0627-C1
Paul Opanga 1
The vision of the International Federation of Building and Wood workers (IFBWW) Global Wood and Forestry Program is to promote and enforce worker rights in the context of sustainable development by supporting sound practices that encourage economic, ecological and social development in forest sector. One of its initiatives is in Kenya.
Kenya faces alarming deforestation rates. As the population expands, the demand for arable land increases, resulting in excision of forest areas. In addition to population growth, rapid urbanization has increased the demand for wood in the building and construction sector, resulting in over-exploitation of existing forest resources. Over a period of ten years, the country's forest cover has fallen from 3% to 1.7% of the total land cover. Further the number of operating sawmills has fallen from 450 to slightly less than 10 in the same period. In response to this crisis, the following Unions; Kenya Quarry and Mine Workers Union (KQMWU), Kenya Union of Printing, Publishing, Paper Manufacturing and Allied Workers (KUPRIPUPA) and Kenya Building Construction, Timber, Furniture and Allied Industries Employees Union (KBCTF & AIEU) have realized that there is a need to participate in enhancing the wood resource base to sustain raw materials used in job creation.
The initiatives by the three Unions attempt to balance economic, social and environmental issues by having training on forest certification agreements and International Labour Organization Core Labour Standards. Economically the approach involves establishment of tree nurseries, herbal groves and bee-keeping to enhance income generation. Socially, training has been undertaken to improve the health status of the workers. Further, local communities, industrialists and workers' representatives have been involved in conservation and protection of watersheds and vital habitats through planting of indigenous tree species.
The implementation strategy includes use of participatory workshops, outreach programmes by use of posters, video and drawing lessons from other experiences.
Lessons learned include need for joint and participatory planning among relevant stakeholders. Emerging results indicate that small-scale farm initiatives can increase supply of wood materials.
These initiatives basically profile trade unions and enhance their stake in issues of sustainable industrial development in the forest sector.
Kenya Forestry Project encompasses joint effort by three unions namely Kenya Quarry and Mine Workers Union (KQMWU), Kenya Union of Printing, Publishing, Paper Manufacturing and Allied Workers (KUPRIPUPA) and Kenya Building Construction, Timber, Furniture and Allied Industries Employees Union (KBCTF & AIEU) to counteract job loss in forest and wood sector and proactively participate in activities meant to ensure development and growth of wood and human resource.
The initiative builds upon vital components of the concept of sustainable industrial development, which include environment appropriateness, socially beneficial and economically viable as underlined by the International Federation of Building and Wood workers (IFBWW) Global Wood and Forestry Policy. The Kenya Forestry project is an initiative supported by IFBWW whose mission is to promote the development of trade unions in the construction, wood, forestry and allied sectors throughout the world and to promote and enforce worker rights in the context of sustainable development.
Kenya initiative attempts to consolidate efforts of trade unions, industrialists, government agencies and local communities to jointly manage forest and wood resource to support livelihoods and enhance income generation to the local communities. Enterprises being developed include tree nursery, apiaries and fishponds. Guided by the IFBWW Policy which strives to ensure that a sustainable working life is a precondition of sustainable development and that pay and working conditions must be good enough for workers to last a whole life, the initiative incorporates aspects of training on health and safety, forest certification agreement and ILO core labour standards.
In the late 1980s, forestry unions in many countries saw similar patterns of forest loss and as a result worked together to develop a vision for Union involvement in sustainable forestry. This vision included engagement of their memberships in proactive steps to prevent depletion of forest resources. Wood processing and construction unions, many of which were closely associated with forestry unions or included forest workers in their membership, also acknowledged a stake in the process. They recognized that not only were jobs in the forest at risk but also downstream jobs that relied on the raw materials such as processing and associated jobs in transport and construction were also at risk. For these reasons, Unions saw forestry issues in the context of wider concerns.
As they developed their policy, Unions recognized the very important role that they could play in protecting forests from over-exploitation. They recognized that in many places overuse of resources was inextricably tied to poverty hence part of the traditional union agenda was the elimination of poverty through direct action to improve working conditions and wages (Bowling 2000). Job loss also meant loss of Union members.
