Kenya: The Ag. Chief Conservator of Forests Alex Lemarkoko led the Senior Management Team & entire Kenya Forest Service Headquarters Staff in planting 3000 mixed indigenous tree seedlings at the Ngong Road Forest Station in Nairobi.
The initiative is aimed at engaging every KFS staff to plant & grow a minimum of 30 tree seedlings per year, which translates to 300 seedlings in 10 years, as a contribution towards the Government’s aspirations of growing 15 Billion tree seedlings by 2032.
The undertaking will also be cascaded down to the field level with forest station managers across the country tasked with ensuring forest station employees add to the Organization’s annual tree planting target.
The activity is also partly focused on rehabilitating the 72Ha bloc by phasing out eucalyptus species to plant mixed indigenous tree seedlings.
The exercise is also a buildup to the launch of the Long Rains National Tree Planting Campaign set to be held in Wajir on 19th May 2023. This season’s entire National Program entails planting 60 million tree seedlings nationally, which are currently available in KFS, private & community nurseries countrywide.
The Service has already planted seedlings on 3000 Ha of forest land with efforts currently centred on the production and distribution of seeds from Kenya Forestry Research Institute to nurseries across the country.
On the same day, the Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry Cabinet Secretary, Soipan Tuya, was joined by Royal Danish Ambassador to Kenya, Ole Thonke, in the unveiling of the Africa Climate Summit and the Africa Climate Week secretariat offices in Nairobi.
The Summit that will be co-hosted by Kenya and the African Union is set to take place from the 4th to the 6th of September this year. The Royal Danish Embassy, in support of the Kenyan Government, has contributed one million dollars with the objective of facilitating the establishment and operations of the Secretariat.
Speaking at the event, Soipan encouraged more partnerships between different nations as she noted that the Summit will involve over 10,000 delegates. She called for more steps towards climate action, such as active participation in carbon credits and emission reduction, as the country is working to combat the climate crisis, whose effects have recently been experienced.
Present at the unveiling was PS. Environment and Climate Change Eng. Festus Ngeno, PS Forestry Ephantus Kimotho, PS Foreign Affairs Dr Korir Singoei, Stephen Jackson, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and other senior delegates.
