With about a dozen rangers, he has been using an app that through satellite feeds maps signs of forest fires, illegal logging and people encroaching on water sources, to stem worsening deforestation in Kwale County during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The officers then visit the sites to assess the damage and stop anyone they catch cutting down trees or taking water without a license,” said Wara. “But working with the community we have been able to restore degraded areas with saplings from our nursery.”Currently, about 7% of Kenya is forested, according to government figures — and environmental groups say more than 5 million trees are cut down every day for firewood, charcoal or other purposes.
He pointed to Shimba Hills, a 30,000-hectare national reserve on Kenya's south coast, where he says there has been a jump in encroachment as the remaining officers find it impossible to patrol the whole forest. The fires would often spread out of control and into the forest itself, he said, but with more people patrolling, poachers are mostly staying away.TECH POTENTIAL
“My children are going to school and are well fed thanks to this job. I am also not worried about paying rent,” said Ali, who said her landlord locked her out of her house three times due to late payment since the start of the pandemic. Ramadhani Mohamed, one of the locals planting trees in Kwale, said the government should do more to tap into the country's large pool of mobile phone users.
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