Kenya bans baobab tree exports

NAIROBI. – Kenya has cancelled a licence issued to a foreign company to uproot and export baobab trees from the coastal region amid public outcry.

The Georgian company bought eight of the giant trees from local farmers.

Environmental experts have described the planned export of the trees as “biopiracy”.

Authorisation for uprooting the baobabs, which can live up to 2,500 years, was not properly obtained, the environment minister said.

Some farmers in Kilifi county reportedly wanted to clear their land to plant maize.

They sold the trees growing in their private land for between US$ 800 and US$ 2 400, the UK’s Guardian newspaper reported.

It’s unclear how old the trees were, but pictures shared online show uprooted trees with huge tree trunks and branches.

“We have agreed that the baobab trees should not be exported until the agreements between the parties are properly regularised,” Environment and Forestry Minister Soipan Tuya said on Monday.

There is concern that removal of baobabs could have a serious ecological impact as numerous species of insects, reptiles and birds rely on the trees for habitat. – BBC. com