EAST AFRICA
Biobased Construction East Africa Coalition
Tackling challenges in the biobased construction sector:
The Biobased Construction East Africa Coalition convenes tree growers, timber product manufacturers, investors, architects, property developers, engineers, researchers, and policymakers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to tackle challenges in the biobased construction sector.
THE COALITION IS SOLVING SHARED CHALLENGES IN THE SECTOR
This emerging sector faces obstacles that slow innovation and market growth.
While Coalition members are making meaningful individual contributions, they believe working together is key to building a regenerative forest economy — one that balances ecosystem, social, and economic needs.
A regenerative forest economy with the proper safeguards in place has potential to lower carbon emissions, support more resilient forests, and boost local economies.
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THE COALITION
Read more about the Biobased Construction East Africa Coalition members:
SUPPORTERS AND PARTNERS
To learn more about the Biobased Construction East Africa Coalition, please contact Bongiwe Shongwe (bongiwe.s@csfep.org).
THREE-PART VISION
To set their collaborative approach in motion, Coalition members developed a three-part vision:
Forests
Reverse a trend of deforestation and forest degradation by providing revenue to sustainably manage some forests, protect others, and support all forests to adapt to a changing climate.
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Green construction
Build resilient, climate-smart, and sustainable housing and public buildings using biobased materials that are accessible and affordable for all.
Economic growth
Create thriving local small businesses along the biobased economy value chain, supporting many industries and creating green jobs.
KEY PRIORITIES FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION
To realise this vision, the Coalition mapped challenges members believed no one organisation was well positioned to solve.
They identified key priorities for collective action from the brainstorm.
KEY PRIORITIES FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION
1
Ensuring trust and standardisation
Regional grading, certification, and standards ensure a clear, diversified, and sustainable market. They establish quality benchmarks for sourcing, manufacturing, and final products, fostering consistency to build trust and credibility across the market.
2
Connecting the value chain
A well-organised and efficient forest products value chain helps suppliers access markets, secure fair market revenue, and build consumer confidence in the products they are selling.
3
Providing financial viability
Market growth requires competitively priced forest products that match or beat existing alternatives. Industry success depends on business profitability, which in turn relies on securing capital to achieve economies of scale.
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4
Developing manufacturing
To fill manufacturing gaps, we must support local production that delivers high-quality, standardised, affordable products, while sustaining forests and boosting local economies.
5
Shifting consumer mindsets
Many consumers hesitate to trust timber buildings. Broadening their understanding will be key to changing perceptions. Showcasing successful projects, especially public buildings, will build confidence and drive demand, fuelling industry development.
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LAUNCHING THREE INITIATIVES
The Coalition’s first action was to launch three initiatives to address systemic barriers and guide future Coalition actions.
These initiatives are led by action groups which emerge from the coalition. They work to address different parts of the forest-to-build ecosystem, helping us drive change at a systemic level.
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1
Mainstreaming
Global sustainable development consultancy Arup and partners will work to mainstream timber use by removing a key regulatory obstacle that makes it difficult for developers to incorporate timber in their projects.
Kenya currently relies on Eurocode 5 (EC-5), but a local annex has yet to be developed, resulting in longer approval times for structural timber. To address this challenge, the action group will create standardized timber solutions that reference local grading standards and timber types. These guidelines will help regulators approve structural timber components, such as interior walls, more quickly and support wider adoption of timber by professionals in the built environment.
CheiChei apartments, a 4-storey timber building in Fumba Town, Zanzibar--a project of developer CPS.
THREE INITIATIVES
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2
Innovation
Design-build-manufacture firm Ardhi na Mbao and the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) will develop sustainably-sourced ISO-certified mass cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue-laminated timber (GLT) in Kenya using local tree species, tested against an indigenous variant.
This action group will support much-needed innovation in product development, providing a blueprint for how local tree species can be used in the manufacturing sector and leading the way towards better support and investment in Kenya's forests.
Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) workshop in the Karura forest, Kiambu Road, near Nairobi. The workshop houses KEFRI's forest products and entrepreneur development activities.
3
Public perception
The GoDown Arts Centre will influence public perception of timber by integrating timber into a bus shelter and pedestrian bridge as part of a Nairobi Road renewal project.
The Centre, situated on Dunga Road, is undergoing renovation. This action group envisions transforming the surrounding area beyond the building complex, extending to the Ngong River bridge, into a user-friendly, community-oriented space. To achieve this transformation, it will employ a tactical urbanism project that engages local residents, street vendors, business owners, and policymakers. The ultimate goals of the project are to demonstrate that mass timber can be used in high-foot-traffic areas and to reshape public perception of building with wood.
The bridge over the Ngong’ River, along Dunga Road in Nairobi near The GoDown Arts Centre.
RESEARCH
ARUP and Fractal Forest's:
East Africa Sustainable Timber Supply / Demand Study
This research presents the findings from a supply and demand study for sustainable timber in construction, and Mass Engineered Timber (MET) in particular, together with suggestions for further work . It includes 20-year projections of how this may change under three scenarios: business as usual, realistic “Timber Transition”, and optimistic “Timber Renaissance”. Given the scale of the challenge we face to balance the needs of the environment and of society our
optimistic scenario or Timber Renaissance is purposefully ambitious, requiring systemic change in the enabling environment, supply chain and construction industry itself.
Download the report summary to the left, or the full report here.