About 9300 trees will be planted in Tharaka Nithi county to boost forest cover in the region and address climate change challenges. Speaking on behalf of State Department for Livestock(SDL) Principal Secretary (PS) Harry Kimtai during national tree planting day at Shin Hyun primary school in Tharaka constituency SDL secretary administration. Joshua Chepchieng said that they were conducting a tree growing initiative to boost forest cover in the region. The state department launched the twende project in partnership with Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Forest Research Institute (KEFRI), National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) among others and will collaborate with the county government in an aim to end drought emergencies. Dr Chepchieng revealed that they will be planting and nurturing around 9300 trees in Tharaka Nithi county which aims to restore 500,000 hectares of degraded land. He noted that about 1000 trees were planted during the ceremony to kick start the exercise and work towards achieving the 30 per cent forest cover as directed by the President William Samoei Ruto. The secretary administrator added that the government aims to plant 15 billion trees by 2032 to ensure rehabilitation of degraded rangeland for healthy ecosystems and improved livelihood. ‘Climate change is here and devastating effects are felt more adversely in the rangeland. The government is keen in solving the climatic challenges,’ he said. The government is committed to land restoration, he noted, adding that it has made several regional, national and international commitments such as the United Nations framework on pension for climate change and ecosystem restoration 2021/2030. Dr Chepchieng further expressed that the country has committed to restore 5.1m hectares of degraded land by 2030 under the African forest restoration initiatives. Tharaka Nithi County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for public administration, intergovernmental coordination and devolution affairs Samuel Mutheni Karagi said that the county government is committed to partnering with the national government to achieve the 30 percent forest cover. ‘The county government has rejected charcoal revenue in order to achieve the 30 per cent forest coverage,’ he said He urged residents to take the initiatives to plant trees for future generations. Karagi revealed that the county assembly is planning to pass the environmental bill to partner with the national government and KFS to ensure good forest cover. The CECM disclosed that the climate change bill has already been approved to facilitate an eco-friendly environment as well as improve on climate change and global warming. He added that the county government is working on implementing laws that benefit residents while maintaining a healthy environment.
Source: Kenya News Agency