• The court also barred the state from granting licences/permits to fell trees.
• Judge Angote directed he application and orders be served upon the parties for a hearing on August 14.
Image: FILE
The Ministry of Environment has been forced to rethink its strategy after the High Court issued orders blocking an executive order that lifted the ban on logging.
The High Court ruled on Wednesday there had been no public participation and continued the ban for 90 days.
On February 24, 2018, the state imposed a 90-day ban on logging, which was later extended to November 24.
The ban was re-imposed a number of times to facilitate sector reforms. It covered public and community plantation forests.
Private commercial forests and trees grown for timber or wood on private farms were excluded from the ban.
On July 2, the state lifted the ban and harvesting was set to continue for the next 45 days.
The move generated outrage by those who said the ban should continue and called ending the prohibition ill-informed. The aim of the ban was to increase Kenya's tree cover and improve the environment, including water supply.
Critics said lifting the ban would increase deforestation.
The Law Society of Kenya challenged lifting the ban, saying there was no public participation about such an important issue before the prohibition was removed.
LSK sought orders to stop the implementation of the directive by President William Ruto to lift the ban. Ruto said it would provide jobs and the Kenya Forest Service said mature plantation trees would rot if harvested soon. It said lifting the logging ban would not set backKenya's tree cover initiative.#bak not set back Kenya
"Orders are granted staying the government directive on the revocation of the Gazette notices previously issued for degazettement of forest areas/designating areas as forests and the re-introduction of the shamba system," Justice Oscar Angote ruled.
The court also barred the state from granting logging licenses and permits.
Angote directed that the application and orders be served upon the parties, for a hearing on August 14.