Senator Omtatah Raises Alarm Over Kenya's Rapidly Declining Forest Area As Companies Ditch Gas For Firewood

Senator Omtatah Raises Alarm Over Kenya’s Rapidly Declining Forest Area As Companies Ditch Gas For Firewood

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has raised the alarm over large manufacturing companies abandoning gas and diesel for firewood and wood-based biomass fuel, an event that he attributes to growing deforestation in the country.

Speaking before the Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources at the Senate on March 12, he sought a formal statement from the committee over what he termed a matter of countrywide concern.

Omtatah pointed to industrial zones in Thika, Limuru, Nakuru, and Mukurweini, where several major companies have allegedly quietly shifted away from furnace oil, industrial diesel, and gas in favour of cheaper firewood and wood briquettes.

“Mr Speaker, sir, several major industries, particularly within Thika, Limuru, Nakuru, Mukurueni, and other industrial zones, have transitioned from furnace oil, industrial diesel oil, and gas to firewood and wood briquettes due to rising energy costs,” stated Omtatah.

While moving to biomass fuel is not inherently wrong according to the senator, he warned that it is happening far too fast and without proper checks and environmental safeguards.

“While energy transition is commendable, the current shift appears to be occurring without adequate safeguards to ensure sustainable sourcing of biomass fuel,” stated Omtatah.

With the huge volume of wood needed to keep large industrial boilers running around the clock is enormous, Omtatah cautioned that this particular demand could be quietly accelerating the destruction of natural forests and community lands across the country.

Kenya has spent years working to recover its forest cover.

The senator warned that unchecked industrial wood consumption risks undoing those hard-won conservation gains and putting critical water towers under serious consequences that we might never recover from.

Beyond forests, he stresses that the ripple effects could be severe.

Degraded water towers mean reduced river flows, which directly affect farming communities that rely on these sources for irrigation, drinking water, and livestock.

Omtatah also raised concerns that the country could face devastating climate consequences if the trend is not urgently addressed and that a nation already grappling with erratic weather patterns cannot afford to accelerate the loss of its green cover.

The senator wants the number of companies that have officially converted to biomass fuel, with full consumption of firewood energy, to be made public.

At the same time, he questioned whether the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) conducted proper environmental impact assessments before approving biomass fuel use at an industrial scale, a process that is legally required before any major operational change.

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Omtatah, at the same time, put the Kenya Forest Service on the spot, raising significant questions on the tree harvesting permits these companies use.

He also questioned if the wood being burned by these large corporations is coming from sustainable commercial plantations and not from gazetted forests or protected community lands that are off-limits by law.

The focal point of his presentation lies in a legal framework, including the Forest Conservation and Management Act and the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, which is strong enough to regulate industrial biomass use effectively.

Omtatah is now pressing the government to outline the urgent steps it is taking to prevent what he described as a looming environmental crisis, one driven not by poverty or ignorance but by large corporations cutting operational costs.

Senator Omtatah Raises Alarm Over Kenya’s Rapidly Declining Forest Area As Companies Ditch Gas For Firewood