Competition for land for settlement and agriculture, low technological input coupled with conflicting policy has resulted to overexploitation and unsustainable use of forest resources in Kenya. Degazettement and excision of forest areas in favour of agriculture and human settlement has reduced the total forests cover from 3% to 1.7% in duration of ten (10) years. In addition to population growth, rapid urbanization has enhanced the demand for wood in building and construction sector, which in effect has exerted pressure on forest resources.
Not only has the forest resources in Kenya been exploited, but also low technology has been used in the industries thus resulting to high wastage of wood. It is estimated that 2 out of 3 sawmills operating in Kenya have recovery rates of less than 30% (Wall, 2000).
In attempt to tackle the challenge of overexploitation of forest resources, the Kenya government has enforced bans on logging. Since October 1999, harvesting of sawlogs from government owned forest has reduced. The ban on logging has virtually strangled the sawmills and made it difficult for the sawmills to source wood raw material from the government forests. The ban has resulted to job loss in the forest sector. Since October 1999, the number of operating licensed sawmills has reduced from 450 to a figure less than ten (10). Further government pronouncement on management of forest resources has varied from time to time and this inconsistency in policy has made it difficult for potential investors to put their money in development of forest and wood based enterprises.
Borrowing a leaf from Timber Workers Union (TWU) of Ghana the three timber related collaborating Unions in Kenya identified a need to participate in afforestation exercise. TWU has currently established a 240 hectare plantation of Tectonia grandis. The Kenya initiative attempt to balance economic, social and environmental needs affecting workers and local communities living adjacent to forest resources.
The activities undertaken were identified after a participatory planning and consultative meeting held by representatives of the three unions. A forest expert attached to Ghana initiative was invited as a resource person. It is from this planning workshop that activities of the programme were proposed.
At the project site, a Participatory Stakeholders Awareness Workshop was organized and sponsored by IFBWW - Global Forestry Programme where relevant stakeholders from industrialists, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Municipal Council, Community Representatives, and Workers Representatives were invited. Roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders were identified and an action plan developed.
Study tours and exchange of information with other affiliates in Africa was considered crucial as lessons from Ghana and Burkina Faso were internalized in the planning of Kenya Initiative.
Use of posters and videos as campaign tools for disseminating information was also identified in Participatory Planning Meetings.
Training and skill development in thematic topics such as nursery establishment, health and safety were to be carried by holding Residential and Non-residential workshops.
The initiative has successfully launched a tree nursery with a variety of tree seedlings. The nursery has indigenous species endemic to western Kenya. Some of the indigenous species raised at the nursery include Markhamia lutea, Croton megalocorpus, Maesopsis eminii, Albizia gummifera, Acacia polyacantha, Croton macrostachyus, Phoenix reclinata and Syzygium guineense. Exotic species sowed include Pinus patula, Cuppressus lusitanica, Bischovia japonica, Eucalyptus saligna, Eucalyptus camadulensis and Eucalyptus globulus. Also in the nursery are species with medicinal value to the local communities such as Azadirachta indica (neem tree), and prunus africana.
Photo 1: Nursery workers removing weeds from Bischopia japonica seedlings available at The Project Tree Nursery at Webuye, Western Kenya
Agroforestry tree species of Grevillea robusta, Leucaena leucocephala, Senna siamea and Calliandra calothysus have been raised to enhance production of firewood and fodder to the local communities.
Currently the nursery has 20,000 seedlings and it is estimated to increase three fold by June 2003. The nursery initiative offers job opportunity where the locals are employed on casual basis to collect seeds, sow, prick out and transplant seedlings into polythene tubes.
The three Unions have a formidable committee, which forms alliances, and build partnerships with industrialists and local communities. The joint committee tackles issue of poverty eradication and income generation. Examples of micro-enterprises established are fish ponds, apiaries and protection of water springs.
The three Unions are sharing the cost of establishing these micro-enterprises with the industrialists and the local community at a percentage ratio of 50% for unions, 35% for the industrialists and 15% for local communities. The cost sharing experience has positively been welcomed by the concerned bodies and the government authorities especially the District Environmental Committee, which spearheads environmental management issues on behalf of the government at the local level.
