Soipan Tuya, Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry, presided over the Sandalwood Burning Exercise today at DCI headquarters.
The sandalwood burning was ordered by Kahawa Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Boaz Ombewa. The 13.5 tons of burned sandalwood worth Ksh 54 million was seized in Samburu East, Wamba.
The CS added in his remarks at the ceremony that the burning was a symbolic act that exemplifies the dedication and cooperation of all stakeholders in dismantling criminal organizations that aim to profit from the expanding illicit trade in sandalwood trees and its byproducts.
To stop the flow of sandalwood trafficking in Kenya and the surrounding area, the CS reemphasized the need to improve surveillance, information exchange, and partnership with communities that are close to forests.
The CS urged the stakeholders to increase their resources and efforts in order to counter the growing threat posed by networks that traffic sandalwood in the area. She also urged Kenyans as well as all state and non-state actors to support the president’s order to plant 15 billion trees by 2032.
During the event, Mr. Alex Lemarkoko, the Ag. Chief Conservator of Forests, praised and encouraged continued cooperation between state, non-state agencies, and local communities in the fight against vice and for the protection and conservation of forest resources.
He assured of KFS’s commitment to conserving forest resources, particularly rare species like sandalwood, by pointing out that sandalwood trafficking is an extractive environmental crime that must be entirely stopped.
The US Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman, was also present at the ceremony and spoke about the US commitment to stopping the illegal sandalwood trade and trafficking while promising to assist Kenya in its conservation efforts.
Senior government officials, including the Director DCI Mohamed Amin, NEMA Director General Mamo B. Mamo, and representatives from the Judiciary, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Kenya Wildlife Service, among others, attended the event for the environment, conservation, and security sectors.