The Ministry of Labour has taken a significant step towards environmental conservation by adopting the Siongiroi block of Chepalungu Forest, initiating efforts to rehabilitate the once lush forest.
The section of the forest was severely degraded in 2007 due to illegal encroachment by locals, who cut down trees and burned charcoal, drastically altering the landscape that had been a source of pride for the Chepalungu community.
Joseph Towett, Chairman of the Chepalungu Forest Community Forest Association (CFA), expressed the deep regret felt by locals over the destruction.
“Initially, they hoped to subdivide the forest and own it as private farms, but that was not to be, and they ended up blaming themselves for their actions,” Towett remarked.
He recounted how the 4,000-hectare expanse within the Mau Forest ecosystem, once teeming with wildlife and providing opportunities for gathering wild honey, was decimated in less than a year.
Towett explained that the chaos during the 2007/08 post-election violence was exploited by locals who felled trees indiscriminately.
The Kaploboi bloc saw armed youths storming the Forest Station, burning it down, and evicting foresters.
“Hired lorries made endless trips to ferry the destroyed wood to various destinations, and as the dust settled, an ugly scene remained,” he added.
In response to this environmental crisis, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, under the leadership of Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore, has embarked on a massive tree-planting campaign as part of the national government’s 15 billion tree drive.
The Ministry aims to plant 1 million trees in the forest, with Bore leading the second tree-planting exercise this week. By the end of the initiative, the goal is to rehabilitate over 800 hectares of forest.
“We are going full swing, and we want to be counted as a department that made a huge step to restore Chepalungu Forest,” said Bore.
The Ministry has planned monthly tree-planting events, each planting at least 10,000 trees. To ensure the success of the mission, they have partnered with the County Government of Bomet, which has committed to installing an electric fence around the forest.
Bore emphasised the vital role of local communities in protecting the newly planted trees.
“We have engaged locals who are our guards, and individuals have sections to watch over and ensure the trees planted are not destroyed,” she said.
With the fencing project halfway done, incidents of livestock grazing and destroying the trees have significantly decreased, with hopes of achieving a 90 per cent survival rate for the planted trees.
Labour Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime, who accompanied Bore, praised the reforestation efforts, highlighting the importance of restoring the forest for future generations.
Bore also urged locals to avoid planting exotic trees, such as eucalyptus, which are harmful to water sources, and instead embrace indigenous and fruit trees.
By Lamech Willy.A
