The government is keen on ensuring the restoration of the ecosystems—degraded forests, riparian areas, wetlands, and water towers—in the country to deal with the effects of climate change.
The Cabinet Secretary in charge of Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry, Ms. Soipan Tuya, who spoke at Nashulai Conservancy Training College in Narok West during a graduation ceremony of 39 Narok County enforcement officers, said the climate crisis has reached catastrophic levels in the country.
“To ensure we restore our degraded forests, our wetlands, our riparian areas, and our water towers, the plan to plant 15 billion trees is the easiest responsibility we have as a country,” the CS said.
The CS added that the climate change crisis facing the country is characterised by heavy rainfall and resultant flooding sweeping across the entire country.
“The emergency response measures are short-term. The long-term goal that will make sure that we never get back to these catastrophic levels is to ensure the restoration of our degraded ecosystems,” added CS.
The CS has urged Kenyans to make environmental conservation a personal responsibility, adding that the government plans to unveil a revitalised tree-growing programme in the coming days when the heavy rainfall subsides.
In addition, the CS has said the government’s rollout of a revitalised 15 billion national tree-growing plan would ensure that every Kenyan plays a role in the initiative.
She said the national government, through the Cabinet, is going to be at the frontline with each Cabinet Secretary, by the directive of the Cabinet, having been assigned a site where they’d take responsibility to plant trees, nurture them to maturity, and set aside a day every month to rally Kenyans around the country on tree planting.
CS Tuya, accompanied by Narok County Governor Patrick Ntutu, also delivered government relief supplies to the locals displaced by floods.
The CS thanked benefactors, including county governments, the Red Cross, and other partners, for supporting those affected by the floods.
By John Kaleke
