Oscar Otieno, the Deputy Data Commissioner at the Office of Data Protection Commissioner held a tree planting exercise on Friday at Gombe Komolo Primary School, Alego Usonga constituency in Siaya, where over 1,000 trees were planted.
The Deputy Data Commissioner said that the planting of the trees was in line with the government’s agenda of planting 15 billion trees in Kenya by the year 2032 and would also help Siaya in its quest to increase the area under tree cover in the long run.
The tree planting exercise was also attended by the County Forest Conservator, Richard Arunga and the office of the County Commissioner represented by Assistant County Commissioner Masaine Kishoyian brought together the students of the school and the general public in a sensitization campaign to also educate them on the benefits of planting trees and awareness on the government’s agenda to increase the nation’s tree coverage and the fight against climate change.
The exercise put together by the Office of the ODPC is intended to boost Siaya’s national ranking in tree coverage from position 44 where it currently stands at 5.2% and these efforts are geared towards raising it to the recommended 10% by bringing on board many stakeholders as possible to not only plant more trees but also nurture them to maturity as well.
Richard Arunga the County Conservator noted with concern that the forest cover in Siaya is at a low of 0.23% and called on every individual to take up the responsibility of planting as many trees as possible to ensure the county achieves a higher tree coverage.
By Calvin Otieno
