Why was Kenya transporting Baobab trees to Georgia in the first place?

In the report, a private company and communities in Kilifi County "entered into an agreement" with the National Environment Management Agency (NEMA) in October 2022, to export the trees to Georgia.

The company, Ariba SeaWeed International, is then said to have received a movement permit from the Kenya Forest Service (KFS).

The company proceeded to uproot the trees without gaining access from the NEMA permit and obtained a NEMA EIA license that was irregularly awarded by the county director of Environment in Kilifi County.

NEMA then moved to court to halt the process and cancel the EIA license to which CS Tuya has confirmed she is in possession of the disputing letter.

As a precaution, the CS directed the KFS to revoke the movement permit that allowed the trees to be transported as well as agreed with the CS of Roads, Transport, and Public Works to halt the exportation until the parties' agreements are formalised correctly.

The matter was first brought to the fore by wildlife conservationist Paula Kuhumbu who posted images of the trees being ferried on her Twitter account, calling on President William Ruto and other agencies to take action.

President Ruto then ordered that exercise must conform to the existing regulations including the Convention on Biodiversity and the Nagoya Protocol.

He further instructed that the exercise should be in tandem with the government's plan of planting 15 billion trees to help combat the effects of climate change.

"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," said Ruto

"There must be adequate authorisation and an equitable benefit-sharing formula for Kenyans. Further, the exercise must be in line with the Government’s agenda of planting 15 billion trees in the next 10 years," he added.

The Nagoya Protocol, formally known as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), came into force on October 12, 2014, and has been signed by over 50 countries including Kenya.

The protocol applies to genetic resources, traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources; and the benefits arising from the utilisation of such genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.

Source of income

The Guardian reports that farmers whose land the trees were uprooted from, were offered money ranging from Ksh.100,000 to Ksh.300,000 ($823-$2,468).

The British newspaper reports that foreign and local contractors, led by a Georgian national Georgy Gvasaliya began prospecting for "perfect trees" after learning that residents were cutting down baobabs to make way for farming and wanted to "save them".

“They were killing the trees even without me because they want to plant maize,” he told the Guardian in a past interview.

“I don’t see anything wrong if we save the tree, which they can’t use for firewood or charcoal. I don’t see any tragedy here. The tragedy is killing trees for nothing.”

He added that he plans to take the Baobabs to botanical gardens in Georgia.

The farmers who sold the trees, however, said that they made the sale without realising they were for export.

Why Baobab Trees?

Baobab trees have international appeal and have been highly sought after because of their high levels of Vitamin C, antioxidants, calcium, potassium and fibre in the fruits. 

Powder found in the fruit, Baobab, is commonly used in smoothies and porridge. Its bark has medicinal properties and the oil in the seeds is used in beauty products.

The leaves are also rich in iron and are edible when boiled. The seeds can also be roasted to make a coffee substitute or pressed to make oil for cooking or cosmetics. 

Baobabs also have medicinal properties, and their hollow trunks can be used to store water.