This, as the country seeks to turn 15 billion tree-growing plan into measurable gains Chief Conservator of Forest Alex Lemarkoko plants a tree/FILE Kenya is seeking to shift forestry from mainly a conservation activity to a source of investment, jobs, and economic growth, backed by new climate funding, commercial tree-growing plans, and forest restoration projects.
This follows the country's approval of $229 million (Sh29.6 billion) in new external finance for forest- and landscape-based economic development. According to the Forest & Climate Leaders’ Partnership (FCLP) 2026 Forest Finance Roadmap, the funding includes $200 million (Sh25.87 billion) from the World Bank and $29.2 million (Sh3.7 billion) from the Green Climate Fund for Kenya’s Lake Region.
However, experts now argue that the bigger economic question is no longer simply how much money is being committed to forests, but whether Kenya can turn restoration, commercial tree growing and sustainable forestry into a bankable industry capable of generating jobs, supporting farmers, supplying manufacturers and attracting long-term private capital.
That ambition is emerging as the country struggles to translate its 15 billion tree-growing programme into measurable gains in forest cover and plantation output. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics’ Economic Survey 2026 shows that the area of newly established forest plantations fell to 4,400 hectares in 2025 from 4,900 hectares a year earlier, while national forest cover remained at 8.8 per cent.
The figures expose the gap between tree-planting campaigns and the more difficult task of establishing commercially productive forests that survive, mature and feed industries. The FCLP report points to one possible answer, treating forests as part of the wider economic system rather than as an environmental expenditure.
“In parallel, Kenya increased its 2025-26 fiscal year forestry budget by approximately $38.7 million (Sh5 billion) and maintained a higher allocation of about $143.8 million (Sh18.6 billion) for the 2026-27 financial year,” the report says in part. Its Kenya case study says the Industrial Wood Sector Vision 2050 estimates that the country will ultimately require about Sh176 billion to develop commercial tree growing and wood processing, where Sh134 billion will be for commercial tree growing and Sh42 billion for processing.