Kenyan President William Ruto has directed the environment and forestry ministry to look into the ongoing uprooting of baobab trees at the coast.
It follows reports about concerns by environmental experts about the export of the massive trees in Kilifi country to Georgia.
Local newspaper Daily Nation last week reported that Kenyan authorities had authorised a foreign company to cut the trees for botanical purposes for two years.
Last month, the Guardian newspaper said campaigners were accusing people of “biopiracy”. Buyers were persuading locals to part with the trees on their land.
But on Monday, Mr Ruto said there “must be adequate authorisation and an equitable benefit-sharing formula for Kenyans”.
He also asked the ministry to ensure that the uprooting “sits within the Convention on Biodiversity”.
I have instructed the Ministry of Environment and Forestry to look into the ongoing uprooting of Baobab trees in Kilifi County to ensure that it sits within the Convention on Biodiversity and the Nagoya Protocol.
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) November 21, 2022
The baobab trees have huge trunks and may live for hundreds if not thousands of years, often dwarfing other plants around them.
They store large quantities of water inside their trunks to endure the harsh conditions of the arid areas in which they live.
