Kenya's forests will be "decimated" within the next 50 years.
Nov. 9, 1999 — Conservationists are alarmed at the findings of the first scientific aerial study of Africa's Mount Kenya. The research, based on 53 hours of low-level flights over the region, shows disturbingly large areas "under assault" by massive logging operations, illegal cultivation of marijuana, and human encroachment.
Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) conducted the study of the forests, which provide habitat for leopards, elephants, giant forest hogs, bongo antelope, and black-fronted duiker, as well as nearly 900 species of plants.
Ecologists said Kenya's forests will be "decimated" within the next 50 years, and that some areas have already had more than 90 percent of the canopy removed. Some of the trees, such as camphor, tropical olive and cedar, can take as long as 400 years to reach their full height.
The cultivation of marijuana has claimed 490 acres of the forest, and has been particularly damaging to the area's biodiversity, as it entails the total clearing of land before planting. The permanent presence of guards in the marijuana fields has worsened the situation as it has interfered with wildlife habitat and migration patterns. Cultivation techniques have also destroyed water catchment in the growing areas.
Livestock grazing and the burning of wood in charcoal kilns have also contributed greatly to the forests' destruction.
