By KIPCHUMBA KEMEI

Narok County

The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has slapped a ban on charcoal burning around the Mau forest to contain the current fires.

The KFS Narok Zone manager, Joshua Charana, said yesterday his office has suspended issuance of permits for transportation of charcoal and other forest products until the end of the current dry spell.

He said officers who were on leave have been recalled to assist in fighting fire raging in Mau forest and added that the service will create buffer zones between settlements and the expansive forest to curb human activities.

"Apart from stopping issuiance of permits for burning and transportation of forest products, we have also stationed officers at all forest entry points to check human activities like honey harvesting which is responsible for fires," said Charana.

He said in the last four years KFS has contained charcoal burning in Mau, adding that Narok used to be the biggest supplier of charcoal to Nairobi and Nakuru markets.

According to statistics availed to The Standard by the Kenya Wildlife Service, the region annually sells between 15 to 20 million bags to the two major towns.

Charana urged the public to assist KFS in containing and fighting forest fires, adding that other Government institutions like Ministry of Agriculture have been enlisted to fight and contain forest fires.

A report launched by the United Nations Environmental Programme Division on Early Warning and Assessment says the ongoing destruction of the 400,000-hectare Mau Complex is costing the economy Sh25 billion annually.

Human activities

The report says agriculture, tourism and energy sectors bear the greatest brunt of unchecked destruction and urges the Government to to act fast and check destructive human activities to reverse the negative impact to the economy.

The report was unveiled as settlers in the 146,800 hectare Maasai Mau forest asked the Government to hasten their compensation. They said they want to be compensated at the current market rate of Sh350,000 per acre.

"We bought land on willing seller-willing buyer basis. We are disturbed when we are called squatters. The only thing the Government can do to save the forest from further depletion is to give us Sh350,000 per acre," said their spokesperson, William Cheruiyot of Sierra Leone area of the forest.

The Chairman of the Mau Forest Steering Committee, Hassan Noor, recently reported that the profiling of claimants is complete, adding Sh3 billion was required to compensate 7,000 households.

"The committee has sent the proposal to the Treasury and when the money is made available we will buy parcels of land from the claimants and secure the forest," Noor said in Narok.