How development, land grab trend is closing in on Kenya's forests

Kenya’s forests and protected parks are facing a growing wave of development pressure, from infrastructure expansion, state-backed projects to private developments.

The most immediate and contentious example is unfolding in Nairobi National Park. A plan to relocate and upgrade the Nairobi Animal Orphanage and construction of a car park has triggered a storm of controversy, with conservationists warning that the project could open the door to large-scale encroachment into the park.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the relocation is intended to improve animal welfare by moving the orphanage from its current five-acre site to a larger, modern facility near the Bomas of Kenya.

KWS insists that the new site is expected to include veterinary and research facilities, quarantine areas, training spaces and improved visitor infrastructure.

But scrutiny of the project documents has revealed inconsistencies that have raised serious concerns.

Different sections of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report cite varying land sizes, ranging from 18 acres to 64 acres and up to 99 acres, creating confusion over the true scope of the development.

“We are told that this is necessary for convenience and growth. But I ask, growth for what? And at what cost? Nairobi National Park is not an empty space waiting to be developed. It is a living ecosystem,” said Nyaguthii Chege, from the Green Belt Movement.

“It is the only national park in the whole world that is within a capital city. It is a place where wildlife migrates freely while the skyline of a modern city rises in the background,” she added.

Even more contentious is the proposed construction of a 10-kilometre electric perimeter fence. Conservation groups argue that such a fence could enclose a much larger area than officially declared, potentially extending far beyond the footprint of the orphanage itself.

Conservationists opposed to the project claim that the project is also closely linked to the proposed Bomas International Convention Centre (BICC), a multi-billion-shilling development that has itself been criticised over transparency and procurement concerns.

At the center of the dispute surrounding the Nairobi National Park is a proposed parking facility within the park, which KWS indicates has a capacity for up to 1,300 vehicles.

Conservationists argue that such a facility far exceeds the needs of an animal orphanage and is more likely intended to serve the convention centre.

This has fuelled fears that the relocation plan is being used as a gateway for commercial infrastructure within protected land, a claim that KWS have vehemently dismissed as false.

Already, sections of forest within the park have been cleared to pave way for the project. Conservation groups report that tree felling and bush clearing began in March 2026, affecting a sensitive upland forest zone designated as a low-use area under the park’s management plan.

“They also say that this particular project will only take 0.03 per cent of the park, but this is the same logic that has allowed almost four per cent of this National Park to be lost in the last decade,” said Akshay Vishwanath, from Just Act.

“We lost part of the park for the Southern Bypass, then the Standard Gauge Railway Phase 1 and Phase 2 and part of the park was lost for the Internal Container Depot Road,” Akshay added.

Green Belt Movement, Friends Nairobi National Park and other organisations state that the area serves as habitat for a wide range of wildlife, including lions, rhinos, Maasai giraffes and numerous bird species warning that disturbance of such zones could disrupt ecological balance and wildlife movement.

“The fact that KWS, an environmental institution justifies this project by saying they are not cutting down a forest, but they are just clearing a grassland within a National Park speaks to either a cognitive dissonance on their part or a simple lack of understanding of what their mandate is,” Vishwanath asserted.

There are also concerns over the approval process. Conservation groups allege that the EIA was approved without meaningful public participation and that key documents were not made available for public scrutiny.

For many, the developments in Nairobi National Park represent a test case that could set a precedent for future encroachment into protected areas.

“We are told that this parking space is for tourism and infrastructure support. But there are alternative solutions that do not require taking land from a national park. We could invest in satellite parking but we cannot replace its biodiversity once it's lost,” Chege said.

“What is happening here is not an isolated case. It is part of a troubling pattern that we see across our country,” she added.

In Meru County, Imenti Forest is at the centre of a  growing legal dispute over proposed developments that could affect the forest’s landscape.

The proposal to hive off up to 200 acres in Imenti forest for construction of Meru State Lodge, an airstrip and golf course caused a storm of reactions and public fury.

Already a petition has been filed before the Environment and Land Court in Meru seeks to stop any planned excision or allocation of land within the forest.

The petitioner Francis Awino, argues that these developments pose a direct threat to the ecological integrity of the forest and could lead to irreversible environmental damage if allowed to proceed.

In his petition, Awino seeks to have the court preserve the status quo and prevent any activities that could alter Imenti forest before the case is fully heard.

The case also raises more concerns about recent amendments to the Forest Conservation and Management Act.

He argues that the changes in the recently assented law may have weakened protections for public forests by allowing infrastructure projects such as roads and utilities to be approved under less stringent conditions.

Section 56(2) of the Forest Conservation and Management introduces easements and wayleaves within public and private forests for roads, public installation and utilities, a provision conservationists said can be exploited.

“This law will be misused to a maximum because provided whatever the authority is giving is in line with a public utility, it will pass and the law does not define what is a public utility. It can be anything including a hospital or a state house inside Karura like what we are seeing in Imenti,” Job Mwangi, Advocacy manager at Green Belt Movement argued.

“We are really discouraged because if the president is very busy talking about the 15 billion trees agenda, yet he's still the one who is allowing such draconian amendments to pass, what does this tell us? He's not being genuine. You cannot be giving on this side and taking from the other,” he added.

The Conservation groups argue that legal and policy shifts could be creating new pathways for development within protected forests.

“This is more than a legislative amendment. It is a defining environmental governance moment that will shape the future of our public forests, water towers, biodiversity, climate resilience, indigenous ecosystems, and community rights for generations to come,” the Green Belt Movement argued.

Few forests in Kenya carry as much historical and symbolic weight as Karura Forest. Once the site of fierce resistance against land grabbing in the 1990s, the forest is again at the centre of a conservation battle.

