Pangas in hand, Kenya's indigenous fire scouts take on forest losses
- Moraa Obiria
- Jun 24, 2017
- 1 min read
These days, whenever Daniel Koskei walks into the Logoman Forest and finds a mound of soil, he prepares to take action – particularly if the wind is strong and the sun blazing hot.
Such mounds can be a sign of illegal charcoal production, an activity that can lead to fire outbreaks in this eastern region of Kenya's Mau Forest.
"It prompts me to keep monitoring that area and inform the forester to take appropriate action," said Koskei, who surveys the forest at least once a week.
Ordinarily, such work would be the job of a forest guard of the Kenya Forest Service, the state agency charged with protection of forest reserves.
But Koskei is a volunteer scout from the indigenous Ogiek community, people with a long history of making their living from the forest.
CIFOR