The government has agreed to stop the construction of National Youth Service (NYS) houses inside Karura Forest following growing public concern over the potential environmental impact of the project.
The decision was reached during a meeting held on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, involving the Friends of Karura Forest Association, the Ministry of Environment, and the Kenya Forest Service.
Prof. Karanja Njoroge, a board member of the Friends of Karura Forest Association, confirmed that the government acknowledged the proposed NYS housing project was unnecessary. Speaking in an interview on NTV Kenya, Njoroge said all parties agreed to halt the planned construction.
“We had a meeting on Tuesday, and they have accepted that that is not necessary. We have agreed that they will not do what they had set out to do,” he stated.
Njoroge further argued that the objectives of the project could still be achieved without putting up housing structures inside the forest. He noted that existing community forest stations already have the capacity to produce hundreds of millions of tree seedlings annually if given adequate support.
The move follows earlier clarification by Environment Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa, who had maintained that the land clearing was not intended for permanent residential development. According to the CS, the initiative was part of a national tree seedling propagation programme aimed at boosting reforestation efforts.
Barasa explained that approximately two to three acres of land within the forest had been earmarked for the establishment of a large-scale seedling site capable of producing between two million and ten million seedlings. The seedlings were intended to support Kenya’s reforestation agenda.
“We are just clearing space to propagate between two million and ten million seedlings for us to green our city and ensure the forest is fully covered,” she said, adding that temporary NYS housing had been proposed to accommodate personnel working on the project.
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