Kenya Forest Service and Space Agency plan satellite monitoring for forest restoration
Kenya is resorting to satellite technology to strengthen forest monitoring and measure progress under its ambitious 15 billion Tree Growing Programme, as authorities seek more reliable data on forest loss, restoration and tree survival.
The Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and the Kenya Space Agency began dialogues on August 12 about using satellite imagery, geospatial technologies and Earth observation data to improve national forest monitoring.
The proposed system would help authorities track changes in the forest cover, assess reforestation projects and support the country’s national forest resource assessment. It will also provide wider monitoring of restoration sites that are difficult to assess through ground-based methods alone.
Kenya’s push for better forest intelligence comes amid continued pressure on its forest ecosystems. The National Forest Status report 2024 indicates that the country is losing approximately 84,716 hectares of forest cover yearly due to deforestation and an additional 14,934 hectares to degradation.
It is therefore pertinent that we take up the planting of at least 15 billion trees in the country under Mission 15B also called Jaza Miti. The main aim of the 15B projects is to restore 10.6 million hectares of degraded land by 2030 while also raising the national tree cover to 30%. However, what matters is not the number of trees planted but the ones that survive and thrive in their new environment.
According to the Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI), the JazaMiti digital platform already enables the recording of planted trees and monitoring of survival and mortality rates. Satellite data could complement these records by providing repeated, large-scale observations of vegetation changes across restoration areas.
This could allow authorities to identify areas where restoration is succeeding, detect continued vegetation loss and determine where additional intervention is required. The need for stronger monitoring is also linked to the economic cost of forest degradation. Kenya’s 2024 forest assessment estimated that deforestation and degradation cost the economy about Sh534 billion annually through impacts on ecosystem services, water resources, soil protection and other environmental functions.
For Kenya’s restoration programme, improved satellite-based monitoring could also strengthen accountability as government agencies, counties, communities, development partners and private organisations participate in tree-growing activities.
The proposed KFS-KSA collaboration therefore represents a potential shift from measuring restoration primarily through planting figures to assessing actual environmental outcomes, including surviving trees, vegetation recovery and changes in forest cover.
With Kenya pursuing large-scale ecosystem restoration alongside efforts to curb forest loss, reliable Earth observation data could become an increasingly important tool for tracking whether the country’s 15 billion tree ambition is translating into lasting forest and landscape recovery.
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