Outline of the Project

Project Name

Project for Strengthening Forestry Sector Development and Community Resilience to Climate Change through Sustainable Forest Management and Landscape Restoration (SFS-CORECC)

Country

Kenya

Date R/D Signed

2021/12/7

Project Site

- Nationwide for Outputs 1 through 4
- Eight pilot counties namely Embu, Nyeri, Taita Taveta, Kitui, Makueni, Tharaka Nithi, Kilifi, and Kwale for some commercial forestry related activities of Output 2

Term of Cooperation

2022/02/01 - 2027/01/31

Implementing Organization

Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry (MECCF), Kenya Forest Service (KFS), and Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI)

Background

Kenya's forests were estimated to cover 3.47 million hectares in 2018, which accounts for 5.9% of the country's total land area, as reported in the National Forest Reference Level (FRL) of 2020. These forests play an important role in the economic, environmental, and social welfare of the nation. The Kenyan government has identified forestry as one of the most important sectors in its economic blueprint, Kenya Vision 2030, as it supports primary sectors such as agriculture, tourism, and energy. Despite this, Kenya loses about 52,000 hectares of forest cover every year (2010-2018, reported in FRL of 2020), mainly due to conversion to agricultural activities and other unsustainable land uses, poor governance, forest fires, and shifting cultivation. Loss of forest cover is particularly severe in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), which account for around 80% of the country. To address this, the Kenyan government has been working to improve both policy and implementation.

Japan has been one of the largest donors to Kenya's forestry sector for more than 37 years, since 1985, collaborating with local communities to establish the foundation of forestry development, promote social forestry, breed drought-resistant trees, and provide third country trainings. From 2016 to 2021, the Capacity Development Project for Sustainable Forest Management (CADEP-SFM) was implemented to strengthen capacity at the national and county level for sustainable forest management towards the national forest cover target of 10%.

Although Kenya's capacity in the forestry and climate change sectors has significantly improved thanks to previous support from the international community, including Japan, more efforts are needed to maintain and increase forest and tree cover. Moreover, the East African region is projected to experience an average temperature rise of 3 degrees Celsius over the next 100 years, making it increasingly urgent to address climate change. The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry (MECCF), together with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), are working to address these challenges. However, further policy, financial, and technical support, as well as governance strengthening, are necessary to address new challenges such as climate change and private sector partnerships. In particular, there is an urgent need to strengthen policy formulation and evaluation processes based on scientific data, develop an enabling environment for commercial forestry by the private sector and others, develop drought-resistant tree species such as Acacia tortilis and Melia volkensii, and promote regional cooperation, for which implementation arrangements are not yet fully developed.

In this context, the Government of Kenya requested the Government of Japan to undertake the Project for Strengthening Forestry Sector Development and Community Resilience to Climate Change through Sustainable Forest Management and Landscape Restoration (SFS-CORECC) as a successor to CADEP. The project aims to contribute to the increase of forest and tree cover, as well as the strengthening of the resilience of local populations vulnerable to climate change, through the cooperation to further strengthen the policy and implementation capacity of central and local governments, promote commercial forestry, and develop and diffuse drought-resistant forest trees. Furthermore, through regional cooperation, the project will also contribute to strengthening forestry administration and combating climate change in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Overall Goal

Sustainable forest management and landscape restoration are promoted for achieving and maintaining over 10% tree cover in line with the aspirations of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, Vision 2030 and NDCs among others.

Project Purpose

The capacity of relevant institutions in Kenya is strengthened for promoting sustainable forest management, landscape restoration and climate change mitigation and adaptation in the country and in the region.

Output

1. Policy-planning processes for sustainable forest management and landscape restoration are strengthened
2. Enabling environment to support the promotion of commercial forestry with public-private partnerships and community participation is strengthened
3. Melia volkensii and Acacia tortilis productivity and drought tolerance are improved and their production capacity for promoting their commercial use is enhanced
4. Kenya and KEFRI's capacity and roles in regional cooperation to contribute to the Sub-Sahara African region in promoting sustainable forest management, landscape restoration and climate change mitigation and adaptation is enhanced

Project Activities

Output1

1-1.	Review and formulate/revise priority policies/strategies/plans of sustainable forest management and landscape restoration
1-2.	Strengthen the forest monitoring and data management process to support effective policy/plan formulation and implementation
1-3.	Coordinate all project components to achieve the project purpose effectively and disseminate its achievements
1-4.	Explore opportunities to access to available green finance for scaling up the project outcomes

Output2

2-1.	Policies/strategies/plans and administration system: Strengthen and improve policies/strategies/plans and administration system for commercial forestry (CF) promotion
2-2.	Pilot implementation support: Promote commercial forestry in pilot sites
2-3.	Technical support to CF implementers: Strengthen technical support for Melia promotion
2-4.	Study value addition and marketing of Melia volkensii products

Output3

3-1.	Develop Melia volkensii breeding population
3-2.	Develop next generation of Acacia tortilis
3-3.	Disseminate superiority of improved Melia volkensii
3-4.	Enhance production and distribution of improved Melia volkensii

Output4

4-1.	Regional cooperation: Promote regional cooperation on forestry, landscape restoration and climate change mitigation and adaptation
4-2.	Third country training: Implement pilot on-demand third country trainings on specific topics
4-3.	Production of publications/materials: Document technologies and practices for regional cooperation and third country training
4-4.	Dissemination: Share achievements of regional cooperation by Kenya at international, regional and country levels

Inputs
[Japanese side]

1. Dispatch of long-term and short-term experts
   Chief advisor, experts in the fields of forest policy, forestry extension, commercial forestry, sustainable forest management, climate change resilience, tree breeding, forest monitoring, regional cooperation, project coordinator
2. Provision of Equipment
   Vehicle(s)
3. Training in Japan
   Areas of trainings will be identified after the project starts. Training may be conducted virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions.
4. Local cost for the activity of Japanese Experts

Inputs
[Kenya side]

1. Assignment of Project Personnel
2. Building, Facilities, Equipment
   1) Office space for the project
   2) Facilities, equipment
3. Local Operational Costs
   1) Running costs including travel allowances of counterpart personnel
   2) Operation and maintenance costs of facilities and equipment
   3) Tax and domestic transportation costs for imported equipment