Social concerns of the worker are addressed in training seminars held periodically through residential and non-residential workshops. The training has concentrated on HIV/AIDS at workplace. One of the key recommendation made at the Health and Safety workshop while addressing AIDS pandemic is how to promote income and an employment opportunity for HIV infected and AIDS workers and their families through informal sector and small-scale enterprise development.
Photo 2: Representatives from KQMWU, KBCTF & AIEU and KUPRIPUPA attending a Non - Residential Health and Safety Workshop in a hotel in Nairobi.
In one of the workshops, where twenty participants were selected from the three unions, the forum was oriented to issues of hazard identification or environmental audit to ensure that accidents are prevented at the workplace. Also addressed under public health is how planting trees along the streets can help to clean the air, modify temperature extremities and reduce noise.
For environment stability, unions have undertaken efforts to afforestate hilly tops and water springs catchment management by planting indigenous trees and carrying enrichment planting. Among the indigenous tree species planted at the water catchment sites include Prunus africana, Markhamia lutea, Podocarpens latifolia and Croton megalocarpus.
On June 5th also referred to as Environment Day, the unions jointly with industrialists, municipal council officials, local communities successfully planted 1000 seedlings at one of the selected vital habitats at the project area.
To raise interest among other interested individuals, the initiative has started a "Tree Adoption Concept" where interested individuals can adopt a tree at specific project sites at a fee of CHF 100 and the proceed used to manage the tree. A certificate of appreciation is issued to the sponsor or "adopter" after the tree has been planted in his/her honour at the vital habitat. This concept is borrowed from advocates and proponents of carbon sequestration who are campaigning to have industrialists or user groups pay for the cost of planting trees at chosen sites in the globe as pay back measure.
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| Photo 3: Representatives from schools, local communities and industrialists planting trees in one of the vital habitat sites along the hilly tops. | Photo 4: IFBWW President Roel de Vries putting a label in one of the trees "adopted" at the Project site. |
The initiative involves exchange of information with other Unions' affiliates of IFBWW in the globe on matters of forest certification. Of concern to the unionist is the social dimension in the process of forest certification and specifically the interest of forest workers in the process.
Posters and videos have been released to raise awareness on various aspects of sustainable forest management. Further the Unionists exchange ideas with other IFBWW affiliates on topics such as ILO core standards, and lessons are being drawn from forest initiatives in other countries. The three unions in Kenya are closely collaborating with Ghana and Burkina Faso initiatives. Exchange visits are undertaken to learn from each other.
Not only have the unions exchanged information with IFBWW affiliates, but also have collaborated with learning institutions. For example, during the World Environment Day, schools recited poems on environmental awareness and actively participated in tree planting exercises.
From the on going project experience it has been noted that partnership, and building linkages among workers, representatives, employers association, government agencies, communities, NGOs and other interested institutions with similar objectives and goals is crucial for success. The "spirit of tripartism" usually evident in collective agreements needs to be incorporated in sustainable forest initiatives.
The initiatives recognised that stable employment and good working conditions can only be attained in forest and wood sector when the supply of wood resource is continuous; and this can be achieved by supporting joint afforestation programmes undertaken by the local communities and other players like workers.
Further the initiative offers opportunity to learn issues arising from topics such as forest certification, health and safety as practiced in different parts of the globe.
Bowling J (2000) - A worker view on sustainable forestry
International Federation of Building and Workers (IFBWW) publications (August 2002) safe houses, safe forests, safe jobs. Towards Sustainable Industrial Development in Construction, Wood and Forestry, Geneva
Opanga P. S. (2002) Case of Sustainable Industrial Development Initiatives in Forest Sector as Implemented by Unionists in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Kenya. Paper presented to IFBWW Africa Region Workshop on Sustainable Industrial Development, August 2002, Johannesburg, S. Africa.
Wall D (2000) The effect of Forest Sector Management on Timber supply in Kenya. an interim report prepared for Construction Wood Market Project. South Bank University.
