Tree farming: A major contributor to household incomes and conservation

Abstract

Forests and tree resources provide a wide range of social, environmental, and economic benefits to the Kenyan economy and support rural livelihoods. Wood fuel and charcoal represent more than 75%of domestic energy, while 90% of rural households use firewood for cooking and heating. Kenya's forest resource base occupies an area of 4.39 million hectares with a total forest cover less than 10% of the total land area. The forests are rapidly declining due to pressure from increased population and other land uses. The decline in forest resources affects economic activities by diminishing the supply of goods and services for future production and consumption. The impacts of reduced forest cover is becoming evident in different regions of the country including the coastal region which supports an estimated population of about 17% of the total Kenyan population and accounts for about 62.5% of the country's tourism industry.