KFS Launches New Tool to Track Kenya's Trees

Jukwaa

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The tool was developed through a KFS-Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) collaboration under the SFS-CORECC Project and was piloted in Makueni County using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and machine-learning technology.

The pilot recorded more than 80 per cent accuracy, with tree-cover mapping achieving 84.4 per cent accuracy and land-cover mapping recording 81.1 per cent accuracy.

The 2026 assessment placed Makueni County’s tree cover at 14.72 per cent, while forest cover stood at 6.83 per cent, providing data that can be used to track changes over time.

📌 What You Need to Know

The new system will complement periodic national assessments, including the 2021 National Forest Resources Assessment, by providing more regular spatial information on changes in tree cover.

The development comes as environmentalists question whether planting figures alone are enough to measure Kenya’s progress towards its tree-growing ambitions.

In April 2026, Environment Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa appointed tree-planting champion Hillary Kibiwott as an ambassador after he planted 23,326 trees within 24 hours, an achievement that was awaiting official Guinness World Records ratification.

Kenya has also gained global attention through mass planting initiatives, including a Guinness World Record involving more than 4,000 Scouts and other participants who planted mangroves at Jomvu.

The country has restored 91.6 million mangroves, more than 65 per cent of its 140 million target, while the Plant Your Age campaign estimates that it has recorded about 981 million tree-growing contributions since 2011.

Despite these figures, environmentalist Dr Isaac Kalua Green called for the government to regularly return to planting sites and establish how many trees have survived, noting that seedlings can be lost to drought, pests, poor maintenance and unsuitable sites.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke

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