The FM course was organised in collaboration with the Forestry Society of Kenya (FSK). FSK is a professional body for foresters in Kenya that champion forestry science and safeguards forestry practices standards in Kenya. The course participants were members of FSK and stakeholders working with the society, this included the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI); Kenya Forest Service, Farm Forestry Smallholder Producers Association of Kenya (FF SPAK), Comply Industries LTD, the Kenya Forests Working Group, and County government officials.
Forestry Society of Kenya members had shown interest towards knowing more about FSC and the different types of certification. “There is currently a lot of interest in certification as a tool to improve forest management in Kenya, yet, not much awareness about FSC has been done” said Caroline Wanjiku, the Executive Officer of the society. The FSC FM training fitted well with the society’s strategic objectives to educate all local stakeholders in forestry about the sustainable forest management and certification. “Our intention is to see FSC certification happening in Kenya” added Caroline.
The FSC has already conducted two trainings in East Africa in 2018 the first one in Uganda. The trainings are focused on general forestry management, the ten principals and criteria of the FSC and Group certification.
“As FSC, we are encouraged by the level of interest from stakeholders in East Africa and Kenya, in particular, wanting to understand FSC and FSC certification. The trainings provide the opportunity for us to begin to engage all interested parties and to clearly explain what we do in promoting responsible forest management” said Annah Agasha, Project Manager for FSC Africa.
Next step
Caroline says the participants who attended the training have already created a forum that will visit a few forestry companies to raise awareness about FSC and explain about the importance of certification.
“We are looking forward to more training opportunities, most organisations in Kenya want to take up FSC certification and want to know more about the processes involved including the auditing. We are also interested to know about FSC chain of custody and how to develop the national forest management standards” added Caroline.