Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Although forest certification is gaining global prominence as a practical tool for promoting sustainable forest management, its adoption and uptake in developing countries is still low. Using data from 545 respondents, this paper examines the level and determinants of forest certification awareness among tree growers in Nyandarua and Uasin-Gishu Counties of Kenya. In doing so, it addresses an important gap in forestry research by focusing on the level of awareness as a precondition for certification uptake among forest growers. Findings reveal that the level of awareness was generally low: 53.9% of respondents reported no knowledge of forest certification, while 24.0% had basic, 13.2% moderate, and 8.8% comprehensive awareness. These patterns were more pronounced amongst small-scale growers. The Ordered Logit Model shows that age, level of education, cooperative membership, extension access, and training participation significantly increased awareness levels, while forest area, smartphone access, financial risk perception, and market uncertainty reduced it. These results highlight the need for targeted interventions to help raise forest certification awareness levels and promote forest certification adoption.</p>