• Speaking at the official opening of the 3rd Woodtech Africa International Exhibition and Conference, a continental platform driving innovation, investment, and transformation in the industrial wood sector, Barasa has emphasized that the Vision is anchored in the forthcoming National Commercial Forestry Strategy (2025–2035).

Kenya’s Government has unveiled the Industrial Wood Sector Vision 2050, placing wood firmly at the center of its green manufacturing agenda.

The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Deborah Barasa, explains that the vision seeks to double tree cover on farms and plantations to 1.2 million hectares and increase industrial wood supply fivefold.

She adds that it aims to generate KSh 137 billion in GDP, create more than 85,000 jobs, store over 140 million tonnes of CO₂, and stimulate downstream value chains in construction, furniture, and renewable energy.

According to the CS, Kenya currently meets less than 10 percent of its national demand, underscoring the need to scale investment, modernize technology, and strengthen policy frameworks. Barasa highlights that the wood industry already contributes about KSh 5 billion annually to GDP, making Kenya the largest wood products market in East Africa.

Speaking at the official opening of the 3rd Woodtech Africa International Exhibition and Conference, a continental platform driving innovation, investment, and transformation in the industrial wood sector, Barasa has emphasized that the Vision is anchored in the forthcoming National Commercial Forestry Strategy (2025–2035).

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This strategy provides clear pathways for value chain development, commercial plantations, and expanded private-sector participation. Kenya also reinforced its commitment at COP28, pledging to promote sustainable wood use in green construction as part of its climate-resilient development agenda.

According to CS Barasa, through the 15 Billion Tree Growing Programme, Kenya is implementing one of Africa’s most ambitious environmental initiatives. The country has already surpassed 13 percent tree cover and remains on course to reach 30 percent by 2032.

This programme is not just a policy but a national movement to build a culture of environmental stewardship, with commercial forestry playing a central role in creating economic value from tree-growing efforts.

Barasa stresses that engagements at the conference exhibitions, dialogue, and partnerships are critical to strengthening innovation, competitiveness, and investment across the wood value chain.

She urges industry players, including manufacturers, architects, developers, and timber merchants, to seize the opportunities presented. Kenya’s wood sector, she says, is not simply about harvesting trees but about cultivating the right species, applying scientific silviculture, enhancing efficient and sustainable processing, and adopting climate-smart technologies that drive national economic transformation.

“To support this growth, the Ministry is implementing key regulatory reforms, including finalizing eight regulations under the Forest Conservation and Management Act, establishing guidelines for commercial plantations and benefit-sharing, developing standards for wood-based construction, strengthening traceability to combat illegal logging, and modernizing permitting systems to streamline private-sector participation,” she says.

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