Mount Kenya Forest experienced massive deforestation starting from early 1960s to late 1990s through various illegal activities which included; unlicensed timber harvesting, felling down trees for charcoal, fuelwood, forest grazing and shamba systems. The forest is very vital to community members since they rely on it for forest products such as ; fodder ,honey,fuelwood, fruits and water . The areas which experienced deforestation never regenerated back and thus need for restoration.
Due to the massive deforestation which occurred in this forest, the areas never regenerated back and thus led to ;loss of habitat for wild animals, water shortages especially for many rivers originating from the forest, climate change, less rain experienced in areas bordering the forest, loss of species i.e. both plant and animals, electricity rationing in the country due low water lever, prolonged droughts and scarcity of forest products .
The project will restore 150 ha of degraded forest through planting different indigenous tree species. Community member groups will be empowered through provision of equipments , seeds and trainings to enable them raise tree seedlings for reforestation. The communities living near the forest will be sensitized on importance of conserving the forest, regular monitoring for any destructive activities inside the forest and reporting to authorities on any illegal activities in the forest.
Restoration of the forest will create habitat for wild animals living inside the forest, there will be increase in water volume which will serve over 2 million people, there will be increase in forest products such as honey, fruits, fodder leaves and herbal medicine. Beside that, electricity rationing within the country will be reduced as well as cases of droughts and lack of rain. Effects of climate changes will be reduced since there will be regular occurrence of rain
