- [Revised by 24th Annual Supplement (Legal Notice 221 of 2023) on 31 December 2022]
Part I – PRELIMINARY
1. Citation
This Act may be cited as the Forest Conservation and Management Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act unless the context otherwise requires—“benefits” mean quantifiable and non-quantifiable goods and services provided by forest ecosystems;"Board” means the Board of the Kenya Forest Service;"Cabinet Secretary” means the Cabinet Secretary responsible for matters relating to forestry;"chain of custody” means the channel through which products are distributed, tracked and monitored from their origin in the forest to their end-use;“commercial use” means any use of forest products or forest land, other than direct use for personal purposes or infrastructure development and it includes uses involving trade or any other disposition of forest products or forest land for direct or indirect financial benefits;“community” means a clearly defined group of users of forest land identified on the basis of ethnicity, culture or similar community of interests as provided under Article 63 of the Constitution;"community forest association” means a group of local persons who have registered as an association or other organization established to engage in forest management and conservation;“concession agreement” means authorization which is a long term agreement issued by the Service for the management of a specified forest area at a price determined after forest valuation and bidding;“customary rights” mean the rights which result from a long series of habitual or customary actions, constantly repeated, which have, by such repetition and by uninterrupted acquiescence, acquired the force of a law within a geographical or sociological unit;“ecosystem" means a dynamic complex of plant, animal micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit;“forest" means land which is declared or registered as a forest, or woody vegetation growing in close proximity in an area of over 0.5 of a hectares including a forest in the process of establishment, woodlands, thickets;“forestland" means a tract of land, including its flora and fauna, that is devoted to growing trees for the production of timber, wood and other forest products;“forest community” means a group of persons who have a traditional association with a forest for the purposes of livelihood, culture or religion;“forest concession” means the right of use granted to an individual or organization in respect to a specific area in a national or county forest by means of a long-term contract for the purpose of commercial forest management and utilization;“forest industries” means all businesses and organizations whose primary activities include growing, managing, processing or marketing of trees;“forest manager” means a person responsible for the management of a forest under his or her charge and implementation of this Act including—in the case of a public forest, the Kenya Forest Service or the County Government as the case may be;in the case of a community forest the person responsible for the management of community land under the relevant law; andin the case of a private forest, the owner of the private forest;“forest management plan” means a written document establishing direction and goals for the management, conservation and utilization of a specific forest land area; specifying—all silvicultural practices and activities necessary to accomplish the merchantable production of a forest product; andall practices that will minimize adverse environmental effects and improve livelihoods;“forest officer” includes the professional, technical and disciplined cadre of the Service;“forest owner” means—in the case of a public forest, the government as defined in Article 62(1)(g) of the Constitution;in the case of a community forest, the community as defined in Article 63 of the Constitution; andin the case of a private forest, the registered owner of the land as defined in Article 64 of the Constitution.“forest produce” includes bark, animal droppings, beeswax, canes, charcoal, creepers, earth, fibre, firewood, frankincense, fruit, galls, grass, gum, honey, leaves, flowers, limestone, moss, murram, soil, myrrh, peat, plants, reeds, resin, rushes, rubber, sap, soil, seeds, spices, stones, timber, trees, water, wax, withies, and such other things as may be declared by the Cabinet Secretary to be forest produce for the purpose of this Act;“forest resources” means anything of practical, commercial, social, religious, spiritual, recreational, educational, scientific, subsistence, or other potential use to humans that exists in the forest environment, including but not limited to flora, fauna, and microorganisms;“Fund” means the fund established pursuant to Section 27;“green zone” trees planted in an urban area covering less than 0.5 ha.“indigenous forest” means a forest which has come about by natural regeneration of trees primarily native to Kenya;“Institute” means the Kenya Forestry Research Institute established under the Science, Technology and Innovation (Cap. 511);“joint management agreement” means authorization where the Service or the County Department responsible for forestry agrees to enter into partnership with other persons for the joint management of a specified forest area, specifying the contribution, rights and obligations of each party and setting out the methods of sharing the costs and benefits accruing from the forest so managed;“licence” means a permit or other written authorization issued under the provisions of this Act;“livestock” means domesticated animals such as cattle, goats, sheep, asses, poultry, horses, camels and pigs and includes their young thereof;“nature reserve” means an area of land declared to be nature reserve under Section 39;“permit” means authorization issued to a person to undertake a specified forestry-related activity or service;“person” means a natural person, an association, organization or a corporate body;“private forest" means forest as classified under Section 30(4);“property mark" means a mark placed on a log, timber or other forest produce with a prescribed instrument to denote ownership by the Service or any other person;“protected tree” means any tree or tree species which has been declared under this Act to be protected;”provisional forests” means any forest which has been declared a provisional forest by the Cabinet secretary under Section 35;“public forest” means forests as classified under 30(2) and (3);“Service” means the Kenya Forest Service established under Section 7 of this Act;“special use licence” means authorization issued to a person to undertake an activity whose primary purpose is to yield public benefit in transportation, communication, energy, research or education;“timber” means any tree hat has been felled or which has fallen, and cut wood or logs;“timber licence” means authorization issued to a person for timber harvesting in a specified forest area;“wildlife” means all forms of fauna and flora other than domesticated plants and animals.3. Application of the Act
