Colonial-era settlements and post-colonial legacies have increased the loss of montane forests in the central highlands of Kenya

Abstract Long-term historical studies of montane tropical forest loss in eastern Africa have been relatively neglected compared to other world regions, despite ramifications for biodiversity, climate crises, and knock-on effects on the African continent. Moreover, there has been a relative lack of historical studies of the legacies of European colonialism on land use change, native population displacement, and resource dispossession in Africa. Using historical maps, archival documents, satellite images and settlement datasets, we map changes in montane forest extent in Kenya from 1910 to 2024. We estimate that during the colonial period (1910–1975) ~ 46% of the montane forest was lost, mainly attributed to large-scale forest concessions and agricultural conversions, and a further ~20% lost during the post-colonial period (1975–2024), attributed to post-colonial resettlement of small-scale farmers in colonially-designated areas and forest excisions. We argue that systematic studies of colonial forest histories are essential to understand contemporary deforestation and socioeconomic issues in eastern Africa and beyond.