The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has targeted to plant over 200 million tree seedlings in the next two years, Cabinet Secretary in the ministry Alice Wahome has announced.
Speaking at South Marmanet forest at Rwathia block in Laikipia County, the CS added that so far her ministry had already secured 16 million tree seedlings for planting in Nyeri and Laikipia counties that will be rolled out in the next few months.
“Among the seedlings we have procured include those of fruit trees which will be distributed to individual farmers to plant on their farms as a way of securing food security while the rest indigenous varieties will be planted on degraded forest areas such as this,” Ms Wahome said.
She said that one of every five tree seedlings her ministry had resolved to plant will shall be fruit trees.
The CS further noted that the country was set to reap big on carbon credits thanks to the sustained tree planting and conservation efforts initiated by President William Ruto.
“The ministry of environment has been directed by the president to register Kenya as a beneficiary of carbon credits thanks to our ongoing conservation and tree growing efforts. Africa has the least carbon emission that’s why developed nations have a duty to pay for polluting the environment as we grow the vegetation to absorb the emissions,” she said.
“That’s why we are planting more trees and registering the country as a beneficiary of carbon credits,”
The CS noted that climate change is now a global threat and therefore the need to act fast to save the planet for future generations
She added that her ministry would identify tree champions who develop tree nurseries and those who plant most number of trees for possible recognition.
Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu who also graced the function said that his government would set dates for regular county tree planting exercises that will be continually sustained.
Irungu called on residents to take individual responsibility to plant as many trees as possible on their farms in a bid to restore the forest cover in the semi-arid county.
”We have suffered environmental degradation in Laikipia and that’s why the effects have affected the flow of rivers causing untold suffering due to flooding and human-wildlife conflicts increasing, we need to reverse this,” Iirungu said.
The governor further urged residents to to avert any illegal tree harvesting by reporting suspected cases to authorities in a bid to save the remaining forest cover in the area.
The event that was also graced by area County Commissioner Onesmus Kyatha and a host of local leaders saw thousands of tree seedlings planted by locals who turned up for the exercise.
By Martin Munyi
