Karura Forest is an urban forest in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. It is the second largest urban forest in the world, following the Tijuca Forest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The forest was designated in 1932 and is managed by the Kenya Forest Service along with the Friends of Karura Forest Community Forest Association.
Karura Forest covers 1,041 hectares (2,570 acres) and is divided into three sections separated by Limuru and Kiambu roads. The largest middle section is about 710 hectares (1,800 acres). The western area, called Sigiria, covers about 250 hectares (620 acres). The eastern part near Kiambu Road has been set aside for special national uses. As of mid-2016, 36% of the forest contains native upland tree species. The forest is home to about 200 bird species, as well as animals such as suni, Harveys Duiker, bushbucks, bush pigs, genets, civets, honey badgers, bush babies, porcupines, Syke's monkeys, bush squirrels, hares, fruit bats, and many reptiles and butterflies. The forest now has over 50 kilometers of trails for visitors to walk, run, or bike.
Because the forest is near a growing city, some plans have suggested reducing its size to make space for housing and other buildings. These plans have caused disagreement among conservation groups. In the late 1990s, there were proposals to remove parts of the forest for housing. Conservationists, led by Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and later a Nobel Peace Prize winner, worked to protect the forest. Karura Forest also became a symbol of resistance against controversial land use issues in Kenya.
Geography
Karura Forest covers an area of 1,063.0 hectares, making it the largest of three main officially protected forests in Nairobi. The other two forests are Ngong Forest and Oloolua Forest. The Nairobi Arboretum, which is located in the center of the city, is much smaller than Karura Forest.
Karura Forest is located to the north of central Nairobi and is surrounded by the suburbs of Muthaiga, Gigiri, Runda, Ridgeways, Mathare North, Peponi, and New Muthaiga. The western part of the forest is also called Sigiria Forest.
The area north of central Nairobi is a drainage basin that was once covered in dense forest. Today, only small sections of forest remain, such as Karura Forest and City Park. The forest is crossed by several rivers, including Thigirie, Getathuru, Rui Ruaka, and Karura Rivers, which are all smaller rivers that flow into the Nairobi River.
Inside Karura Forest, there are natural features such as a waterfall, a bamboo forest, marshland, Mau Mau caves, and an old church.
The United Nations Office at Nairobi and the headquarters of UNEP are located near the forest. The Karura Forest Product Research Centre is also situated in this area.
Ecology
Wildlife found in the forest are monkeys, including recently reintroduced Colobus Monkeys, bush baby, bushbuck, bush pig, porcupine, duiker, genet, dik dik, African civet, and East African epauletted fruit bat.
Plant species found in the forest are Olea europaea (var. africana), Croton megalocarpus, Warburgia ugandensis, Brachyleana huillensis, and Uvaridendron anisatum.
Development projects and environmental issues
In 1989, parts of the forest were taken away from protected status by Minister of Environment Jeremiah Nyagah. Between 1994 and 1998, 564.14 hectares of the forest were given to 64 companies for housing projects without public knowledge. In 1995, plans to build a housing estate in the forest were stopped temporarily because local residents opposed the idea.
The projects started again in September 1998 when private developers issued a quit notice to the Forest Department. Clearing of the forest led to strong protests by environmentalists and others. On 7 October 1998, demonstrators, including 12 opposition MPs, entered the construction site. The protest became violent, and bulldozers and other equipment used to clear the forest were destroyed, costing more than 80 million Kenyan shillings.
In November 1998, Minister for Lands and Settlements Noah Katana Ngala released a list of companies that had been given land in Karura Forest. However, records of these companies could not be found at the Registrar General’s office, making it hard to find the people behind the companies.
On 8 January 1999, a group of women led by Wangari Maathai planted trees near the forest during a demonstration. A large group of security guards attacked them, and several were injured, including Maathai, who was taken to Nairobi Hospital. The police did not investigate the incident, but the Attorney-General, Amos Wako, apologized to Maathai and promised an inquiry.
In 1998, Time Magazine named Maathai a Hero of the Week. Klaus Töpfer, the head of UNEP, warned that the organization might move its headquarters out of Kenya if the forest was destroyed. The UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, condemned the attack on Maathai. The Architectural Association of Kenya asked Kenyan architects not to design projects that would harm the forest.
Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi criticized the protesters and told the Church not to get involved. Minister for Natural Resources Francis Lotodo supported the projects, saying Nairobi needed space for development. Professor R. A. Obudho of the University of Nairobi, who studies urbanization, also supported the projects.
