November 2, 2010 - Joint Enforcement Unit records great successes in curbing illegal activities in the Mau
The Operation Commander of the Joint Enforcement Unit today launched the first report on securing the forest resources in the Mau Forests Complex since the establishment of the Unit over two years ago.
To date, the Joint Enforcement Unit has succeeded in reducing illegal activities by an estimated 60-80 percent, with some 937 suspects arrested, over 46,000 charcoal bags impounded or destroyed, over 14,000 pieces of timber impounded or destroyed and over 37,000 posts or beams impounded or destroyed.
On 24 July 2008, the Mau Task Force was informed on the potential influx of people into the Mau Forest Complex, and continued illegal activities in the forest, specifically logging and charcoal production. To address these threats to the forest, the Task Force directed that immediate enforcement measures be taken to contain further forest degradation and to control the influx of people, in particular into the Maasai Mau trust land forest.
A joint enforcement and administrative structure was, therefore, established based on sector formation comprising Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Narok County Council (NCC) rangers and the Administration Police (AP) with at least 40 men from each institution.
The mandate of the newly established joint administrative and enforcement force was as follows:
- Immediate containment of further degradation of the forests;
- Prevention of future influx of people into the forests;
- Control of movement of forest produce;
- Assessment of the extent of forest damage and identification of hot spots; and,
- Performance of any other law enforcement functions.
The Joint Enforcement Unit is placed under the day-to-day coordination of Kenya Wildlife Service and assisted by a KWS aircraft based in Lake Nakuru National Park to carry out aerial surveillance.
In light of the successes of the Joint Enforcement Unit in curbing illegal activities during its first eight months of operation, the Mau Task Force recommended the continuation of the Joint Enforcement Unit and its expansion to cover fully the 22 forest blocks of the Mau.
