Kenya: Residents of Baringo County have been reminded that it will take personal initiatives, such as tree growing within community levels, to reverse the dire effects of climate change.
Cabinet Secretary Ministry Co-operatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Simon Chelugui in Kabarnet delivered this clarion call.
Baringo County, who graced the 3rd edition of the Kirdam Half-Marathon dubbed “Athletics against climate change; an effort to raise awareness of the climate change menace.”
Kenya Forest Service was among the lead sponsors of the event, which focussed on raising awareness of environmental conservation through foresty to enhance water security and mitigation of climate change vagaries.
CS Chelugui underscored that the effects of climate change were no longer a wish-away issue noting how rising temperature levels have been experienced globally. He emphasized tree growing as a key facet in the fight against such vagaries.
“We need to plant trees. If we want to protect the environment, we have to take personal initiative at community levels,” he said.
At the same time, the CS reiterated the call by the President for 15 billion trees to be planted over the next 10 years in line with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformative Agenda (BETA).
The Kenya Forest Service athletic team emerged as the top corporate in the marathon by scooping all the top ten positions in the 6kms Corporate Race. A team of Forest Rangers comprising orchestrated the clean sweep; Lampard Mutuku (1st), Zebedee Kiprono (2nd), Denis Samoei (3rd), Abraham Chemtam, Eliud Koskei, Hosea Kiprop, Cpl Emmanuel Mwei, Joseph Sanare, Alfpha Kiseyia, Jeremiah Lengaka. In the ladies’ category of the same, Forest Rangers Gladys Birir and Margaret Ng’ang’a emerged the first and second, respectively.
Among the participants of the annual race were the Baringo County Governor H.E Benjamin Cheboi, host Member of Parliament Joshua Kandie (Baringo Central), guest MPs (Ruiru, Kacheliba, and Githurai), and the German Mayor of Gersthofen Michael Woerle among other corporate representatives.