{"id":134058,"date":"2026-03-12T18:02:50","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/omtatah-raises-alarm-over-industrial-shift-to-wood-fuel-amid-deforestation-concerns\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T18:02:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:02:50","slug":"omtatah-raises-alarm-over-industrial-shift-to-wood-fuel-amid-deforestation-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/omtatah-raises-alarm-over-industrial-shift-to-wood-fuel-amid-deforestation-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Omtatah Raises Alarm Over Industrial Shift to Wood Fuel Amid Deforestation Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 12 \u2013 Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has raised concerns over a growing trend among large manufacturing companies in industrial hubs which are reportedly switching from conventional energy sources.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The firms which are largely based in Thika, Limuru, Nakuru, and Mukurweini, have switched from\u00a0furnace oil, Industrial Diesel Oil (IDO), and gasto firewood and wood briquettes amid rising energy costs.<\/p>\n

The Busia Senator called on the Senate Lands, Environment and Natural Resources \u00a0to provide a detailed statement on the alarming rise in deforestation linked to industrial use of wood-based biomass fuels.<\/p>\n

While acknowledging that transitioning to alternative energy sources is commendable, Senator Omtatah cautioned that the shift appears to be occurring without adequate safeguards to ensure sustainable sourcing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe volume of wood required to sustain large-scale industrial boilers is substantial and may be contributing to accelerated deforestation in natural forests and community lands,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis trend, if not urgently addressed, could reverse Kenya\u2019s gains in forest conservation, undermine water towers, reduce agricultural productivity, and expose the country to severe climate shocks,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

In his Statement request, Senator Omtatah asked the Committee to provide detailed information on the extent of industrial biomass fuel use in Kenya, including a list of companies that have formally converted to wood-based fuels.<\/p>\n

The Senator also sought clarity on whether the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has conducted Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and granted formal approval for industrial-scale biomass fuel use.<\/p>\n

He further requested information from the Kenya Forest Service on whether appropriate harvesting permits have been issued for the quantities of wood being consumed, and the basis for such approvals.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the Committee is expected to explain the mechanisms in place to ensure biomass fuel is sourced from sustainable plantations rather than from gazetted or protected forests.<\/p>\n

Senator Omtatah also called for an assessment of whether current regulations under the Forest Conservation and Management Act and the Environmental Management and Coordination Act are sufficient to manage industrial biomass consumption, and what urgent steps the Government is taking to avert an environmental crisis.<\/p>\n

This comes even as the government \u00a0is focused on a 15 billion tree initiative, \u00a0campaign launched in late 2022 to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, aiming to restore degraded ecosystems, achieve 30 per cent forest cover, and combat climate change.<\/p>\n

The initiative, also known as \u201cJaza Miti,\u201d sought to unite governments, communities, and individuals in tree-growing activities, emphasising the nurturing of trees to ensure they thrive and provide long-term benefits for the environment and livelihoods.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 12 \u2013 Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has raised concerns over a growing trend among large manufacturing companies in industrial hubs which are reportedly switching from conventional energy sources. The firms which are largely based in Thika, Limuru, Nakuru, and Mukurweini, have switched from\u00a0furnace oil, Industrial Diesel Oil (IDO), and gasto firewood and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134058\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}