State seeks to restore 5.1 million hectares of degraded land

 

The government has committed to restore 5.1 million hectares of deforested and degraded land under the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), a country-led effort to bring 100 million hectares of land in Africa into restoration by 2030.

Launched during the World Environment Day, the state hopes to restore forest resources and increase the forest cover to the constitutional requirement of 10 per cent by 2022.

Speaking at Garissa University on Saturday during the launch, the Environment CS Keriako Tobiko called for concerted efforts to ensure a sustainable ecosystem.

"It is not sufficient to plant trees for the cameras. It is more important to ensure that each is grown, nurtured," Mr T”biko said. “Every member of this university should adopt one tree and ensure that they grow until they are fully established."

He was speaking at Garissa University where he also led other delegates to plant trees in honour of the 148 students who lost their lives during the 2015 Garissa University terrorist attack.

With this year’s fete themed “ecosystem restoration”, the annual event is set aside by the United Nations to promote worldwide awareness and action for the environment, and is locally coordinated by the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).  The event brings together stakeholders from the private and public sector.

Mr Mohamed Awer World Wide Fund for Nature - Kenya (WWF-Kenya) speaking during World Environment Day in Garissa County said WWF-Kenya is already implementing a project to restore 30,000 hectares in Nyandarua County and starting another programme in East Kilimanjaro in Loitoktok as part of a four-country Africa programme to restore 100,000 hectares.

“These small actions will add up to a bigger impact and we call upon other stakeholders to do the same," Mr Awer said.

According to Nema, reviving natural carbon sinks – such as forests and peat lands – could help close the climate emissions gap by 25 per cent by 2030.

Replanting with native tree species, the environment authority says, can also help buffer some of the expected devastating effects of a warming planet, such as increased risk of forest fires.     BY DAILY NATION