Alice Wahome, Cabinet Secretary (CS), for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, distributed over 10,000 fruit and native trees to Kandara constituency residents. She encouraged them to plant trees during the rainy season to increase forest cover.
Wahome stated that residents should plant 20 million trees within the constituency in the next five years, speaking at the Kandara polytechnic tree planting exercise on November 22.
She pointed out that there is a great danger to forest cover due the increase in population. This has led to desertification.
Wahome asked for the public’s support in preserving fruit trees as a source of food and timber. She explained that humans are responsible for the destruction of trees, which in turn affects the ecosystem.
“We as human beings have gradually destroyed our environment and now we are facing the adverse effects together with our wildlife and marine life,” she said.
She stated that Kandara has a population of around 200,000 people and has the potential to plant 20,000,000 trees if everyone plants 100 trees within the next five year.
She also stressed the importance of collaboration and urged stakeholders join the afforestation cause. She said that her ministry would collaborate with the department for forests to plant more trees in the country to help President William Ruto reach five billion trees within five years.
As part of his climate change mitigation strategy, the President had asked Kenyans in October to plant 100 trees per year for the next five-years.
Dominic Muriuki, an agent from a local bank that is working with the government, stated that the campaign’s objective is to create a healthy environment for residents.
He affirmed that as a bank, they are committed to augmenting the government’s efforts in environmental conservation and climate change mitigation.
Muriuki noted that although more Africans are settling in urban areas rapidly, governments and private companies should look at planting more trees to help combat climate change.
He said that the bank is committed to the President’s initiative and are working to plant 35,000,000 seedlings to mark 35 years of the bank.
By Purity Mugo, Bernard Munyao
Source: kenyanews
