Colonial Shadows: The Deforestation of Kakamega Forest; 1933-1963

Abstract

Kakamega Forest is one of the unique ecosystems in Kenya since it is one of the remaining tropical ecosystems in the country. Kakamega forest has received a lot of government attention spanning from 1933 when it was first gazetted by the colonial government. As is the case with other forests, it has experienced contestations and contentions regarding how the government of the day manages it. Since the gazzettement back in 1933, the government adopted a ‘top-down’ model which ignored completely the concerns and position of the locals, who had for many years interacted with the forest. Therefore, based on this, the paper traces the historical trajectory of the conservation of the forest from the time it was gazetted in 1933. The objective of the study was to examine the government's approach to the management of the forest and the reactions of the locals towards t its conservation. The study adopted a historical approach in which heavy reliance on archival sources was pursued. These entailed the development plans; Forest Department reports as well as the Annual District reports. To complement the archival sources, oral informants were conducted using purposive and snowball were sampling. The inclusion criteria were those who were aged above 60 years and lived adjacent to the forest. It was established that the government’s gazzettement of the forest was followed by heavy logging and the interests of the locals were largely ignored. Besides, the study was able to establish that there were frosty relationships between the Forest Department and the people from the myriad of petitions that they were able to present. The study recommends that the Kenya Forest Service ought to prioritize the concerns of the community in the conservation strategy that it adopts. The authors believe that the study will be of benefit to conservation stakeholders, historians, and scholars in the environmental realms.