Responding to criticism that his government has overseen the widespread destruction of forests, Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi announced yesterday a plan to strictly enforce bans on timber cutting. Moi also announced that he would seek support from the U.N. Development Programme for a campaign to plant trees. Sounds good, but Moi has not historically been a friend to environmentalists, who have accused him of parceling out sections of the nation’s dwindling forests in exchange for votes and political support. Moi banned all such land allocations in February, following the publication in national newspapers of official documents showing that 412,700 acres of state-owned land had been granted to public officials (including none other than Moi himself).