The government had initiated the clearing of sections of the forest to establish a large-scale tree nursery aimed at supporting the national target of planting 15 billion trees by 2032.

The project also included the construction of temporary accommodation for National Youth Service (NYS) personnel before the court stopped the construction until the case filed in court to challenge the project is heard and determined.

Officials have defended the initiative as necessary to boost seedling production and support reforestation efforts. However, conservation groups argue that the approach is fundamentally flawed.

The Ministry of Forestry, led by the Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa stated that the project was in support of President William Ruto’s 15 billion trees initiative.

 But stakeholders questioned the logic of cutting down mature indigenous trees in order to plant new ones, particularly within a protected urban forest. They also argue that there are alternative sites outside the forest where such facilities could be established without compromising biodiversity.

“Their main argument was that they are doing this in almost all the forest stations in Kenya such as Kinare and Ndunduri forests but Karura is not like any other forest. It is an indigenous forest,” said Mwangi.

“When you want to do seed propagation, you do it near where they are needed.  But because of the tarmacking that had happened earlier, we were certain it could also be a backdoor route to grab the forest,” he added.

Another major point of contention is the lack of public participation. The Friends of Karura Community Forest Association, which is legally mandated to co-manage the forest, says it was not consulted or involved in the planning of the project.

Environmentalists also pointed to restrictions placed on access to the site, which have made it difficult to independently verify the extent of the works before the court halted the construction fueling concerns that the project could be larger or more permanent than officially described.

In August 2025, the government secretly constructed a three-kilometer tarmac within Karura Forest on the claim that the road was to ease access to guards’ houses.

“They actually tarmacked that stretch within two nights. They argued that it was meant to help them access the guards' houses in Karura but Friends of Karura Forest and Kenya Forest Service had actually built some new blocks of apartments at the KFS headquarters to move the guards,” said Mwangi.

But that was not the first time Karura Forest was facing destruction. The forest has faced multiple development attempts over the years, including proposals for road expansion and private commercial ventures, many of which were halted through court action.

In 2024, there was a plan to excise 51.64 acres from Karura Forest, which is equivalent to 29 football fields, for the expansion of Kiambu Road into a multi-lane highway before the court stopped the plan.

Instead, the court in 2025 ruled that the government through the Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) could only take 0.3 acres of the forest for the expansion of Kiambu Road, a section smaller than wayleave.

The board of Karura forest had also gone ahead to give an entity called ASAP Enterprises a special user license to actually establish a private hotel inside the forest, a move that was stopped by the court.

Another urban forest under scrutiny is Ngong Road Forest, where a private, luxury camping facility is being constructed without proper licenses.

The project, which includes cottages, restaurants, wellness facilities and other amenities, was initiated without a license from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).

The authority confirmed that no approval was issued and that the project lacked the required public participation.

Further inconsistencies emerged regarding the scale of the development whereby initial reports indicated the construction of 11 cottages, while other documents suggested plans for up to 20 units.

After public uproar, Kenya Forest Service eventually disclosed that the controversial, luxurious eco-lodge and wellness retreat seated on five acres of the forest is being developed by Konyon Company Limited, a firm linked to powerful individuals in government.

“It was a secret project that they hoped we wouldn't notice. But it's hard to hide the excision of five acres and the construction of a hotel in one of the last remaining forests within Nairobi.”

“And they're not done with the Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary, we know of plans to take approximately 10 hectares of this same forest to build a road for VIPs between Talanta Stadium on Ngong Road and the new conference center at Bomas,” Chege alleged.

She alleged that there are also attempts to hive off a section of Uhuru Park to expand Uhuru Highway.

Despite claims that the facility would use eco-friendly and degradable materials, concrete structures have already been erected on site.

Although the development was suspended following public outcry, conservation groups raised questions on the gaps in enforcement and oversight within protected forests.

Beyond Nairobi, one of Kenya’s most critical ecosystems is also under threat. The Aberdare Forest and Aberdare National Park are facing pressure from a proposed highway that would cut through the heart of the ecosystem.

The road project, intended to connect parts of Nyeri and Nyandarua counties, has been strongly opposed by conservation groups who warn of its potential environmental impact.

The Aberdare ecosystem is one of Kenya’s five main water towers, supplying water to millions of people and feeding major rivers and dams.

It is also a key biodiversity area, home to endangered species such as the mountain bongo and hundreds of bird species.

“This expanded road would cut across the Aberdare ranges, fragmenting one of Kenya's most important water towers, a living interconnected system that protects Kenya's climate, water resources, wildlife and livelihoods,” said the conservation group.

According to project documents, the road would affect over 255 acres of forest, including bamboo, montane forest and moorland. Conservationists warn that it could fragment habitats, disrupt wildlife corridors and increase human-wildlife conflict.

There are also concerns about increased road traffic leading to wildlife collisions and long-term ecological degradation.

Critics argue that alternative routes exist that would achieve the same connectivity goals without cutting through the protected area.

Studies have also questioned the economic viability of the project, suggesting that it may not deliver the anticipated benefits.

Although a court has temporarily halted the project, conservation groups remain concerned that it could still proceed if approvals are upheld.

Green Belt Movement stated that taken together, the moves on public forests and parks point to a trend of incremental encroachment into Kenya’ s protected ecosystem.

“Piece by piece, acre by acre, we see plans to turn our forests, our parks and our public green spaces into construction sites. These plans would systematically, intentionally and deliberately replace our natural ecosystems with built infrastructure,” Chege asserted.

Irungu Houghton from Amnesty International stated that too many of the government projects are being pushed through systems that are in violation of Article 1 of the constitution.

“Without public participation and public ownership, development has no rooting in our society,” he said.

Former chief Justice David Maraga said, “Are we going to do development at the expense of our environment? This is a very serious thing that we are extending the arid and semi-arid parts of this country.”