This Act shall apply to all forests on public, community and private lands.4. Guiding Principles
The principles of this Act shall be—5. Public Forest Policy
6. Public Forest Strategy
Part II – ADMINISTRATION
7. Establishment of the Kenya Forest Service
8. Functions of the Service
The functions of the Service shall be to—9. The Board
10. Powers of the Board
The Board shall have all the powers necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Service under this Act and, in particular, the Board shall have power to—11. Committees of the Board
12. Conduct of business and affairs of the Board
The business and affairs of the Board shall be conducted in accordance with the First Schedule to this Act.13. Remuneration and allowances of Board members
A member of the Board shall be paid such remuneration or allowances, as the Salaries and Remuneration Commission may recommend.14. The Chief Conservator of forests of the Service
15. Staff of the Service
The Board may appoint such officers and other staff of the Service as are necessary upon such terms and conditions of service as the Board, on the recommendation of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission, may determine.16. Uniformed and disciplined staff
17. Kenya Forestry College
18. Honorary foresters
19. Protection from personal liability
20. Forest conservation areas and committees
21. Forestry functions of County Governments
22. Forestry research and development
Part III – FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
23. Funds of the Service
The funds of the Service shall consist of—24. Financial Year
The financial year of the Service shall be the period of twelve months ending on the thirtieth June in each year.25. Annual Estimates
26. Accounts and audit
27. Forest Conservation and Management Trust Fund
28. Sources of funds
The Trust Fund shall consist of—29. Management of the Trust Fund
Part IV – CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF FORESTS
30. Classification of forests
31. Creation and management of public forests
32. Management of community forests
33. Management of private forests
34. Variation of boundaries or revocation of public forests
35. Declaration and reversion of provisional forests
36. Exchange of forest area with private land
37. Arboreta and recreational parks
38. Donations and bequests
39. Declaration of nature reserves
40. Protection of tree species
41. Joint management of forests
42. Management of indigenous forests
43. Management of plantation forests
44. Concession on public forests
45. Forest management agreements
46. Consent for quarrying
47. Management plans
Part V – COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION
48. Application for community participation
49. Obligations of a forest association
50. Assignment of forest user rights
51. Termination or variation of a management agreement
52. Customary rights
Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to prevent any member of a forest community from using, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by this Act or any other written law, such forest produce as it has been the custom of that community to take from such forest otherwise than for the purpose of sale.Part VI – INCENTIVES FOR INCREASING FOREST AND TREE COVER
53. Incentives and benefit sharing
Subject to Article 66 of the Constitution, investors in forests shall share the benefits of their investment with local communities by applying various options including but not limited to infrastructure, education, employment and social amenities and in accordance with rules made under this act or other relevant laws.54. Tax and fiscal incentives
55. National tree planting week
The Cabinet Secretary shall plan and execute programmes necessary for observing the national tree-planting week and the International Day of Forests.Part VII – LICENSING AND TRADE IN FOREST PRODUCTS
56. Authorization and private sector involvement
57. Eligibility for authorization
58. Chain-of-custody
59. Grading and valuation of timber and other forest products
60. Export and import procedure
61. Prohibition on trade in restricted forest produce
The Cabinet Secretary may declare by Notice in the Gazette any forest produce that may not be exported or imported.Part VIII – ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE
62. Powers of officers
63. Use of firearms
63A. Applicant of public of prosecutors
The Director of Public Prosecutions may, pursuant to the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 75), by notice in the Gazette, appoint a forest officer to be a public prosecutor for the purposes of this Act.[Act No. 18 of 2018, Sch.]Part IX – OFFENCES AND PENALTIES
64. Prohibited activities in forests
65. Counterfeiting or unlawfully affixing marks
Any person who, without lawful authority—66. Offences in relation to quarrying
Any person who contravenes the provisions of this Act in relation to activities in forest areas relating to quarrying or re-vegetation commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.67. Other offences
68. Compensation for loss or damage
69. General penalty
Any person found guilty of an offence against the provisions of this Act for which no specific penalty is provided shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.70. Disputes
Part X – MISCELLANEOUS
71. Regulations
72. Maintenance of registers
73. International instruments, conventions and agreements
74. Co-operation regarding cross-border forest resources
The Chief Conservator of Forests may, with the approval of the Board, develop management plans for purposes of sustainable management of cross-border forest resources.[Act No. 18 of 2018, Sch.]75. Cap. 387 to apply
Part XI – TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
76. [Spent]
77. [Spent]
History of this document
31 December 2022 this version
Revised by
24th Annual Supplement
18 January 2019
31 March 2017
Commenced by
Forest Conservation and Management Act Commencement
09 September 2016
31 August 2016
Assented to
Cited documents 6
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