University of Nairobi students held demonstrations to protect the forest. On 20 January 1999, students were injured when they clashed with police. The university was temporarily closed, and all students were ordered to leave the campus. Opposition MPs James Orengo (Ford-Kenya), David Mwenje (DP), and Njehu Gatabaki (SDP) were charged for attending the protests.
Eventually, housing plans were stopped due to lack of public support, but land allocations remained. In 2003, the NARC government, led by Mwai Kibaki, replaced the long-standing Moi-led KANU government. In 2003, the Minister of Environment, Newton Kulundu, denied a permit to an American investor, Raymond Chisholm, to build a hotel in the forest. Developers began giving up their land in the forest after learning the new government would cancel questionable KANU-era land allocations.
The new Kenya Forests Act in 2005 made it harder to remove forest protection, helping to preserve Karura Forest. In 2008, Kenya Forest Service, UNEP, and Red Cross Kenya worked on a project to cut down eucalyptus and blue gum trees and plant native species in their place. The Green Belt Movement questioned the project, fearing it might allow private developers to enter the forest.
In 2009, part of the forest was given to the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA). Wangari Maathai and the Green Belt Movement opposed this, saying NEMA should protect the forest, not harm it. The Nairobi Northern Bypass road, built in 2009, passes through a wetland that is part of a water source for the Karura Forest, threatening the area.
Karura Forest was once known as a dangerous place with frequent crimes, including murders. Kenya Forest Service Head of the Nairobi Conservancy, Charity Munyasia, said they found one dead body there every two weeks on average. Starting in 2009, efforts to fence the forest and improve safety made it a popular spot for walking, cycling, and jogging for Nairobi residents and tourists.
The new Kenya Forests Act (2005) also allowed the creation of Community Forest Associations (CFAs). In 2009, a group called "Friends of Karura Forest Community Forest Association" was formed. Neighboring communities, including Muthaiga and Gigiri Residents Associations, began discussions to create a CFA for Karura. A letter of intent was shared with northern Nairobi residents, agency heads, and VIPs, signed by Kenya Forest Service and the Muthaiga Residents’ Association. A stakeholders’ Working Committee was formed to lead the process and organized a media event, the opening of Karura’s "Family Trail," on 16 May 2009 with the Hon. Noah Wekesa, Minister for Forestry and Wildlife, presiding. Hundreds of people participated in walking the trail. On 25 May 2009, Kenya Forest Service wrote to the Registrar of Societies, saying they had no objections to registering the new CFA. Between April and July 2009, FKF-CFA leaders completed vetting processes with the Criminal Investigation Division and Registrar of Societies. Joint management plans were drafted by the Working Committee. On
Tourism
Karura Forest is now a place that people from nearby and around the world can visit. More than 16,000 people visit each month. The forest has 50 kilometers of nature trails for walking, running, and biking. The first trail, which is four kilometers long and connects Limuru Road with Old Kiambu Road, was opened in May 2009. An electric fence was built around the forest for safety. About 70% of Karura’s visitors are Kenyan citizens, but more people from other countries are visiting. This is shown by Karura receiving a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for two years (2014–15) and being listed as No. 4 out of 101 Things To Do in Nairobi.
The Karura Forest Environmental Education Trust (KFEET) was created in 2010 by then Minister for Forestry and Wildlife Noah Wekesa. KFEET manages an environmental education center in Karura Forest and helps thousands of Kenyan school children visit the area.
Harvesting of mature exotic trees
Since late 2024, the Kenyan government, through the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), has started a step-by-step plan to remove mature non-native trees from the Karura Forest and other forests. These non-native trees were first planted many years ago to provide fuel for building the Kenya-Uganda railway and to construct homes.
This work follows rules from the Forest Conservation and Management Act of 2016 and the Karura Forest Participatory Forest Management Plan (PFMP), among other laws. The goal is to return the forest to its natural condition. Areas where trees are removed will be replanted with native trees, such as Markhamia, which are better suited for the environment. Some areas will be left to regrow naturally.
Replacing non-native trees with native ones was paused for six years because a ban on logging in public forests began in 2018. The ban ended in mid-2023.
The trees being removed include Eucalyptus and Cypress. A section of the forest covering 6.3 hectares has been chosen for this work. These non-native trees, like Eucalyptus, use a lot of water, which can harm water resources. Also, colobus monkeys in the forest cannot eat them, unlike native trees.
This action has drawn attention, with some people incorrectly believing the forest was being cleared for other purposes.